Indian carries record number of passengers

National carrier Indian has broken all records in the Indian aviation history by carrying the highest number of over 34,000 passengers on a single day for the first time. The airline carried as many as 34,535 passengers on Friday, the highest ever by an Indian carrier as per official records on passenger load factor. During the past few months, the state-owned carrier had consistently been registering a high growth in passenger load factor, crossing the 32,000 mark on 15 occasions this year, a spokesman said. It broke the 33,000 mark on three occasions this year and crossed the 34,000 mark on Friday. The airline had carried 30,045 in November 2004, 28,860 in December 2005 and 31,168 in December last. The airline had been awarded the Reader's Digest Platinum Award for being the "most trusted airline" earlier this year.

Courtesy: PTI

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Air Deccan to launch flight from Delhi to Leh

Air Deccan would be the first low cost airline connecting Ladakh, the undulating and mountainous terrain which will be perpetually inaccessible for most parts of the year, by air. Air Deccan, India's largest low cost airline, on Saturday announced the launch of new flights connecting Delhi to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, from May 23. Bookings for the new sector opened on Saturday. A 180-seater Airbus A 320 aircraft would be deployed on this sector by Air Deccan, a statement said. Air Deccan Managing Director G R Gopinath said "Low cost air connectivity was a basic necessity for a region like Ladakh considering its undulating and mountainous terrain and the fact that it is perpetually inaccessible for most parts of the year."

Over the last few years the tourist inflow into Ladakh went up with around 40,000 tourists visiting the region in the 2006. Air Deccan would be the first low cost airline connecting Ladakh by air and hoped the airliner would prove to be the catalyst for the growth of the region, he added. The daily flight would leave Delhi at 5.20 am and reach Leh at 6.50 am. In the return journey, the flight would take off at Leh at 7.20 am and land in Delhi at 8.40 am. Air Deccan offered dynamic pricing on its entire seat inventory. The pricing was a function of demand and supply of seats at any given point in time. The earlier one books, the lesser one pays. Fares on the Delhi-Leh sector start at Rs Zero (plus taxes and surcharge).

Courtesy: UNI

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MDLR Airlines launches operations out of Delhi

The Gurgaon-based MDLR Airlines, wholly-owned subsidiary of MDLR group has commenced commercial operations, the group announced on Friday. MDLR Airlines will start its full service two class (club and economy) regional sector operation out of Delhi and Chandigarh to Ranchi and Kolkata, in the first phase. Operations will later be expanded to Mumbai, Surat, Jaipur, and Bhavnagar and a few more Northern cities in the months to come, a press release stated. Gopal Goyal, chairman, MDLR Airlines said: "We have introduced four engine AVRO RJ 70 jets and will serve all vegetarian cuisine."

The low-cost carrier is in the process of setting up check-in counters, offices at all its destinations, and plans to make Chandigarh one of the large regional jet hubs, after Delhi and Jaipur, in North India . Additional fleet of three-four Avro RJ 100 aircrafts will be inducted in the fleet by the end of this calendar year, the airline stated. The MDLR group has business interests in infrastructure, shopping malls and multiplexes, and luxury hotels. The group had forayed into the aviation sector last year.

Courtesy: UNI

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A380's inaugural flight to land in Delhi on May 6th

Airbus and Kingfisher Airlines have announced that the A 380, world’s biggest aircraft would arrive in Delhi on May 6, in the run up to Kingfisher’s second anniversary celebrations. Airbus is bringing A 380 to India to demonstrate its full compatibility with major airports and its many qualities that would attract passengers towards it. After being demonstrated in Delhi for two days, the aircraft will proceed to Mumbai on May 9 where it will join the anniversary celebrations of the Vijay Mallya controlled airline. It is scheduled to fly back to its base in Toulouse, France on May 10. A 380’s airport compatibility tests in India will be done in cooperation with the Airport Authority of India, Delhi and Mumbai airports and Kingfisher Airlines. Airport officials said that the A 380 is scheduled to arrive in Mumbai at 4 pm and get parked at very close to the Kingfisher anniversary celebrations venue at the Air India hanger near the 2C international terminal.

This is the same venue from where Mallya launched the airline two years ago amidst much fanfare. Kingfisher Airlines will launch a promotional campaign on the occasion. The airline in a statement said, "The visit of the Airbus A380, coinciding with our anniversary celebrations marks a major milestone for us and Indian aviation." Kingfisher plans to use the A380s on non-stop routes from India to the US, capitalising on its world beating economics, fuel efficiency, range and comfort, Airbus said in a statement. Given to its gigantic size, the A380 allows airports to absorb passenger growth while helping to keep aircraft movements down and cutting down on noise and emissions. This is perfectly suited for congested airports like Delhi and Mumbai to transport large number of passengers at one go may be in ferry service between the two lead metros.

There would no need to expand the runway as A380 takes off and lands in less distance than today's largest aircraft from rival Boeing. Airbus said this A380 is one of two flight test aircraft with full passenger cabins, which recently successfully completed worldwide airport compatibility and route proving tours under realistic operational conditions with about 500 passengers on each flight. So far the five test aircraft, including these two, have flown for over 3,400 hours with more than 2,400 take offs. Since the first airport tests with the A380 in Frankfurt in 2005, it has visited over 40 airports, and by 2011 more than 70 airports can accept it. First delivery to Singapore Airlines is scheduled for October 2007 and firm orders and commitments stand at 166 aircraft for 15 customers.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times

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Indian Airlines Surat-Delhi flight grounded till May 6

Come May 1, close to 50 passengers who had booked themselves for Delhi-bound Indian Airlines flight from Surat would board a bus instead from Surat airport to Vadodara airport from where they will board a flight to Delhi. For, the much-awaited A-319 jet to Delhi that was supposed to embark from Surat remains grounded until May 6. Reason? Airport authorities have cited operational and flight safety issues Airport Authority of India is facing at Surat airport. For flight numbers IC-417 between Delhi and Surat, and flight IC-418 from Surat back to Delhi, close to a 100 passengers now face the inconvenience of a delayed flight. According to officials from the Indian Airlines’ Mumbai corporate office, the airline is going to "make surface transport arrangements for passengers from Surat to Vadodara airport". "I have received word from my superiors in Delhi that the inaugural flight has been postponed till May 6.

