GoAir releases latest summer schedule

GoAir, India’s leading smart fare airline announced their new summer schedule introducing new flights from Bangalore to Cochin. Additionally, GoAir has introduced new flights connecting to Cochin from Delhi while increasing the number of flights between Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai. GoAir, the only airline that has direct flights from Mumbai to Srinagar thrice a week, will now also have 12 connections from Mumbai to Srinagar and Jammu via Delhi, a total of 64 weekly flights on BOM-DEL-BOM sector, 40 weekly flights between Mumbai-Chennai-Mumbai and 33 weekly flights between Mumbai-Hyderabad-Mumbai. Passengers can now choose a flight at a time convenient to them from the multiple flights that GoAir’s new summer schedule offers across various destinations in India.

Commenting on the development, Mr. Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir said, “I am pleased to say that we had the highest load factor in Jan ’07 (77.7%) and Feb ’07 (79.4%) and now our new corporate strategy will help us dominate the low fare carrier market in Mumbai by out - frequenting our competitors while also helping us establish a dominant presence in Southern India in the low fare category. By following this strategy, we will be able to maximise load factors and maintain high aircraft utilisation.” GoAir, also announced their latest offering, wherein passengers can avail of the cheapest fares with an added advantage to book tickets for as low as Rs 0/- on certain sectors. The booking for the same will be open till 31st March 2007 for travel upto 15th April 2007.

Courtesy: IndiaPRWire

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Air India passengers in Doha advised to rebook tickets

Consequent to the start of Air-India Express flights from Doha that have completely replaced Air-India operations, all passengers booked and ticketed on Air-India flights are being rebooked on to Air-India Express flights, a release said yesterday. The Mumbai flights are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Kochi flights are on Sundays (via Kozhikode), Mondays (via Thiruvanathapuram), Wednesdays (Kozhikode) and on Fridays (Kozhikode). The latest addition, Mangalore, will be served on Sundays and Tuesdays. Since the timings of these new flights are different, all passengers holding Air-India tickets are requested to contact the Air-India office at 4324111/4427747/4418423 or their travel agent in Doha to change their tickets and also note the new timings for departures and report at the airport accordingly.

Courtesy: The Peninsula

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Air Deccan starts Delhi-Kangra flights

Budget air carrier Air Deccan has become the first operator to start 50-seater flights to the picturesque Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh. The length of the Kangra airport, some 240 km from here, has also been increased to enable 50-seater planes to land there. The first Air Deccan flight, inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Wednesday, had on board Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Until now Jagson airlines has been operating small aircraft passenger flights to Kangra thrice a week. Air Deccan will start daily flights from April 6. The hill town of Dharamsala, located close to the airport, is a much sought after tourist destination as the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan government in exile are based there. The over two-hour flight will halt at Pathankot on the way to Kangra Valley. It will fly back to Delhi after a 15-minute halt. Air Deccan said the airfare would be between Rs.1,100 to Rs.3,000.

Courtesy: IANS

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Sri Lankan Airlines a huge success in India

With 10,000 seats in 95 weekly flights from 10 different airports in India, Sri Lankan Airlines is currently the leading foreign airlines operating to and from India. In a chat with newsmen at Thiruvananthapuram, Asha Subramonian, sales manager of the airlines, said that the airlines is the only foreign carrier that operates from all the three international airports in Kerala. Currently, it operates 13 flights to Thiruvananthapuram, 11 to Kochi and eight to Kozhikode in a week. Regarding the pricing of tickets, the Airlines puts up a stiff competition to other foreign airlines operating in India and has an average load factor of around 80 percent from Kerala.

"The market here is growing and despite several other airlines, we do have good business and our recently launched bi-weekly flights to Jeddah has been a huge success," said the sales manager. From the new fiscal (2007-08), the airlines would incorporate the fuel surcharge into the airfare. "This will enable clarity of airfares. Hitherto the fuel surcharge was quoted separately to passengers," added Subramonian. And for promotion of Kerala as a tourist destination, the airlines has special packages and in the current tourist season they have already brought in around 700 tourists from France and 300 more are expected before the tourist season winds up in the state shortly.

Courtesy: IANS

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Railways identifies 335 more stations for upgradation

In order to provide better passenger amenities, Railways have selected 335 more stations across the country to equip those with modern facilities including reservation system. "We have selected five stations in each Division for upgradation with adequate facilities," V N Mathur, who took over Member, Traffic, Railway Board yesterday, told reporters today. There are 67 railway divisions across the country. Last year, the Railways had taken up for upgradation 335 stations and work on them were in full progress. These stations are exluding the 16 selected for upgradation at World Class facilities. The upgradation, Mathur said included addition of facilities -- drinking water, adequate electricty, cleanliness, waiting rooms etc, besides facelift of the entire station as per the aesthetic requirement.

He also said that Railways have identified 512 stations for extention of platforms keeping in view its decision to increase the number of train coaches upto 24 from the exiting 16. Out of the 512 stations, Mathur, who still holds the charge of General Manager, Northern railway, said work on 333 have been completed while 167 were still going through the process. As any as 12 stations are still to start work due to some constraints like signals and availability of electricty. Asked about difficulties faced by passengers due to increase in number of coaches and existing shorter platform, he said efforts were being made to provide adequate facilities to railway passengers when trains halt.

Courtesy: PTI

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Merged airline to be named as 'Air Indian'

Blending the names of the country’s state-owned domestic and international carriers, Indian and Air-India, respectively, the government is planning to brand the merged entity as “Air Indian”. The Cabinet cleared a proposal to merge the two airlines last month. Sources close to the development reveal that after hectic negotiations and several rounds of meetings, the choice of brand was a unanimous one. A new company called National Aviation Company Ltd has been registered by the government to amalgamate the two airlines along with their low-fare subsidiaries, Air India Express (of Air India) and Alliance Air (of Indian).

As for the new airline’s logo, Air India’s famed “Maharaja” is reported to have found more favour than Indian’s “Ashok Chakra” at discussions involving the brass of the two carriers. An official announcement on the decision is expected next week. When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said, “We have not been informed of the new brand or the logo yet. A decision on the broad contours of the proposed merger is expected soon.”

