New Delhi: Today the air space between 26,000 feet and 46,000 feet in the Chennai Flight Information Region (FIR) will be handled by Chennai control, instead of four different controls as is being done now. At present, individual controls in various cities, including Bangalore, Mangalore, Vizag, and guide aircraft through their flight.
The integration of various ATC radars into one in Chennai will also mean that the cockpit crew flying in the higher zones will have to communicate with only one person rather than various people as happens when they are transferred from one ATC to another during a flight.
“Aircraft flying from the Far East and going to the West will benefit from the introduction of the system. For domestic airlines, the real benefit will be on the Delhi-Mumbai routes,” a senior pilot with Air India said.
A senior pilot with a private airline points out that the real benefit of the system will start coming in when there is an integrated air space management system throughout the Indian airspace. AAI is already working on this and expects it to happen by next year.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Economic Growth to Drive the Indian Aerospace Industry: MM Pallam Raju
New Delhi: The economic growth in the country and rest of Asia will drive the Indian aerospace industry growth, said Mr MM Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defence during the inaugural session of 6th International Conference on "Energising Indian Aerospace Industry: Emerging Opportunities, Enduring Partnerships" jointly organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) here today.
Other key drivers and enablers are huge domestic demand, defence offsets, Information Technology prowess of Indian industry and track record of honouring Intellectual Property Rights. There exist a lot of potential for the Indian industry not only in the defence sector but also in the civil aerospace sector. Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul activities will further propel the growth of aerospace industry.
Indian Air Force expects life long commitment from the Indian Industry: Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne. While speaking in the inaugural session of 6th International Conference on "Energising Indian Aerospace Industry: Emerging Opportunities, Enduring Partnerships," Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne observed that Indian Air Force expects life long commitment from the Indian Industry for its short term and long term requirements. We cannot keep relying on the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers forever. Therefore, Indian Industry has the support of the Indian Air Force as IAF is ready to lead the race. By giving a special emphasis on the importance of Indian private sector industry's participation in the major upcoming projects, he said that IAF expects larger participation in the Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MTA)
New Delhi: The economic growth in the country and rest of Asia will drive the Indian aerospace industry growth, said Mr MM Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defence during the inaugural session of 6th International Conference on "Energising Indian Aerospace Industry: Emerging Opportunities, Enduring Partnerships" jointly organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) here today.
Other key drivers and enablers are huge domestic demand, defence offsets, Information Technology prowess of Indian industry and track record of honouring Intellectual Property Rights. There exist a lot of potential for the Indian industry not only in the defence sector but also in the civil aerospace sector. Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul activities will further propel the growth of aerospace industry.
Indian Air Force expects life long commitment from the Indian Industry: Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne. While speaking in the inaugural session of 6th International Conference on "Energising Indian Aerospace Industry: Emerging Opportunities, Enduring Partnerships," Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne observed that Indian Air Force expects life long commitment from the Indian Industry for its short term and long term requirements. We cannot keep relying on the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers forever. Therefore, Indian Industry has the support of the Indian Air Force as IAF is ready to lead the race. By giving a special emphasis on the importance of Indian private sector industry's participation in the major upcoming projects, he said that IAF expects larger participation in the Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MTA)
One missed chance to land led to 30-min wait
Kolkata: A problem in the Boeing 737-800 aircraft's controls in which chief minister Mamata Banerjee was travelling from Bagdogra to Kolkata on Thursday forced the pilot to let go of the first opportunity to land at 2.58pm.
Though the snag was sorted out within a couple of minutes and the pilot was ready to steer the aircraft back to align with the runway, the situation had changed dramatically.
Bad weather, an emergency in the air and a missed approach by a freighter in the turbulent 30 minutes that followed kept the Jet Airways flight carrying Mamata on hold. It was only after the cascading events concluded that flight 9W-2481 had the chance to approach the runway once again and land. The Jet Airways pilot did not contact the ATC to seek a priority landing, citing the presence of CM on board. And the controller in touch with him did not impose any restrictions.
These are the findings of the investigation into why the flight carrying Mamata had hovered over Kolkata for over 30 minutes despite reaching Kolkata on time. Though there was nothing unusual in the sequence of events on Wednesday afternoon, the probe was conducted following a formal complaint from the state government. An angry Mamata had on Wednesday claimed that her flight had been deliberately delayed till it was low on fuel. "A disaster could have happened any moment," she had alleged.
Though everyone in the aviation industry was shocked at her outburst and the accusation, airport officials said that while an error could have happened, suggestion of an intentional act that would jeopardise safety of a flight was preposterous. Officials hope the probe report, that is expected to be submitted to the state government and civil aviation ministry on Friday, will clear the air.