However, on April 29 an empty airbus will embark from Delhi and land at Surat airport during 12 in the afternoon when the radar and landing systems will be officially tested," said Surat airport in-charge. "The delay occurred due to some operational shortcomings on the airport’s part. We had no problems in carrying out the flight as we had already kept the aircrafts ready and have made bookings for the same," said an Indian Airlines official. “Regular flight services from Surat are expected to resume from May 6 when the airport receives operational and flight safety certifications," he said.

So far work on passenger amenities at Surat airport is underway while the runway lighting systems to enable night landing at airport are also being worked on. Airport officials claimed that work on the radar and landing systems have been completed. Runway testing vehicles and the fire station are also complete. Meanwhile reacting to delay Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries Chairman Pravin Nanavati said, "Our members have made bookings for flight to Delhi and haven’t been informed about alternate arrangements. If the flight is delayed lot of our business meets will have to be rescheduled."

Courtesy: Indian Express

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Legion of Honour for Capt. Gopinath

France has bestowed the award of Chevalier de la legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) on Capt GR Gopinath, Chairman, Air Deccan. The award is in recognition of Capt Gopinath’s contribution to the development of Indo-French cooperation in the field of aviation. The award will be conferred upon Capt Gopinath by the French Ambassador, Dominique Girard on Saturday. After retiring from the Army in 1978, Capt Gopinath launched India's first low-cost, no frills airlines in 2003, with aircrafts manufactured by the Toulouse based French company, ATR. Today, 700 ATRs form the backbone of Deccan Aviation, along with 10 helicopters and two charter jets operating from eight major locations criss-crossing the country. The French government confers several awards among which the Order of the Legion of Honour is the highest national distinction. The Order of the Legion of Honour was instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Courtesy: UNI

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Jet Airways receives first Airbus A330-200

Jet Airways, the India based International carrier took delivery of its first Airbus A330-200 aircraft purchased directly from Airbus. Jet Airways ordered a total of 10 Airbus A330-200s in October 2005. The airline already operates the A340s and the A330s between India and the United Kingdom and plans to use the A330s on a mix of regional and long-haul international flights.

Courtesy: Reuters

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Airlines to compensate passengers for delays & cancellations

Outraged passengers grounded for hours due to delays and cancellations of flights at airports across the country can now expect some relief. The government will soon draft new guidelines to deal with a whole lot of passenger issues which many airlines especially the low-cost, no-frills ones are ignoring frequently. "We're going to take very strict action against those airlines which are callous towards passengers," said civil aviation minister Praful Patel. "I'm completely disgusted with such reports." Within a month, he said, the guidelines will be in place. Airlines will be made more accountable. Also, airlines will have to compensate passengers if they are delayed for several hours for no fault of their own. The minister said he is examining legal issues involved. "Unusual circumstances are different but I'll ensure that air passengers are properly treated by airlines." In recent weeks and month, travellers at major airports have expressed frustration in some cases even smashed airline counters due to sudden cancellations or unexplained delays of flights.

Courtesy: UNI

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Indian wrests number one position in domestic carriage

Leading national carrier, Indian, has wrested the number one position in the domestic carriage segment in March 2007 and recorded an average carriage of 21.9 per cent. According to a press release here today, Indian, registered an increase of 27.5 per cent in daily passenger carriage over March 2006, achieving a carriage of 23,740 domestic passengers per day. The airline also registered an increase of 2.5 per cent over February 2007 market share achieing a domestic market share of 21.9 per cent in March 2007. Indian thus occupies second spot, with the number one leading marginally with a market share of 22.9 per cent. The third position airline holds 17 per cent market share. Indian's domestic seat factor of 71.8 per cent in March 2007 was also higher than the industry average seat factor of 69.5 per cent. The seat factors of other full service carriers were 66 and 65 per cent, the release added.

Courtesy: UNI

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Jazeera Airways launches Kochi-Dubai flight

Jazeera Airways, the Middle East's first private airline, Monday officially launched its non-stop flights between Kochi and Dubai. The airlines would operate its flights between the two cities thrice a week. Though Jazeera has been operating flights from Kochi to Dubai from March 25, the official launch took place Monday. Jazeera Airways, which began flights from Kuwait to Mumbai, Delhi and Kochi last year, operates 13 flights a week to these cities. Marwan Boodai, chairman and CEO of Jazeera Airways, said the company's increasing investment in India is a result of their commitment to connecting the Gulf to India and to bringing more traffic into tourism hub Kochi. "India is very diverse and Kochi is breathtaking with its backwaters and unique culture. That's not how people in the Gulf see Kochi and we are planning to change that by bridging the distance through our low fare schemes," said Boodai. Jazeera Airways had stimulated traffic from Kuwait to Alexandria by 194 percent, Aleppo by 207 percent, and Damascus by 65 percent by offering low fares to passengers, he said.

Courtesy: IANS

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Railways' new facilities for passengers

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) will set up about 20 ''Rail Ratna'' brand budget hotels in the southern region, for which sites have been awarded at Udhagamandalam, Kanyakumari, Madurai and Rameswaram, to major players in the hotel industry. Regional Director IRCTC V Sriram told newsmen here today that the budget hotels would be on public-private partnership pattern and constructed by private parties under Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) scheme, for a period of 30 years.The profit sharing ratio would be 60:40, he added. He said these four budget hotels would be set up at a cost of Rs 25-30 crore each. The hotels would be ready before the end of next year. He said such hotels would also be set up at Chennai (two), Trivandrum Central, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Calicut, Coimbatore, Mangalore, Mysore and Hubli.