The logic behind the new brand name is to maintain the current top position of Air India on the ABC directory, which lists airlines alphabetically and is widely used as a reference book by the International Air Transport Association, other international airlines and tour operators worldwide. Also, the initials of the new airline would remain A-I.”“It makes sense and is practical to retain the names of both the airlines. Also, the initials of the new airline would remain A-I.” There was intense pressure from the staff of the two airlines to maintain their respective identities in the new brand. While the Air India staff had maintained that their international brand equity is much higher, the union representatives of Indian Airlines were lobbying for their stronger brand value due to higher passenger load than Air India.

Courtesy: Business Standard

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Air Deccan welcomes DGCA probe into reports on over-booking

Air Deccan today welcomed the inquiry by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into reports that the low-cost carrier was over-booking its flights. Describing the reports to this effect by a news channel as "sensational journalism", Air Deccan COO Warwick Brady said "we are glad that DGCA will be conducting an investigation into the matter. This is the only way in which we can prove ourselves right and emerge truthful". Brady said the airline was "open to any audit and gladly welcomed the probe by DGCA into the alleged scam". Official sources had yesterday said that DGCA had begun an inquiry and would take necessary action after the probe. The airline has already denied the reports by a news channel from Bangalore that it was over-booking many of its flights.

Courtesy: PTI

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MDLR Airlines to start operations in April

Come April, India will have one more full service airline in the Indian skies. Gurgaon-based realty firm MDLR group is floating an airline company, MDLR Airlines, which will operate as a regional carrier. “The commercial launch of MDLR Airlines is expected by the first week of April. We will be flying the BAe AVRO RJ-70, which is a four engine jet with 70 seats. This will be the only airline to serve purely vegetarian food on board,” Koustav M Dhar, president (commercial & special projects) MDLR Airlines, said. Currently, there are only two carriers operating regional services — Jagson Airlines and Indus Airways. Full service carriers — Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Kingfisher Airlines and Paramount Airways — are currently losing market share to low fare carriers such as Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo. The market share of budget carriers was at 34 per cent in January.

Sources said the model of MDLR Airlines is similar to Chennai-based Paramount Airways with business class and first class configuration. “Paramount Airways primarily operate in the south Indian market, while MDLR Airlines in the northern side. Both airlines have lots of similar features,” industry analysts pointed out. MDLR Airlines will have 6 business class seats and 64 economy seats. The economy fare will start from Rs 1000 and there will four different buckets for Club fares (business class). The airline will start regional operations from cities such as Chandigarh, Delhi, Ranchi and Kolkata. It has also plans to enter western India by connecting Surat, Bhavnagar, Mumbai and Goa. “Initially, we will be having two BAe AVRO RJ jets and later we will increase it to five. In the meantime, we are talking to aircraft manufacturers such as Bombardier, Embraer and ATR for acquiring more jets,” Dhar said.

The company wants to have 35-40 aircraft in its fleet by 2010, he added. Airline executives added that BAe jets are suitable for short landing in the airports of north India which are having short runways. Asked about the intense competition in the Indian aviation scene, Dhar said there is potential market in tier-II cities as airline companies do not stick to regional operations. “Our idea is to stick to regional operations,” Dhar added. MDLR group, the promoter of the airline, has its business interests in commercial and residential real estate development including shopping malls, residential colonies and group housing projects, farmland development, resorts, restaurants and airlines.

Courtesy: Business Standard

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Kingfisher, Jet Airways not to withdraw congestion surcharge

A day after Air Deccan announced withdrawal of the controversial congestion surcharge by putting the cess of Rs.150 in basic fare, other big players like Jet and Kingfisher made it clear they would not do any such jugglery. Kingfisher CMD Vijay Mallya on Tuesday said airlines will remove the surcharge only when the situation improves. A Jet Airways spokesperson just said the "cess stays for now". Mallya, on the other hand, lashed out at infrastructural bottlenecks plaguing the country. "When we do costing, we assume a Delhi-Mumbai flight would take upto two hours. But due to congestion and delays at both these places, it takes about an hour more and the additional cost element has to be recovered.

To highlight this problem, we levied this cess and all followed," he said, adding, "It makes no sense to be a hypocrite and remove the cess only to put it in basic fare." The Delhi High Court had recently issued a notice to the aviation ministry, asking it why common passengers were being forced to pay for congestion in the sky. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had then asked airlines to withdraw the surcharge. Asked what would the airline tell DGCA, Mallya said: "The DGCA requested us to either withdraw the surcharge or inform it accordingly. Most airlines have told the DGCA that the surcharge can't be withdrawn." Mallya pointed out that even today half of the traffic of domestic flights is between Delhi and Mumbai, and both the places are choked.

"Private operators are now running these airports but I don't expect any unfair miracles. GMR group may be better placed in Delhi but how is Mumbai going to get an additional runway with so many slums around the airport? One airport operator has suggested that we use bigger aircraft as there are no extra slots available," he said. Like other players, Kingfisher has joined the chorus of demand for more than one airport in Metros. Because of the congestion and shortage of aircraft parking lots in Delhi and Mumbai, airlines are being asked to keep their planes at other places at night meaning more bases and additional costs.

Courtesy: PTI

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Hawaiian Airlines to shift IT jobs to India

In order to cut costs, Hawaiian Airlines is moving much of its reservation call center abroad eliminating as many as 250 Hawaiian jobs. Beginning April 15, the Hawaiian Airlines reservationists will likely be in the Philippines. The airline said that it's nothing uncommon. "Outsourcing has emerged as one of the solutions to that for many airlines, in fact Hawaiian is one of the last airlines to sort of come along and adopt this," said Keoni Wagner, spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian Airlines is also shifting its information technology and accounting jobs to India to reduce costs. "The bottom line is that we have to remain competitive," said Wagner. In a plan that the airline called "groundbreaking," the union that represents the airline workers said it agreed to the outsourcing on the basis that Hawaiian Airlines guarantees its employees a job within the company and at the same pay.