He said IRCTC's annual turnover for the year 2006-07 was expected to cross Rs 500 crore mark as against Rs 487 crore the last financial year. He said IRCTC was also setting up major base kitchens for supply of low cost, high quality, fast moving local varieties of food in all trains and for visitors to railway stations. Cell kitchens or base kitchens would also be set up at Chennai, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Katpadi, Jolarpet, Arakonam, Thruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Palakkad and Erode. He said they had also been ordered to take over and streamline the supply of bedrolls in Air Conditioned coaches. Out of 72 trains. The IRCTC was in the process of taking over this job in 46 trains. The IRCTC was also setting up launderettes at Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Coimbatore, Mangalore, Nagercoil and Bangalore to ensure quality and hygiene in bedrolls.

Courtesy: UNI

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Air Deccan posts Rs 212 crore loss

Battered by pressures on yields and low passenger loads in March, price warrior Air Deccan has suffered a loss of Rs 213 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2007. The loss was on a net income of Rs 437 crore during the period. The airline has recorded no sale and leaseback transaction during the quarter unlike the previous quarter, where it notched a Rs 9.6 crore profit. The loss for the nine-month period ended March 31 was Rs 244 crore. Commenting on the performance, Deccan Aviation MD Capt GR Gopinath said, “A combination of high operational costs and oversupply is creating a weak domestic yield environment in the industry. Fuel prices are once again close to historically high levels, coupled with the fact that February and March are inherently weaker months for the travel industry.”

The airline spent about Rs 229 crore on fuel during the quarter. Talking of the airline’s problems with the migration to a new central reservation system which resulted in botched up bookings and inaccurate transaction reports, he said, “We were impacted by costs relating to migration of our central reservation system and reduction in available seat kilometres to enable bunching up of our maintenance program. These measures are expected to enhance our operational and financial performance in the coming quarters. This has impacted our financial results this quarter which have been sluggish.” The airline’s load factors, which were at a high of 83% during February, fell to below break-even levels of 70% in March, sources said. The airline, which operates 65 destinations in India, carried 17.17 lakh passengers in the quarter. Currently, the airline operates 19 Airbus A 320 aircraft with an average age of 1.5 years and 24 ATR turboprop aircraft.

Courtesy: TNN

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SpiceJet places order for ten Next-Generation 737's

New Delhi-based SpiceJet has ordered 10 Next-Generation 737-800s. The order, valued at more than $700 million at list prices, follows previous orders in February 2005 and August 2006 for a total of 30 737s. The 10 737s will be fitted with Blended Winglets, which will improve fuel efficiency, increase range, and reduce CO2 emissions and takeoff noise. SpiceJet, one of India's newest start-up private carriers, uses a single-class seating configuration on its short- and medium-haul flights within India. SpiceJet began service in May 2005 with three leased Boeing 737-800s, and today operates a fleet of 11 737-800s.

Courtesy: Reuters

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Airbus A380 to fly to India for Kingfisher Airlines

The Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft will arrive in Indian skies next month on a promotional flight for Kingfisher Airlines, the carrier said on Thursday. The A380, plagued by delays, is scheduled to visit Mumbai and New Delhi from May 7 to May 10 for Kingfisher's second anniversary celebrations, according to a statement. Kingfisher, owned by India's UB Group which controls the top brewer and spirits maker, has placed a firm order for five A380 aircraft and has an option for five more. India's main airports are bursting at the seams with newly-launched airlines and a sharp surge in passenger and freight traffic in a booming economy, but a spokesman for the Mumbai airport said the financial hub could handle the aircraft.

"The airport is perfectly capable of handling the A380 now," said a spokesman for Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. "And by the time the aircraft are delivered and begin flying to India, we will have a new terminal with special facilities for parking and handling the large number of passengers," he said. Airbus, part of the EADS group, expects Indian firms to place orders for 1,100 passenger and freighter aircraft valued at about $105 billion over 20 years.

Courtesy: Reuters

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Big airlines shop for small jets

The country’s scheduled domestic carriers are ordering over 150 small jets, which will be delivered in the next two to three years. Carriers like Indian, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Paramount Airways, apart from a host of start-up airlines, are sewing up deals to acquire 50-70 seater aircraft for less congested routes. As many as 35-40 new small jets will join various fleets by the end of this year. Indian is planning to have 16 50-seater turboprop aircraft. This is in addition to its earlier plan to acquire six 70-seater regional jets on lease. Kingfisher Airlines is set to add 8 ATRs to its fleet this year, while it has already placed confirmed orders for 35 ATRs.

The country’s largest budget carrier, Air Deccan, will add 25 more 72-seater turboprop jets in the next three years. Start-up airlines such as MDLR Airlines are also planning to go in for Bombardier or Embraer jets to start point-to-point services. At present, only 18 per cent of the 400 civilian aircraft in the country are jets with below 100 seats, but in the next two years they would comprise over 37 per cent of the 600-odd aircraft in the Indian skies. One reason for this proliferation, of course, is the sops provided on small jets. Finance Minister P Chidambaram, while presenting the Union Budget 2007-08, had extended “declared goods status” for ATF sold to new generation small aircraft with a maximum take-off mass of less than 40,000 kg, operated by scheduled airlines.

ATF for these planes is exempted from sales tax (which can be in the range of 30 per cent). Explaining the demand for small jets, an Indian Airlines executive says: “ATRs consume less fuel than bigger jets. Regional jets are ideal to deploy on short-haul routes like Delhi-Kulu or Mumbai-Bhavnagar.” Added Kingfisher’s Executive Vice-President Hitesh Patel, “In the backdrop of the government’s route disbursal guidelines, no domestic airline can operate without two types of fleets. One cannot have profitable operations flying Airbus 320 or Boeing 737 aircraft to a tier-III city. An ATR is ideal for such operations.”

Courtesy: Business Standard

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Multi million dollar investment to fuel Jet Airways growth

As part of the comprehensive expansion plans that include launching new seats, new in-flight service, new staff uniforms and a new corporate identity, Chairman, Naresh Goyal confirmed that deliveries for the first of the 20 wide body aircraft will commence this month end. The ten Boeing B777-300ER and ten Airbus A330-200 aircraft order is valued at USD 2.1 billion. More than two years in the making, Jet Airways have considered every detail in the development of their new fleet of wide body aircraft. Starting with the state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A330-200, Jet Airways has redesigned everything from the ground up, not happy to accept industry norms. In addition, Jet Airways holds options for further additional aircraft of each type and have recently signed to purchase ten Boeing B787 Dreamliner aircraft with deliveries commencing in 2011. The B787 order is valued at USD1.6 Billion.

In all Jet Airways will invest USD3.7 billion in new aircraft pursuing an aggressive growth strategy. The new Jet Airways Boeing B777’s will be configured in three classes, eight First Class, thirty Première and two hundred and seventy four Economy seats and will initially operate on the Mumbai-London route. This will be the first time Jet Airways has offered a First Class service and an entirely new First Class suite has been created onboard. As further deliveries of these B777 aircraft are made, Jet Airways will launch daily services to New York via Brussels. It is planned that these services will commence in early August. Daily Services to San Francisco via Shanghai are also planned with the B777 fleet in winter 2007. The Airbus A330 aircraft, will be configured in two classes, thirty Première and one hundred and ninety Economy seats, and will operate the daily Delhi-London services.

It will also be deployed on flights from India to markets such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Johannesburg and Toronto via Brussels. The new Première lie flat beds on both aircraft types are all new and represent the absolute latest in airline seat technology. Featuring a 73" bed length, that electronically converts to an enormous 180 degree flat bed with lumbar support and massage systems, Première passengers will rest in unequalled comfort. The Première seat also provides an oversized table, laptop power, telephony, SMS, Email and live text news to deliver a flying office for those Première passengers wanting to work. Jet Airways will be the first airline in the world to install this new economy seat with a seat pitch of 32". It has been designed using the science of advanced ergonomics to create arguably the most comfortable economy seat in the sky. Developed by Panasonic, the new state-of-art eX2 system will deliver an unparalleled and unique range of In-Flight Entertainment options to Jet Airways passengers, whatever class of service they choose to fly.

As part of comprehensive plans to prepare for the airline’s major thrust into International markets the Corporate Identity and Brand mark of the airline has been refreshed and contemporized. Its wide body aircraft will be delivered with a sparkling new livery and all staff will have exquisitely designed new uniforms. Mr. Naresh Goyal, Chairman Jet Airways said "Jet Airways believes in continuously redefining and enhancing the customer experience. This multi million dollar investment in its international product reflects the same. Jet Airways vision is to emerge amongst the top five carriers globally in the next few years". Commenting on the expansion plans Jet Airways Chairman; Mr. Naresh Goyal said "We have been working on these plans for more than two years. Having changed the way people fly in India, we will now take our very own brand of service and style, the spirit of New India, to the rest of the world".

Couretsy: Equity Bulls

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Air Sahara to be renamed Jetlite

Air Sahara, which was taken over by rival Jet Airways last week, will be renamed Jetlite and will function as an independent entity, it was announced here Monday. Jetlite will be positioned between a low cost and full-service carrier. "It will have its own fleet," Jet chairman Naresh Goyal said at a press conference. These changes will come into effect from April 20. Jet, which is India's largest private airline, took over Air Sahara in a Rs.14.5-billion deal last Thursday, making it the largest air operator in the Indian domestic aviation sector.

Courtesy: UNI

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Jet Airways staff to don new look

Next time when you are at the Airport to catch a Jet flight for your destination, you will get to see a 'new look' on-board and ground staff of the Airline. A creation of famous Italian designer Roberto Cappuci, the dynamic and professional attire has been designed to take airline uniforms onto the fashion runways at airports around the world. The fact, he had never designed airline uniforms before, coupled with his reputation for elegant style, is what made Cappuci the perfect choice to create something never seen before in airline uniforms. And the assignment was no-less than a challenge to his creativity that just added to his growing love for India.

Jet wanted him to design in such a way that the attire creates a totally new-look for all categories of employees that was elegant, classic with a western style and an Indian touch as well. "The charisma and enthusiasm of the airlines chairman Naresh Goyal has been a constant driving force for me and this assignment has only enhanced my great passion for India, its people and culture," Capuuci today said. While designing the new attire, he envisioned a group of smart people rather than 'air crew'. He let the inspiration of the Indian 'universe', which is often present in his creations, lead him.

Courtesy: UNI

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CISF personnel to guard Delhi Metro

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Sunday took over the responsibility from police to guard Delhi Metro - the capital's lifeline that could be a potential terror target. Ranjit Kumar Das, chief of the paramilitary force, pledged that the CISF personnel would ensure zero-error safety and security to the capital's modern landmark without harassing commuters. Addressing a function here to mark the takeover of the safety aspects of the Delhi Metro railway network by the CISF, he said: "My boys have a record of providing zero-error security to various installations and achieve perfection in discharge of their duty. "The CISF would live up to its motto of zero-error security, while ensuring that no commuter gets harassed in the process," Das added.

Delhi Metro, the second of its kind in India after Kolkata, till now had 650-odd personnel of Delhi Police to guard it besides the same number of CISF personnel. Now, over 1,630 CISF staff would provide the security cover. Delhi Police Commissioner K.K. Paul also endorsed the deployment of CISF personnel, saying that the new arrangement would provide the intra-city rail network "focussed security", while police would be able to utilise their resources on overseeing law and order in the capital. To coordinate its security measures for Delhi Metro, the CISF has established a central control room at the Shastri Park station, besides control rooms at other stations. The paramilitary force will also deploy a Quick Reaction Team comprising four personnel at each station.

Courtesy: IANS

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Air Deccan starts flights to Shimla

Low-budget carrier Air Deccan Saturday started flights connecting New Delhi and the popular resort town Shimla. 'To start with, there will be four flights a week and if the business is good we may even consider morning and evening flights daily,' Air Deccan managing director G.R. Gopinath said here. 'For the first six months several Shimla hotels will book 12 seats on every flight and will pay Air Deccan over Rs.7.5 million at the end of the six months so that this route is made viable and popularised,' he said. 'The tariffs will range from Rs.1,000 to Rs.4,000 and average around Rs.2,000,' he said. Air Deccan will start 48-seater flights to Shimla, which was so far served by 20-seater flights by Jagson airlines. The Shimla airport runway has recently been increased to enable landing of 50-seater plains. Air Deccan operates 350 flights daily, 80 percent of them to non-metros, officials of the company said.