"We've given every employee the choice to either stay with the company in a different position at the same pay or take what we believe is a very attractive package and an opportunity to consider a change," said Wagner. He said employees have until April 9 to decide. Some Hawaiian Airline employees, however, said they're confused and lack trust in the company and their union, as they feel rushed into making a decision. After making numerous concessions over the years, some employees said they're feeling a shaky future in flight. The airline said workers would stay on until operations abroad are performing up to standards.

Courtesy: The Hawaii Channel

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Finnair to add Mumbai as its new routes

As part of its strategy to focus on Asian countries including India, Finnish carrier Finnair on Sunday said it would launch a new service to Mumbai on June 17 and increase the frequency of flights to the national capital. Mumbai is a completely new destination to be launched, with five days a week service, Finnair said in a statement. Moreover, in mid-May the current three-weekly frequency for flights to national capital will be increased to daily. "Mumbai was chosen as a new long-haul destination because of great demand and in response to requests from Finnish and Indian customers," Petteri Kostermaa, responsible for scheduled route strategy at Finnair, said. Noting that Mumbai was India's centre of business and logistics, Kostermaa said there is big potential for tourist traffic to Europe as country's most affluent people live in the area.

Highlighting the major features of its summer timetable that comes into effect from March 25, the airline said it would include the launch of new routes to Bucharest, Gdansk, Lisbon, Ljubljana and Nuremburg. "Finnair offers Asian customers the fastest and most competitive connections through Helsinki, and thats also the case from these new destinations to Asian," says Kostermaa. The airline said its traffic to China would be boosted in May when flights to Hong Kong increase from four a week to daily and a fourth weekly frequency to Guangzhou would be added. Finnair has acquired a new Airbus A340-300E aircraft in its fleet for flights to Tokyo, Nagoya, Beijing and Shanghai, the release said.

Courtesy: The Hindu

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Etihad to expand services to India

Etihad Airways, the UAE's national airline, is set to expand its services to India with the launch of two new routes from Abu Dhabi to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala. The new cities will double Etihad's destinations in India to four, joining highly successful services to the commercial capital Mumbai and national capital New Delhi. Flights from Abu Dhabi to Thiruvananthapuram will begin on May 31, 2007 and to Kochi on June 3, 2007. Etihad will also increase the frequency on its Abu Dhabi to New Delhi route from three flights-per-week to a daily service at the beginning of June 2007, which will see the total number of Etihad flights to India each week rise from 10 to 21. James Hogan, Etihad Airways' chief executive, said: "India has and always will be one of Etihad's cornerstone markets because of the historical ties with the UAE and both countries' growing position as world-class business and holiday destinations.

India is now the second fastest growing economy in the world and the demand for frequent travel to and from the Middle East will continue to increase for the foreseeable future." The Abu Dhabi-based airline's services to southern India will provide an important link for the many thousands of Keralites living and working in the UAE and across the Middle East, in addition to leisure travellers flying from Europe via Abu Dhabi for holidays in the state of Kerala. Etihad will operate the Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi services three and four times-per-week respectively and both routes are expected to increase to daily flights from October 2007. Etihad will operate a three cabin Airbus A340-500 aircraft on the new Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi routes, with the capacity to carry 240 passengers with 12 in first class (diamond zone), 28 in business class (pearl zone) and 200 in economy (coral zone). Following the launch of services to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, Etihad will fly to nine destinations in the Asian sub-continent.

Courtesy: Khaleej Times

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Air India Express to begin Dubai-Trichy service

Air India Express (AIE), the low-cost arm of India's national carrier, will now fly to Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) from Dubai International Airport. Trichy will be the airline's 10th destination from Dubai, and it is the first time Trichy is being connected to Dubai with a direct non-stop flight. The flight will start operating from tomorrow. There will also be flights on Wednesdays and Fridays. From Trichy the flight will proceed to Chennai on all three days. The flight from Dubai to Trichy and Chennai will leave Dubai International Airport (Terminal 2) at 5.20pm and land at Trichy at 10.55pm.

It will leave an hour later and arrive at Chennai at 1.05am. The return flight will depart Chennai at 11.40am and arrive at Trichy at 12.50pm. It will then take-off at 1.30pm and arrive in Dubai (Terminal 2) at 4.20pm. Apart from adding Trichy in the summer schedule coming into effect from today, the capacity from Sharjah International Airport is being increased from seven flights a week to 14 flights a week to Kerala. With the above additional capacity, AIE will have 45 frequencies a week from Dubai and Sharjah to 10 Indian destinations.

Courtesy: Gulfnews

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Indian Railways introduces mobile ticketing

Taking e-ticketing to the next level, Railways today launched a mobile phone-based service for booking train tickets. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) launched IRCTCmobile, a mobile-based railway ticketing in partnership with US-based firm C-SAM. IRCTCmobile, which has a rich and intuitive user interface, will operate on Java-enabled handsets having GPRS connection, according to an IRCTC release. IRCTC's registered users will need to download IRCTCmobile by sending an SMS to IRCTC. "With the proliferation of the mobile as a ubiquitous device, this initiative shall enable IRCTC to reach further to the masses," said IRCTC MD P K Goel.

Sam Pitroda, founder and chairman of C-SAM, said, "At a time when India is adding six to seven million new mobile phones every month, over and above providing ticketing and scheduling services, we believe IRCTCmobile will be able to deliver a variety of features and functionalities to the masses ultimately in local languages." The facility will be available for all service providers, including telephone companies and banks to make it available to their customers.

Courtesy: PTI

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Air India Express increases connectivity to Gulf

In an effort to clear the summer rush, Air India Express is increasing its connectivity from Kochi to the Gulf sector from March 25. Announcing the summer connectivity at a press meet at nearby Nedumbassery last night, Jude Crasto, Manager, Air India here, said the airlines would operate eight flights a week to Dubai from Kochi while nine flights a week would be operated from Abu Dhabi and seven flights a week from Sharjah. Hitherto, only four flights were being operated to Sharjah. The airline will also operate four flights a week from Muscat, two flights a week from Salalah, one flight a week from Al Ain, he said. Air India Express is the only airlines to operate services to Salalah.

With this increase in connectivity, the total additional seats generated in the Gulf sector is 1,500. The Air India Express also will be operating three flights a week to Mumbai. Crasto said a record low fare of Rs 499 plus Rs 1,000 tax would be offered to passengers travelling to Mumbai from Kerala with immediate effect till Apr 16. It would be again extended during June. Responding to a demand from non-resident Keralaites, the connectivity to Sharjah would be available daily. Though the fares would be on the low cost cateogry, food and beverage (non-alcoholic) would be served on board at no additional cost.

Courtesy: PTI

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Sri Lankan adds another flight to Goa

Sri Lankan Airlines is adding a third weekly flight to Goa, inching ahead to become the first scheduled foreign carrier to have 100 flights each week to India. The national flag carrier currently operates 95 flights to 10 Indian cities, which includes seven flights added to Mumbai last month and the new Goa flight scheduled from March 30. Sri Lankan has 15 weekly flights to Chennai, twice daily to Mumbai, 13 to Trivandrum, 11 to Kochi, 10 to Trichy, 8 to Calicut, and daily to New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. "Customer demand for our services to Goa has been steadily building up and we are very pleased to offer an additional weekly service," Manoj Gunawardena, Sri Lankan's Head of Worldwide Passenger Sales said in a statement. "This not only brings in greater seat capacity on the route but also gives our customers more flexibility in planning their journeys." The airline says it offers rapid connections to Goa in Colombo for flights from Europe, the Middle East, Far East and Southeast Asia.

Courtesy: PTI

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Gulf Air to link more cities in India

With air services talks between India and Gulf countries slated for review shortly, premier middle-eastern carrier Gulf Air plans to add new destinations of Hyderabad and Ahmedabad and expand commercial ties with Indian airlines. "We are looking at the possibility of increasing frequencies on existing routes and start services from secondary destinations like Hyderabad and Ahmedabad," Richard Hirsch, the airline's Regional General Manager for the Indian sub-continent, told PTI. Asked how many flights was the Gulf carrier considering to operate from these two cities, he said the best schedule should be daily services, but at least thrice a week could be considered for commercial reasons.

Gulf Air, a full-service carrier which started its Indian operations in 1971, connects seven Indian destinations, including Delhi and Mumbai, to Bahrain and Muscat. The bilateral air services agreement with India and these countries is likely to be reviewed in April-May. He said there was enough room on this sector for both full-service and no-frill carriers to operate as there were over 4.2 million Indians living in the Gulf region, besides tourist traffic from India. Asked how would it face heightened competition on the India-Gulf sector if the Indian government allowed private carriers to operate, Hirsch said while competition was welcome, "we may be looking at expanding the commercial relationships we already have with some Indian carriers".

Courtesy: PTI

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India Post plans to lease freighter aircraft

Inefficiencies in postal communication have long been a problem in the north-eastern part of the country. Not anymore, if the Department of Post’s (DoP) plans come to fruition. The DoP is close to acquiring a freighter, a Boeing 757 from Indian Airlines, on a wet-lease of Rs 12 crore, specifically to service its North-East operations. The DoP has been facing an acute problem with respect to conveyance of mail in the north-eastern region in the absence of a reliable rail, road and air network. In response to a question in the Parliament, Shakeel Ahmad, minister of state for communications and information technology, said, “In addition to an initial one time expenditure of Rs 12 crore, around Rs 36 crore will be incurred on this account every year.”

This amount will include fuel charges, handling charges and other operational expenses. Mr Ahmad added, “The prime objective of this proposal is to provide to the North-East region quality of service at par with that rendered by Department of Post in the rest of the country. It is also expected to generate additional revenue in terms of increased mail volumes.” Although Mr Ahmad stated that the move is in the direction of generating more revenues, DoP officials refused to share details of the expected return on the investment. “The plan is still in the assessment stage, so it will be difficult to comment. But India Post will be flying a freighter latest by mid-June,” said a senior DoP official, who requested for anonymity. This move by India Post is a part of strengthening the Universal Service Obligation (USO), rather than a highly profitable business opportunity. Says an India Post official, “The direction comes from the government’s interest in the development of the North-East region.

While in-bound volumes to the region are likely to be there, outbound traffic will really not be that great.” Considering the fact that DoP will be incurring such huge investments in setting up dedicated operations for the region, it could have made more sense for it to tie up with other private operators having a strong presence in the region. Blue Dart, the domestic express operator, carries a total of around 8 million shipments to the north-eastern region. The load is entirely in-bound. Essentially, the North-East continues to be ill-serviced by both India Post and various private courier operators. So any move in structuring operations in an efficient manner is bound to be beneficial and generate volumes in the long term.

Courtesy: PTI

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Garib Nawaj Express starts operations

The Indian Railways today introduced a new weekly train between Ajmer and Ranchi, the Garib Nawaj Express. "The weekly train (8631) will depart from Ranchi on every Thursday at 2020 hours to reach Ajmer the following Saturday at 0630 hours. The Ajmer-Ranchi train(8632) will depart from Ajmer every Saturday at 0650 hours to reach Ranchi on Monday at 0430 hours," Northern Railway said in a release. The new train will stop at Muri, Barkakhana and Varanasi stations. The 8611/8612 Ranchi-Varanasi express train presently running daily will now run six days a week instead of daily, it added.

Courtesy: PTI

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Air Deccan to induct business class Learjet aircraft

Low cost aviation player Deccan Aviation aims to induct Learjet business aircraft into its chartered service's fleet this calendar year, to boost the business that is growing at a rate of over 30 per cent annually. The company director (Finance) Mohan Kumar, said that the chartered services business, with a current fleet size of ten helicopters, was expected to touch a revenue of close to Rs 60 crore during the current year. "We have clients in the chartered services asking for business jets and our aim is to induct business class Learjet aircraft into our fleet this year. We are in talks with Bombardier for the same," he said, however adding that delivery conditions being tough, the induction could get delayed.

Deccan already has three nine-seater aircraft in the chartered operations division. Eventually, the business jets' fleet could grow to 15 aircraft in five years. Kumar said that the company witnessed increasing opportunities in the chartered business division owing to heightened business activity in the country. "We see more scope and opportunities in areas like power line inspections, road mapping surveys etc," he said. The company currently operates helicopters for oil companies and is active in heli-tourism, medical evacuation, etc. He added that the company's board had earlier planned to hive off its chartered business into a separate unit to give more focus and give distinct identity to the division.