Courtesy: PTI

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Kingfisher Airlines likely to begin operations in Vadodara by May

Vijay Mallya owned Kingfisher Airlines is all set to start its service from here in the first week of May, according to a senior official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The official, on condition of anonymity, said a study has been conducted on the runway, parking and other requirements of the Kingfisher planes. It now paves the way for the airlines to sign an agreement by the last week of this month and the operations will commence by first week of May, said the official. Currently, Air Deccan, Indian and Air-India operatE from here.

Courtesy: UNI

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Lufthansa facility for Hyderabad

Lufthansa Technik, leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul of airplanes, components and engines, has decided to set up a new facility in Hyderabad to support the growing aviation sector in India. The new facility will be located in the Greenfield Rajiv Gandhi International Airport coming up at Shamshabad, near here. Lufthansa Technik will team up with GMR Group, infrastructure developer and the concessionaire of airports in Hyderabad and Delhi. The facility will provide base maintenance services for the Airbus A 320 family and Boeing 737 aircraft, including 737 Classic and 737 NG (next generation), according to August W. Henningsen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Technik AG.

Announcing the new facility at a press conference here on Friday, he said the investment in the two-bay hangar and its state-of-art workshops would exceed Rs. 100 crores (20 million USD) in the initial phase. Construction of the 20,000-square metre facility would begin this year. The facility is expected to commence operations by 2008-end with two parallel lines to serve the maintenance requirements of the rapidly growing narrow body fleet of Indian carriers. "With more than 400 airplanes on order, the Indian aviation market is one of the fastest growing in the world. The new facility will complement the existing MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) support being provided to new and the existing fleets in India," he added.

The company requires 400 highly qualified personnel once the facility is fully operational. "Plan is to concentrate recruitment within Andhra Pradesh," designated Managing Director of the new company Dominik Wiener-Silva said. Chief Operating Officer, GMR Hyderabad International Limited, T. Srinagesh said the international airport would be functional from March, 2008,when the first flight was expected to take off. Replying to a question, Mr. Henningsen said Lufthansa Technik had signed a Total Component Support contract with Air Deccan and was sole provider of support services to Kingfisher Airlines. It had concluded contracts with Jet Airways, Go Air, Air India, Indian and Air Sahara.

Courtesy: PTI

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Kingfisher Airlines snaps ground-handling deal with Indian

Kingfisher Airlines is terminating the ground handling agreement with Indian, which it struck at the time of inception two years back. The Vijay Mallya-led airline is ending the contract, which heralded a large outsourcing deal worth Rs 120 crore annually with Indian, as it is opting for self-ground handling, a company official said. The development comes at a time when Kingfisher Airline was looking at re-negotiating the contract, which was perceived to be an expensive affair for the airline, sources added. Mr Mallya had earlier hinted at the re-negotiating the deal. “The ground-handling deal with Indian estimated approximately at Rs 120 crore annually would result in significant savings besides improving efficiencies,” Rajesh Verma, executive V-P, Kingfisher Airlines, told ET.

Sources said Kingfisher could save up to 50% having opted for self ground-handling that comprises passenger handling at the city side of the airport and aircraft handling. It also includes loading and unloading of aircraft, fuelling, cleaning and push-back facilities. Currently full service carriers like Jet Airways, Sahara and Indian have self-ground handling operations. However Kingfisher Airline’s existing aircraft engineering and maintenance agreement that was part of the outsourcing deal with Indian will continue. And the private airline would also continue to share Indian’s terminal in Mumbai and Delhi. GoAir is another private carrier using the same terminals. With self-ground handling operations Kingfisher Airlines will have its own equipment like baggage coaches, tractors, belt loader and trolleys.

The airline will also have its own loaders and ramp agents. Mr Verma says, “Ground handling constitutes 6% of our total operational cost.” Kingfisher with around 10% share of the passenger market by volume operates over 153 flights daily across 27 destinations. The airline has a fleet of over 25 aircraft from the Airbus family and ATR. Kingfisher Airlines is the first Indian carrier to have placed an order for five Airbus A380s, five A350s, five A340s and five A330s. The deliveries of A330s are expected to begin in 2007, of A340s in 2008 while the A380s and A350s arrive in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Courtesy: Economic Times

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Oman Air to start flights to Lucknow and Jaipur

Oman Air, one of the fastest growing airlines in the region, is adding three new destinations to its expanding network.It would start operations to Chittagong in Bangladesh on May 1, the airline's manager in Qatar Ghalib Salim Bawazir told Gulf Times yesterday. It will be the first international flight to land in Chittagong, Ghalib pointed out.The flights operate on five days - on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, leaving Muscat at 12.30am to reach the destination at 7am presenting an ideal opportunity for passengers from the Bangladesh community to fly with immediate connections out of Muscat to Chittagong. The airline offers daily service from Doha to Muscat, leaving at 9.15pm to reach there at 11.30pm. On the same day, it would add Lucknow in India, flying thrice a week - on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, leaving Muscat at 12.35am to arrive in the Indian city at 5.25am, Ghalib said.

This will be followed by Jaipur (Rajasthan), on June 1. Future destinations would include London, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Milan, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, he said. Meanwhile, Oman Air was planning to buy a number of planes including Airbus 200/300, of which some would begin to operate in 2009, he said.Procedures were going on to appoint a consultant to conduct a feasibility study on the issue, he added. Some of these would be used for long haul flights to places in Europe and the Far East.Oman Air, he said, would re-brand the image that would incorporate the latest developments in the aviation field. A British consultant had been asked to study and propose restructuring the brand of the airline, Ghalib added.

Courtesy: Gulf Times

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Kingfisher Airlines Launches Direct Flights Between Guwahati and Imphal

Kingfisher Airlines, India’s fastest growing private carrier and the first airline in India to offer a premium first class service on domestic routes, today announced the launch of direct flights from Guwahati to Imphal. Kingfisher Airlines will fly three flights a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at very convenient times for day-return travelers. The flight schedule will also offer convenient connections for guests traveling from Imphal to Kolkata and in the return direction as well. With the launch of this service, Kingfisher Airlines will connect 27 cities with 153 flights a day on the wings of a fleet of 25 brand new aircraft. Commenting on the launch of this new route, Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines Limited said, “Kingfisher Airlines has re-defined the experience of flying and has come to be regarded as an airline that sets new benchmarks in service excellence for the industry.