However, the process of separating the unit was not yet on, he said. Deccan Aviation, better known for its low cost carrier Air Deccan, had initiated operations in 1997 as a chartered helicopter services provider. Kumar revealed that the company might initiate one-to-one talks with potential investors to fund its expansion plans. "Our aim is to raise between US$ 60 million and US$ 75 million. Talks are on," he said. Deccan has appointed Edleweiss as its advisor for the transaction.

Courtesy: Indian Express

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IndiGo starts non-stop services to Mumbai and Chennai

Giving more options to its customers, low-fare domestic carrier IndiGo today started daily non-stop services on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Chennai routes. President and CEO of IndiGo, Bruce Ashby, said that this flight service provider is gradually building its route network, and it would start its second such service on this route from March 26. "Enhancing connectivity between Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai is just one more way to add affordable, convenient services for our customers. We've already proved that the demand for an airline that provides fares that are always affordable, runs on time, and takes the hassles out of travel is quite high," said Ashby. "As we continue to add brand-new A320 aircraft to our fleet this year, we will continue to improve connectivity between the cities we serve and will continue to add new destinations," he added. IndiGo will also use this new aircraft to connect Jaipur to Guwahati via Kolkata.

Courtesy: ANI

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Jet Airways to have one more flight to London

India's largest private domestic carrier Jet Airways Monday announced it would add another direct flight to London from next month. "Jet will start two no-stop flights a week from Ahmedabad from April 3," it said in a statement. "Jet will fly two non-stop flights per week to London from Ahmedabad from April initially and then fly three flights a week from May. An Airbus A330-200 aircraft will be operated on this route," it said. The airline already flies three direct flights from Mumbai, New Delhi and Amritsar to the British capital. The move is seen as part of Jet's strategy to tap the international and trans-continental routes in the face of increasing competition in the domestic sector from more and more low-cost carriers. "This is part of the Jet Airways expansion plans on in the international sector. Jet already operates flights to South Asia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia and plans to added new routes in North America, Europe, Africa and other Asian cities in the near future," the statement said.

Courtesy: PTI

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Air Sahara introduces flights to Male

Air Sahara today began its flight services from Thiruvanathapuram to Male. The inaugural flight to the island nation Maldives took off from Thiruvanathapuram in the afternoon with 82 passengers and eight crew members. The flight's daily schedule would be to depart from here at 1.05 PM. The return flight would take off from Male at 2.30 pm. The return fare begins from Rs 7,500, Air Sahara sources said. The airline's maiden flight to Male also took 1.5 tonnes of cargo. The flight has connections to Kochi and Delhi from Thiruvanathapuram the sources said.

Courtesy: PTI

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Lufthansa plans direct Mumbai-Munich flight

German carrier Lufthansa is all set to launch a direct Mumbai-Munich flight by early next year. This, executive vice-president Thierry Antinoiri said on Saturday, is part of Lufthansa’s strategy to become the most Indian European airline”. The airline, currently in the process of finalising details of the direct Mumbai-Munich flight, currently operates 45 weekly flights from six destinations in India. “India is an important market for us and since 2003 we have doubled our capacity in India,” Antinori said addressing the media on the sidelines of the five-day ITB in Berlin, one of the world’s largest travel fairs. He also announced a record number of connections for summer 2007, touching 192 destinations in 78 countries.

With effect from March 25, the South Korean port city of Busan will become the latest addition in the Asia Pacific region to the Lufthansa’s long-haul network. The airline added Kolkata to its growing network in India on December 1 last year. The other new destinations in the new network include Tirana, Valencia, Bastia on the Island of Corsica, Hungary’s Lake Balaton and the Danish island of Bornholm. Lufthansa also announced a record net profit and revenue in 2006: it increased by almost 10% to 19.8 billion euros. The group profit after tax climbed to a new peak at 803 million euros and its operating profit was up by 46% to 845 million euros.

“The year 2006 has been very satisfying for us in every sense. The figures speak for themselves and underline the successful course that has been set by the Lufthansa Group,” said the airline’s chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber. By May this year, the airline is planning to install fully flat seats in the business and first class cabins of all its long-haul flights. Lufthansa is also supporting the efforts of India’s national carrier to become a part of the Star Alliance, besides extending bilateral cooperation to Jet Airways. At the ITB, the carrier organised a special booth with an Indian crew. “We have employed Hindi-speaking staff at the Berlin and Munich airports to assist our Indian customers. Even our in-flight entertainment programmes have a very good mix of Hollywood and Bollywood films. This speaks about our commitment to our Indian customers,” added Antinori.

Courtesy: Economic Times

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Air Pacific plans flights to India

Air Pacific plans to fly direct to India, South America and beyond the US West Coast from 2011, says chief executive officer John Campbell. He revealed the airline's plans in response to a call by Interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry for the airline to seriously examine flying to destinations well past Australia. Mr Campbell said the airline's current B747-400 aircraft were capable of flying up to 15 hours non-stop and could service points in South East Asia and North East Asia/China. He said the new aircraft type ordered by Air Pacific the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was required to service points in India and beyond the US West Coast or South America non-stop. He said these new aircraft would not available until 2011. "The B747-400 is a very large aircraft with 452 seats and this size aircraft is too large to use to economically open services to new, undeveloped destinations," said Mr Campbell.

"The way in which we progress development in the interim is through partnership arrangements with other airlines in which we agree special fares and pricing on connecting services via Japan, Australia, New Zealand and USA to Fiji," he said. "Air Pacific currently has special fare arrangements with China Eastern and China Southern Airlines serving Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou; with Air India serving four points and with Singapore Airlines covering five points in India plus numerous other arrangements with a variety of other airlines." Mr Campbell said the further development stage was codeshare, which was being explored. He said as markets were developed using pricing and indirect codeshare services, these would grow to a size to be able to cope with the introduction of direct flights using larger aircraft. Currently Air Pacific operates 112 flights per week servicing 17 destinations in 11 countries.

Of the 112 flights, 34 are to Australia and New Zealand. Destinations being serviced by Air Pacific are; Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, Port Vila, Honiara, Apia, Tonga, Tarawa, Christmas Island, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Tokyo, Nadi and Suva. Air Pacific's annual revenue is in excess of $500million with more than half of the total revenue being earned from Australia and New Zealand routes. Mr Campbell said the airline supported the development and diversification of source markets and regularly revised the economics of those opportunities. Mr Campbell said while it was wise to grow all tourism source markets, no one could escape the fact that Australia and New Zealand were Fiji's nearest neighbours and would always be responsible for a greater share of visitor arrivals.

Courtesy: Fiji Times

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DGCA probe against Air Deccan cramming passengers

The Director General of Civil Aviation has launched a probe into the Thursday night Patna airport fiasco in which an Air Deccan flight attempted to take off with excess passengers on board. "We have ordered an investigation into the incident. The air safety official at Kolkata will collect documents from Patna and direct it to Delhi. All evidence will be thoroughly scrutinised," DGCA K Gohain said on Friday. Airports Authority of India regional executive director (east) S P S Baxi has also launched an independent probe into the shocking incident. The cabin crew staff on the Ranchi-Patna-Delhi flight DN 726/727 had attempted to 'accommodate' excess passengers in the flight by asking parents to carry children on the lap. The blatant violation of elementary air safety norm on aircraft weight was spotted by securitymen at the last minute.

The surplus passengers nine in all and not six as reported on Friday were forced off the aircraft. The passengers Mr Dharam Veer Kumar, S Bhardwaj (minor), Mrs M Bharadwaj, Mrs V L Singh, Mr B N Singh, Mrs S Singh, Mr P K Sharma, Mr A Singh an Mr G Rawal were accommodated in a late night Jet Airways flight. Air Deccan though claimed there were only five people who were overbooked and subsequently offloaded and booked on Jet Airways. "I have asked the airport director at Patna to investigate the matter," Baxi said. TOI had been alerted about the gross violation by a passenger on board the aircraft. "The cabin staff is pleading with parents to take their children on the lap. Four sets of parents have agreed but others are are refusing," Mriganko Tripathy told on phone from the aircraft.

The bizzare behaviour of the flight crew has sent shock waves through the industry. "The trim sheet that entails the carriage weight (passengers, luggage and fuel) is sacroscant. Last minute tampering with it is harakiri," remarked a veteran Airbus A-320 pilot. Air safety watchdog DGCA has average weight of adults, children and infants laid down in its guidelines for computing the trim sheet. Expressing regret at inconvenience caused to passengers, Air Deccan chief operating officer Warwick Brady said the matter was under investigation. "The load is always within aircraft limits. According to airline safety norms, infants do not get separate seats on the aircraft. They are seated with parents," he said, choosing to remain silent on the fact that the guidelines also stipulate that children above two years have to be compulsorily allotted seats and cannot travel on lap.

Courtesy: Times of India

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Indian to introduce flights to Patna, Lakshadweep

Domestic carrier Indian said it will start daily flights on the Delhi-Patna and Kochi-Agatti routes soon. While the flights to Patna would start from Saturday and operate on all days barring Sunday, the Kochi-Agatti service would be launched in July and would operate on a daily-basis with a 48-seater ATR aircraft. The flights to Agatti in Lakshadweep islands would be operated by Indian's wholly-owned subsidiary Alliance Air, the company spokesperson said. The service, which has been in demand for a long time, would also allow air cargo shipment by traders, especially of perishable items. The state-owned carrier has also received this year's prestigious Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (Patwa) award for being India’s 'most trusted airline'. Patwa also awarded the airline's Director General (Commercial) Anita Khurana as the 'best marketing person in aviation', the spokesperson said.

Courtesy: PTI

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Indian Air force keen on extending Agatti airstrip

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has set forth its vote of support on a proposal with the Civil Aviation Ministry seeking to extend and expand the only airstrip on the Lakshadweep islands. An extended runway on Agatti Island, the IAF has said in an official communication to the Defence Ministry, will give its fighters and military transports a 400-km range and logistical advantage in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. The proposal currently with the government — is to reclaim land in the 400-metre gap between Agatti Island and the tiny uninhabited Kalpati coral islet nearby, and thereby allow an extension of the tarmac from the current 4,235 feet to approximately 7,000 feet and attendant increase of space from the current 18.36 hectare. The airstrip is currently only suitable for light Dornier and other aircraft and helicopters. With an extension, that could also include reinforcement of the tarmac and an upgrade of available visual and instrument navigational aids and infrastructure, the airport will be able to handle fighters and heavy transport, both civil and military.

Agatti — the “gateway to Lakshadweep” — is the only island in Lakshadweep that has an aerodrome and passenger handling facilities which receives flights daily from India, and recently by Kingfisher Airlines three times a week. Apart from military logistics utility, better facilities would also bring down civil ticket costs that feed still nascent tourism to islands like Bangaram, Kadmat, Minicoy and Agatti’s own 20-bed resort hotel. Speaking to The Indian Express, commander of the IAF’s Western Air Command, Air Marshal Padamjit Ahluwalia said, “It will give our fighters and transports a sizeable range advantage in the open ocean. It is now up to the government.” Ahluwalia made his representation on the proposed airstrip extension when he was Southern Air Commander in Tiruvananthapuram in January.

Courtesy: Indian Express

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American Airlines to shift Call Center operations to India

American Airlines on Thursday said it will shift its Asia Pacific Call Center operations to India from Australia. The company has also entered into an agreement with Bird Information Systems, a provider of automated aviation and travel related software solutions, to provide Call Centre services to its customers in India and Asia Pacific region, an American Airlines statement said. Under the contract, BIS would handle its customers request related to travel bookings, reservation, fares and ticketing, including e-tickets, among others, it said. "We will shift our Asia Pacific Call Center operations to India in partnership with the Bird Group," Nisha Maharaj, American Airlines Regional Manager Indian Subcontinent, said. While the outsourced city ticket office operations for the company is carried out in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, the Call Center operations run from Delhi, it said.