Through the launch of this new route, Kingfisher Airlines re-affirms its commitment towards addressing the needs of its guests by providing connectivity between important and up-coming cities in India. The pace of growth of Kingfisher Airlines Limited coupled with our constant endeavour to raise the bar has endeared Kingfisher Airlines to its guests and this is sure to catapult Kingfisher Airlines into the position of a market leader by the year 2010.” Mr. Manoj Chacko, General Manager, Global Sales & Distribution, Kingfisher Airlines Limited said, “All our efforts are focused on offering our guests enhanced convenience in terms of connectivity and service. The introduction of flight service between Imphal and Guwahati is a step towards that. With this new route Kingfisher Airlines will provide conveniently timed flights to air travelers to and from Imphal.

Courtesy: Business Wire

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Air Mauritius plans flights to Bangalore

With the number of Indian tourists to Mauritius (especially from South India) going up by 50 per cent in the last three years, Air Mauritius plans to start a direct Bangalore-Mauritius flight by mid-2008. Speaking to Business Line on the potential of the Indian market, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Manoj R.K. Ujoodha, said, "India is going to be an important market with an emerging middle class and the rising per capita income of the Indian population. Lot of Indians wish to travel, and we capture a very small percentage of that." Going by the figures from the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, India, around 37,000 Indians travelled to Mauritius in 2006. "We are expecting a growth of 10 to 15 per cent in 2007, primarily because of the higher carrying capacity of Air Mauritius," said Mr Rajeev Nangia, Associate Director, Mauritius Tourism.

The airline recently replaced its Boeing 767s with A340 to raise its seating capacity by 70 per cent. Airbus A330 will be introduced in November, Mr Ujoodha said. Air Mauritius is looking at their Indian strategy in terms of revenue with the target of Rs 100 crore in 2007-08. In 2006-07, the revenues from India were Rs 74.5 crore. Strengthening its presence in India, the airline has appointed Mr Girish Vidwans as Head of Sales & Marketing for India and Mr Sampath Kumar Jayram as Sales & Marketing Manager for the southern region. 'We will be finalising someone for New Delhi soon,' he said. Also, representative offices in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi, Bangalore and Chandigarh are to be set up to tap the tourism potential in these cities. Air Mauritius will also enter into strategic partnerships with select tour operators in Mumbai and Delhi to expand its business from sale of air tickets to complete holiday packages.

'It should come through in the next six months,' Mr Ujoodha, CEO added, refusing to name the tour operators. At present, Air Mauritius is flying twice a week out of Delhi, thrice a week from Mumbai that run into four during peak time (summer months) and once a week from Chennai. 'Tourists from Mauritius mainly come for shopping to India and visit our hills,' said Mr Nangia of Mauritius Tourism. Adds Mr Ujoodha, 'India now has more packages, is getting more sophisticated and becoming a world-class tourist destination. So we are looking not only at Mauritius, but using Mauritius to get traffic from Madagascar and even nearby islands to India.'

Courtesy: Business Line

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Jet Airways buys Air Sahara for Rs 1450 crore

Finally, the deal has been sealed. Jet Airways has agreed to buy out Sahara Airlines for Rs 1450 crore. Both Jet and Sahara have submitted their proposal to the Arbitrators. Hence, it is curtains down for the largest deal in Indian aviation history with Naresh Goyal led Jet Airways taking over the airline services of Air Sahara. While market analysts termed the deal as “expensive”, Jet Airways is bullish about getting larger market share, greater domestic and international footprint in terms of providing air travel services. Jet will enjoy the rights on brand Air Sahara for first six months while it would be returned to Sahara group after that. After having exited the airline services, Air Sahara would operate helicopter services under its own ‘Air Sahara’ brand. Meanwhile, the Jet Airways informed BSE that the Company and Sahara Airlines have settled their disputes with regard to the Share Purchase Agreement of January 18, 2006.

Jet said that it has agreed to acquire all the shares of Sahara Airlines for a lump-sum price of Rs 1450 Crore. Rs 500 Crores has already been paid. Rs 400 Crore is payable immediately no later than April 20, 2007. The balance Rs 550 Crore is payable in four interest free annual equal instalments commencing on or before March 30, 2008. At the current interest rate, the NPV of the lump-sum price is in the vicinity of Rs 1200 Crore. At 3 pm, the Jet Airways stock shot up by 3.3 percent to Rs 629.10. The deal was signed after the panel comprising British judge Lord Stein and Supreme Court Justices S P Bharucha and Jeevan Reddy, vetted the draft proposal prepared by Jet and Sahara. The two later submitted a revised and final proposal to the three-member court-monitored committee, sources close to the development said. Soon after the deal was signed, a beaming Jet Chairman, Naresh Goyal, said: "It is a good deal which is going to help us."

Courtesy: PTI

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Air Deccan offers free tickets scheme on Baisakhi

To attract more and more air passenger Air Deccan has announced a mega offer of 5, 00, 000 tickets priced at Rs 0/- (plus taxes and surcharge), on the occasion of the Baisakhi. The tickets will be available for sale across all sectors and all its 350 flights for travel between July 1, 2007 and October 27, 2007. Bookings for these tickets will open on the morning of April 14, 2007 (Saturday) at 8 a.m. The airline also announced the opening of regular bookings across all flights and sectors for travel between July 1, 2007 and October 27, 2007 on the same day. Samyukth Sridharan, Chief Revenue Officer and Head Marketing Air Deccan claims that "We were the first to release Rs 500/- and Re 1/- tickets and this time we have taken a step forward by releasing FREE* tickets for the first time in the history of the airline. He said that Air Deccan believe this will assist it in making flying common in India. He said that the idea is to encourage and stimulate travel even during lean seasons.

An average load factor of 80 per cent over the last six months is a witness to the fact that they have been able to maintain a healthy balance between peak and non-peak seasons, said he. Air Deccan also announced that all new tickets booked on and after 14th April 2007 would not be refundable. The tickets can however be rescheduled to another date, flight or sector (new feature). Air Deccan tickets can be purchased through the Air Deccan Website - or thorough Air Deccan Airport Counters, Travel Agents across India and the 24 / 7 All India Call Centre at 39008888 (please prefix your city code if dialing from a mobile). The airline currently operates a brand new fleet of 19 Airbus A - 320 aircraft, with an average age of 1.5 years and 24 ATR Turboprop aircraft. Since its inception in August 2003, Air Deccan has carried over nine million passengers and the numbers are growing everyday.

Courtesy: ANI

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Kingfisher Airlines goes mobile

At the Miramar Beach, not many people seemed to take special notice of the a bright red colored Maruti Omni parked amongst the cars. Must be a brand promotion gimmick, many might think. But on closer observation, it turns out that the van is not a promotion gimmick but an innovation in itself. Kingfisher Airlines has now hit the roads so as to speak, by launching a mobile ticketing van on the roads. Inside the van, sits a Kingfisher employee (who refused to identify herself due to company policies) armed with a laptop and wireless Tata Phone through which she connects into the Sabre ticketing system of the airline. “Through the Internet, I am locked in on a VPN connection with Kingfisher master system and I can book tickets on the go itself,” the employee in distinctive red uniform informs.

There are two ways of making payment, namely cash and credit card, and the customer is immediately given a confirmed printout like an e-ticket. So how has been the response till date? If one were to go by her comments, customers have quite liked the freedom offered by the mobile booking van. “We have registered over 8000 tickets in the past few months of trial itself,” she adds. The van is currently parked at different tourist hotspots over the day, starting from Madgoan, it proceeds its way depending on the time of the day and the crowds on the beach. Incidentally, the van bears a Mumbai registration number plate, “that is because we had launched this van in Mumbai first, but there were a few issues namely, that of parking etc., hence the management decided to shift the van to Goa,” adds the lady in red.

Courtesy: Cybermedia News

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Jet Airways to buy Air Sahara for Rs 1,850 cr

Jet Airways has offered to buy Air Sahara for Rs 1,850 crore. The amount is less than Rs 350 crore which Jet had offered to pay in January 2006. Jet had then valued Air Sahara at Rs 2200 crore. Sources tell TV18 Network that Jet is offering less amount to account for creditors' dues. Jet has already paid Rs 680 crore to Air Sahara – Rs 180 crore for reviving the airline and Rs 500 crore as bank guarantee. Speaking about the deal Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said, “As far as I am concerned I can’t comment on the matter. I can’t give any comments at this time. Everything will be known through the arbitrators hopefully by tomorrow.”

Aviation expert are saying there will be a very tricky situation for Jet Airways. Jet Airways already has a wide range of network in India and it is looking for expansion in a major way as far as the global operations are concerned. Experts say that it would have been better for both Jet Airways and Sahara Airways if they had merged before one year. But at present there is lot of competition so it will be really tough going. Jet Airways will be spending quit a lot of money in getting the airline, paying off the creditors and that could impact Jet operations. Jet announced in March 2006 that its plans to buy Sahara were on track. After the deal fell through, following Jet's failure to get regulatory clearances by the deadline of June 21 2006, both parties moved court and the matter was directed for arbitration.

A week after the proposed merger between Jet and Sahara fell through - a merger that was touted as the biggest aviation deal in India - the legal battle lines were drawn and later the deal capped a series of developments. Following the scrap of the acquisition deal, both the parties moved to court to stop the other party from operating the escrow account opened for the deal. Sahara filed a caveat in the Supreme Court (SC). A caveat is a formal notice filed by a party with the court or an officer, requesting the postponement of a proceeding until the filer is heard. Sahara filed the caveat after the media reported that Jet Airways had stated that the decision not to salvage the $500 million merger deal was purely on 'commercial considerations' and that it was moving the Supreme Court for transfer of litigation in different courts - Lucknow and Bombay High Court.

Jet also filed a petition under Section 9 in the Bombay High Court. Till the time of the verdict, Sahara wanted the escrow account of Rs 1,500 crore with ICICI Bank frozen. Afterwards, Sahara threatened to sue Jet Airways, seeking damages to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore from the airline for illegally backing out from the deal. Sahara has also threatened to sue Jet Airways, seeking damages to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore from the airline for illegally backing out from the deal. However, under pressure to come clean, the Government said that the Jet-Sahara deal did not fail due to procedural delays. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patul refuted Jet Airways' allegation that policy delays on the Government's part led to the failure of the Jet-Sahara deal. Patel said the Government policy has been in place since May 2006 and that the Centre does not need to put together new policy just for one specific deal.

Courtesy: CNN-IBN

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Texas Pacific eyes Air Deccan stake

The US-based private equity firm Texas Pacific group, among three others, is in talks with country’s second largest airline Air Deccan for picking up a minority stake. Sources said the low fare airline is planning to raise around $100 million by diluting 5 to 7 per cent stake to private equity players. Air Deccan has mandated Edelweiss Capital for raising funds which would be utilised for expansion. “Edelweiss has shortlisted three to four players who are willing to invest in Air Deccan. A deal is likely to be signed in next 10 days. Among four players, Texas Pacific has emerged as aggressive player,” the sources said. Texas Pacific, which has made investments in airlines globally, had dropped its plans to invest $30 million in the Delhi-based budget carrier SpiceJet owing to differences in valuation.

A senior Air Deccan executive declined to comment on the issue. Operating 43 aircraft, Air Deccan has the largest network in India covering 61 airports, plying over 300 flights a day. As on December 31, promoters of the airline hold 22.13 per cent of stake, while the public, including the ICICI Venture-promoted India Advantage Fund-1 with 14.22 per cent and the UK-based Investec Bank with 1.96 per cent, holds remaining stake. SpiceJet has raised nearly Rs 300 crore from private equity firms, while the Chennai-based Paramount Airways managed to get over Rs 80 crore. Meanwhile, the Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways are in talks with private equity for raising funds.