Courtesy: Zee News

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Airlines plan action against higher airport charges

Airlines are joining ranks against government’s decision to impose higher airport charges in peak hours in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Air India MD V Thulasidas, Kingfisher’s Vijay Mallya, SpiceJet CEO Siddhant Sharma, Air Sahara president Alok Sharma along with senior executives from Jet Airways, Air Deccan, IndiGo and GoAir would call on minister of civil aviation Praful Patel on Tuesday next week, under the aegis of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), to take up issues relating to imposition of differential airport charges. Airlines want that any changes in airport charges should be revenue-neutral for the airports while at the same time not burden the carriers with additional costs. They are also in favour of adequate incentives for flying in non-peak hours while enhancing the non-peak time band to certain periods in the afternoon.

The ministry and airline operators have been at loggerheads over the issue of private carriers charging congestion cess of Rs 150 per passenger. The thinking in the ministry has been that private airlines should share some of the additional revenue garnered as a congestion cess with the airport operators. “Any congestion cess should go towards helping airports de-congest and not be used to shore up bottom lines of the airlines,” a senior ministry official said. Airlines point out that differential airport charges would not lead to any large-scale decongestion of air traffic in the peak traffic periods in the morning and evening. “Any curtailment of flights in the peak periods would affect our aircraft utilisation and directly impact our bottom lines,” said a CEO of a low-cost carrier.

As per industry estimates, doubling of airport charges in the peak periods would put an additional burden of Rs 100 to Rs 200 per passenger. With the industry still in the red, and expected to notch up losses of Rs 2,000 crore in the current fiscal, most carriers said they are likely to pass on any additional costs to customers. “The airline industry is not in a financial position to absorb additional costs,” said Alok Sharma, president, Air Sahara. Globally, in major international airports, landing and parking slots are usually alloted to airlines through auctions, with peak travel periods normally priced higher than non-peak ones. Industry analysts expect Indian airport operators would take to that route in the coming years.

Courtesy: TNN

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Kolkata-Dhaka train service to be launched on April 14

India and Bangladesh have decided to launch a train service between Kolkata and Dhaka on April 14, marking first rail link between the two neighbours. The agreement to launch the service on Bangla New Year Day was concluded yesterday, official sources said in Kolkata today. As per the agreement, each country will run the train for six months each, they said. The two countries have at present two bus services -- between Kolkata and Dhaka and between Agartala and Dhaka. Launch of the train service is a significant development as this proposal has been hanging fire for several years because of Dhaka's reluctance. However, situation has changed after the caretaker government took over. The caretaker government has taken a number of other steps that have drawn positive reaction from India. These steps include clearance of a power project to be set up by BHEL. Significantly, an investment of about USD 200 million will be made by Bangladesh in this. The caretaker government is also positively considering India's proposals for transit and gas pipeline to Myanmar.

Courtesy: PTI

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Mughal Gardens in Delhi to open on Mondays

In view of the huge rush, the blooming Mughal Gardens will remain open for public viewing on the coming two Mondays this month. This year, the magnificent gardens, an integral part of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, opened for visitors from February 10 to March 18 except on Mondays, owing to maintenance work. However, the authorities have decided to open the gates for nature lovers on March 12 and 19, which fall on Mondays, as well, a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said in Delhi today. So far more than 2.5 lakh people have already witnessed the colourful splendour of the gardens spread over an area of 15 acres. A new fragrant rosarium developed in the Terrace Garden has been this year's major attraction for onlookers. Exotic varieties of roses, having excellent fragrance, had been collected from abroad as well as across the country for the gardens. The Mughal Gradens remain open for public from 1030 hours to 1630 hours.

Courtesy: PTI

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Air Deccan to add 4 more aircraft to its fleet

Budget airlines Air Deccan will add four more aircraft to its fleet strength before the year end, its Chief Operating Officer Warwick Brady said. He told reporters that with this the airlines fleet strength would go upto 53, including 23 Airbuses. Jodhpur, Udaipur, Dharmasala, Dimapur and Jamshedpur would be brought under the airlines map before the year end. The airlines Hangar at Chennai, coming up at a cost of USD five million, would be commissioned next month. For the first time in aviation history, Chennai would have a direct daily flight to Agartala from March 26. Chennai would also have direct flights to Bhubaneshwar from that day, he said. The airlines would also introduce additional daily flights to Madurai from that day, he said. The company expected to start earning profit from 2008-09, he added.

Courtesy: PTI

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New multi-layered security planned for Delhi Metro

A new multi-layered security cover will soon be deployed for the Delhi Metro following intelligence reports of possible terror strikes, a top official said. Delhi Metro is a soft militant target and had been placed under high security alert following intelligence reports, S.I.S. Ahmed, director-general, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), said. According to the CISF chief, a new, multi-layered security concept would be launched for the Delhi Metro under which passengers will be allowed entry from two channels - red and green. Explaining the new system, he said that the intelligence cameras inside the station premises would closely monitor passengers. These sophisticated gadgets are programmed to identify suspects based on their behaviour.

He added that these cameras could easily detect any unidentified object lying in the premises. Once passengers get through a certain security apparatus without triggering an alarm and without raising suspicion from the closed circuit cameras at vantage points, they will be allowed easy access through the green channel. Others would have to undergo another level of screening under the red channel and may also undergo interrogation when necessary, he added. Apart from the cameras, the CISF is also planning to deploy additional dog squads, explosive detection devices and biometric devices. The number of women constables at stations would be enhanced. "CISF will be completely taking over its security from Delhi Police from April 15 and all the security measures would be implemented in a phased manner," he added.

Courtesy: IANS

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Air India Express to increase weekly flights

Air India Express, the low-cost wing of Air India, is set to increase the number of weekly flights to 116 from 83 currently in the summer session starting from March 27 this year. Kerala will gain the most as the number of weekly flights from there will go up to 58 from 44 now. Air India Chairman and Managing Director V Thulasidas said there will be double daily operations between Chennai and Singapore, which includes three flights from Trichy. In addition to this, the company will fly nine flights from Mangalore to the Gulf, which includes five flights to Dubai, two to Abu Dhabi/Muscat and two to Doha/Bahrain. Pune will receive some benefits as well. There will be two flights between Pune and Singapore and three to Dubai.

Three flights between Chennai, Trichy and Dubai have also been planned. Air India Express also plans to resume daily services between Abu Dhabi and three airports in Kerala. "Seven additional flights between Kerala and Sharjah and daily services between Chennai and Colombo have also been conceived," Thulasidas said. Beginning with December 2006, Air India Express started getting the delivery of Boeing 737-800 aircrafts, two of which joined the fleet in December, three in January and one in February in 2007. Four more aircrafts are slated to join the fleet before the end of this year, he said.

Courtesy: PTI

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Continental Airlines to start Newark-Mumbai flights

Continental Airlines Inc. said it is starting daily nonstop flights between Newark, N.J. and Mumbai, India on Oct. 30. The flight from Newark Libery International Airport will be timed to provide connections at the airport with more than 230 other locations in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. Service on the more than 14-hour flight to India will be provided by Boeing 777-200 planes, according to the company. "Mumbai is the largest trans-Atlantic market not currently served by Continental and offers significant opportunities for growth in the future," Jim Compton, executive vice president of marketing, said in a statement. The airline has operated nonstop service between New York and Delhi since 2005. The new service is subject to government approval.

Courtesy: AP

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Air Deccan connects Chennai with Bhubaneswar, Agartala

Leading low fare carrier Air Deccan Wednesday announced daily flights connecting Chennai with Bhubaneswar and Agartala from March 26. Booking for the flights have opened, the airline said in a statement, adding that a new 180-seater Airbus A-320 aircraft will be deployed to serve these routes. The flight to Bhubaneswar will provide an opportunity for travellers from Chennai to visit the Buddhist tourism circuit. Agartala, the capital of Tripura, is home to a vast handloom and weaving industry that will have an air connection with this Southern textile hub through this flight. Air Deccan's daily flight connection from Chennai to Agartala via Kolkata will provide an affordable travel option for professionals, students and tourists. The airline also announced an additional daily flight on the Chennai-Madurai sector. 'These flights will encourage movement of tourists and also provide a fillip to the pace of development in adjoining regions,' Air Deccan managing director G.R. Gopinath said in the statement.

Courtesy: PTI

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High Court: Air congestion charge is passenger-unfriendly

While the Civil Aviation Ministry, in the name of decongestion, has proposed to double landing, parking and navigation charges during peak hours at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore airports, the Delhi High Court has taken strong exception to congestion charges already being levied by domestic airlines. The Court, however, did not accept this submission and asked the Ministry to “look into” the matter and come up with a detailed response at the next hearing on April 17. Domestic airlines, except for Indian, charge Rs 150 as congestion charge.
While Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today sought to justify the Ministry’s proposal saying it was a “temporary” move, the fact is that the industry is all set to pass the burden to passengers. This will be in addition to the congestion charge.

“There is heavy congestion at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore airports and they all are under tremendous pressure. Hiking of charges for peak-time operations is also only a temporary measure and will help till the capacity of these airports is upgraded to handle traffic volumes. Besides, there will be sops for those flying in non-peak hours,” said Patel on the margins of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Navigation Systems Panel meeting in Delhi today. It’s learnt that this suggestion is that of a committee within the ministry set up to find ways to deal with congestion at these airports. The committee, in fact, submitted its report today and along with this suggestion has asked the Ministry to consider freezing fresh operations from Delhi and Mumbai until infrastructure comes up.

Further, it has asked the Ministry to not add to the list of flight approvals in the middle of the winter or summer schedule. In other words, a schedule once filed must not be altered. While this is bound to put the the Ministry and industry on a collision course to begin with, sources said, it could also lead to a situation where both agree to levy no fee or charge on account of congestion. Modalities could then be worked to ensure that capacity of these airports are not stretched beyond a certain limit. On Monday, the Ministry indicated that it plans to make the proposal effective from March 25, the start of the summer schedule. “Hiking of peak-time charges will not hurt the growing industry and the move is also not one that will affect price-conscious passengers adversely.

Price-conscious passengers will be able to avail the same comfort as peak-time passengers at a lesser cost (during non-peak hours). The move is essential for equitable use of the airport through the day as well as night”, said Patel. The ministry is trying to work on a system of disincentives for airlines services between 7 am and 10 am and from 6 pm to 8 pm. But the move is being seen as retrograde as charges in India are already higher to what is charged by better known international airports. And it was the Ministry that stalled reforms for so long leading to the current crowding in key airports.

Courtesy: Indian Express

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India to launch GAGAN by next year

Navigating through the Indian skies would soon become easy as the government plans to launch next year the ‘satellite-based’ navigation system, GAGAN (Global Navigation Satellite System-aided Geo Augmented Navigation), which is being developed jointly by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). India will enter 'big league' in the world aviation scene with the launch of GAGAN next year, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said here on Tuesday. “Having such an advanced system will launch India into the future. The next generation of technology would enable airports in handling large volumes of air traffic,” he said while inaugurating the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)'s Navigational Systems Panel meet.

The minister said that to handle the rapidly increasing air traffic there was an urgent need to upgrade technical skills. He said the GAGAN system would make Indian skies safe and secure at par with the best in the world. Similar systems, like GAGAN are being developed by the US, European Union and Japan. AAI chairman K Ramalingam said the technology demonstration phase of the GAGAN system had ‘shown better than expected results’. The system was now being integrated with the geo-stationary satellite INMARSAT-4F1. “Encouraged by its initial success, it has now been decided to initiate the final operational phase, in which its coverage area will be extended to the oceanic airspace also,” Mr Ramalingam said.

Meanwhile, justifying the government’s decision to hike charges on airlines for peak-time operations at three major airports, Mr Patel said the burden would be offset by incentives during the non-peak hours. “This is not a permanent measure. It is a temporary step to tide over the problem of congestion till infrastructure to expand capacity of airports to handle heavy traffic is in place,” he added. The ministry is working on a proposal to double the peak-time navigation and other airport charges to de-congest air traffic over Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore airports from March 25, the start of the summer schedule. The charges could be halved between midnight and 0500 hours. The decision is likely to result in 10% to 15% rise in airfares during peak hours as airlines are likely to pass the burden to customers.

Courtesy: Economic Times

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