Courtesy: PTI

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Mumbai-Karwar Summer Special to run upto Kumta

In order to clear the summer rush, the Central Railway (CR) has decided to extend the 109/110 CST Mumbai-Karwar Summer Special train up to Kumta with immediate effect. The 109 CST Mumbai-Karwar summer special train will leave Karwar at 1257 hrs and arrive Kumta at 1355 hrs. The 110 Kumta-CST Mumbai summerS pecial train will leave Kumta at 1415 hrs, and arrive at Karwar 1502 hrs, a CR release here said today. However, there will be no change in the timings of the 109/110 train between CST Mumbai and Karwar as announced earlier. Meanwhile, CR has also announced changes in the timings of the 1006 Up Latur-Mumbai tri-weekly express for operational reasons from April 9. According to the new timings, the 1006 Up train will leave Manmad at 0305 hrs instead of 0250 hrs and arrive at CST Mumbai at 0010 hrs instead of 0745 hrs. However, there will be no change in the timings between Latur and Manmad, the release added.

Courtesy: UNI

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Indian Airlines to begin Surat-Delhi flights

BJP MP Kashiram Rana today said that Indian Airlines would start their daily service from Delhi to Surat and back on May 1, the Gujarat formation day. In a telephonic conversation, Rana told UNI that Airbus 319 will leave Delhi at 1030 hrs on May 1 and reach Surat by noon. The return flight from Surat to Delhi will leave from here at 1300 hrs. Rana has said he would be travelling in the flight along with civil aviation minister Praful Patel and Airport Authority of India (AAI) chairman K Ramalingam on May 1. The flight would not stop anywhere en route and will have both economy and business classes on it. Rana said many private airline companies were interested in beginning services from Surat airport and in few months services to different places will be operational. All the arrangements that have to be completed in the Magdella airport in Surat before the first flight lands was discussed at high level meeting held in Delhi yesterday, Rana said. The meeting was attended by AAI chairman K Ramalingam and Indian Airlines chairman Vishwapathi Trivedi.

Courtesy: UNI

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Air Deccan signs agreement with Frankfinn

Low cost airline, Air Deccan today announced a tie-up with Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training under which Air Deccan will recruit cabin crew only from the Frankfinn. Adressing mediapersons here today, Air Deccan Managing Director, Capt G R Gopinath said ''Over the last couple of years the profile of air passengers has changed considerably. This tie-up is aimed at making the passengers journey, especially those coming from non-metro cities, more comfortable.'' Chairman of the Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training, K S Kohli, said ''The Air Deccan-Frankfinn tie-up will provide the right platform for scores of young men and women from all parts of India including small towns and cities to seek an exciting and dynamic career in the growing aviation sector,'' he added. Dubbed as the first-ever such agreement in the country's aviation sector, the alliance guarantees Air deccan easy availability of skilled cabin crew.

Frankfinn, in turn, will be able to guarantee as many as 400 placements as cabin crew each year during the contract period, which is for two years. Stating the tie-up will ensure a guaranteed availability of the skilled crew to Air Deccan, Mr kohli said ''India is projected to be the fastest growing country in terms of annual worldwide commercial passengers, resulting in demand for the cabin crew which is 7-10 times higher than the current availability. Our alliance with Air Deccan will be an asset for our students and translate into great business opportunities for both the companies.'' At present, an average of 30 trained crew members are required by an airline per aircraft. And at the current pace of growth, with the collective industry fleet strength expected to reach 900 from the present 350 by 2009, the aviation sector in the country would need 7,500-8,000 cabin crew each year, he added.

Air Deccan has a requirement of 400 air hostesses and flight stewards every year. And the tie-up ensures that Frankfinn will be able to guarantee upto 400 placements as cabin crew every year during the contract period. Under the agreement, Air Deccan will also provide on-baord live training to all Frankfinn students. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), by 2010 the travel within Asia will become the largest with 678 million passengers compared to 552 million passengers in the US domestic market. Air Deccan, at present, is the second largest airline in the country, with a market share of 21.60 per cent. Keeping in mind the boom in the aviation sector, the company is eyeing for passengers from the non-metro cities. It is expecting to carry eight million passengers by this year.

Courtesy: UNI

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Five top managers quit Jet Airways

Trouble is brewing at India's largest private air carrier Jet Airways, with five of its top managers having quit citing "poor management practices", a TV channel said Wednesday. Jet Airways' vice president (South East Asia) V. Raju, head of training Michal Tan, vice president (communications) Nandini Verma, senior general manager Vijay Sethi and head of training Ravindran were among those who put in their papers, the CNBC-TV18 channel said quoting unnamed sources. "They have resigned citing poor management practices, lack of authority to take discussions and centralisation of power in London, as the reasons of their resignations," it said. The channel quoted sources to say that a number of other key employees were likely to follow.

The resignations come as a severe blow to the airline and its operations are likely to suffer in the highly competitive domestic aviation sector. The senior managers have quit at a time when Jet Airways is preparing to face the legal battle over the "failed" merger with rival Air Sahara. Jet Airways had signed an agreement in January 2006 with Air Sahara to acquire 100 percent stake in the latter. Jet Airways had paid Rs.1.8 billion for the revival of Air Sahara and Rs.5 billion for the Air Sahara shares, besides depositing Rs.15 billion in the escrow account opened for the purpose. However, the deal fell through in June following Jet Airways' failure to get regulatory clearance from the government. Air Sahara then moved court in Lucknow seeking to bar Jet Airways from operating the escrow account.

Courtesy: IANS

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Etihad to double flights, destinations in India

Etihad Airways, a national airline of United Arab Emirates (UAE), is set to expand its services to India with the launch of two new routes from Abu Dhabi to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and Kochi (Cochin) in the southern India state of Kerala. The new cities will double Etihad's destinations in India to four, joining highly successful services to Mumbai and 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.

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. Following the launch of services to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, Etihad will fly to nine destinations on the Asian sub-continent to join New Delhi and Mumbai in India as well as Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar in Pakistan and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Courtesy: Financial Express

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