Though the snag was sorted out within a couple of minutes and the pilot was ready to steer the aircraft back to align with the runway, the situation had changed dramatically.
Bad weather, an emergency in the air and a missed approach by a freighter in the turbulent 30 minutes that followed kept the Jet Airways flight carrying Mamata on hold. It was only after the cascading events concluded that flight 9W-2481 had the chance to approach the runway once again and land. The Jet Airways pilot did not contact the ATC to seek a priority landing, citing the presence of CM on board. And the controller in touch with him did not impose any restrictions.
These are the findings of the investigation into why the flight carrying Mamata had hovered over Kolkata for over 30 minutes despite reaching Kolkata on time. Though there was nothing unusual in the sequence of events on Wednesday afternoon, the probe was conducted following a formal complaint from the state government. An angry Mamata had on Wednesday claimed that her flight had been deliberately delayed till it was low on fuel. "A disaster could have happened any moment," she had alleged.
Though everyone in the aviation industry was shocked at her outburst and the accusation, airport officials said that while an error could have happened, suggestion of an intentional act that would jeopardise safety of a flight was preposterous. Officials hope the probe report, that is expected to be submitted to the state government and civil aviation ministry on Friday, will clear the air.
No clause in pact violated, Swiss airlines tells India
New Delhi: Switzerland has responded to a move by the Indian government to stop all services of Swiss International Airlines (Swiss) to and from India, saying that the airlines, held by Air Trust, is incorporated under the laws of of the Western European country and run mostly by its own nationals.
India had threatened to stop Swiss, which, as the designated airline of that country, “violated” a vital clause called the substantial ownership and effective control (SOEC), mandated under the bilateral air services agreement between the two countries.
Under the SOEC clause, the government has the right to designate one or more airlines. However, its substantial ownership and effective control should be vested in the party designating the airline (in this case, the Swiss government) or its citizens (the Swiss people). In the case of Swiss, a majority stake is with Lufthansa.
The Swiss aviation authorities have contended that Swiss met all the ownership requirement of the bilateral pact. They say they are satisfied with the present structure of the Swiss management and the board of directors, which guarantee that effective control of the airlines is mainly with nationals of Switzerland. Also, 100 per cent of the shares of Swiss since July 1, 2007, are —and remain — to be directly owned by a Air Trust. India has, for the past four years, accepted the ownership and control of Swiss, they point out, adding it continues to be so on Thursday.
India had threatened to stop Swiss, which, as the designated airline of that country, “violated” a vital clause called the substantial ownership and effective control (SOEC), mandated under the bilateral air services agreement between the two countries.
Under the SOEC clause, the government has the right to designate one or more airlines. However, its substantial ownership and effective control should be vested in the party designating the airline (in this case, the Swiss government) or its citizens (the Swiss people). In the case of Swiss, a majority stake is with Lufthansa.
The Swiss aviation authorities have contended that Swiss met all the ownership requirement of the bilateral pact. They say they are satisfied with the present structure of the Swiss management and the board of directors, which guarantee that effective control of the airlines is mainly with nationals of Switzerland. Also, 100 per cent of the shares of Swiss since July 1, 2007, are —and remain — to be directly owned by a Air Trust. India has, for the past four years, accepted the ownership and control of Swiss, they point out, adding it continues to be so on Thursday.
New aeronautical telecom network system to enhance air safety
New Delhi: With a satellite-based navigation system in place to enhance air safety, experts from Asia- Pacific nations would next week discuss ways to implement an aeronautical telecom network (ATN) system for seamless exchange of messages for planes flying in the region.
The new system would complement and later replace voice communication between air traffic control, pilots and others by providing all flight data and information through messages.
Messages containing graphic texts like charts and weather maps can also be sent to end users across the high seas and countries from Singapore to those on the African coasts, apart from almost the entire Asia.
The Airports Authority of India, which is organising a meet of the taskforce of International Civil Aviation Organisation group in Jaipur from Monday, has installed AMHS at Mumbai and established linkage with Singapore in March this year. Regular traffic is already being exchanged on this channel, an AAI spokesperson said.
The new system would complement and later replace voice communication between air traffic control, pilots and others by providing all flight data and information through messages.
Messages containing graphic texts like charts and weather maps can also be sent to end users across the high seas and countries from Singapore to those on the African coasts, apart from almost the entire Asia.
The Airports Authority of India, which is organising a meet of the taskforce of International Civil Aviation Organisation group in Jaipur from Monday, has installed AMHS at Mumbai and established linkage with Singapore in March this year. Regular traffic is already being exchanged on this channel, an AAI spokesperson said.
Fuel price hike adds to Air India woes,incurs Rs650 cr additional expense
New Delhi: Rising fuel prices have imposed an additional burden of Rs 650 crore on the state-owned carrier Air India during April-August, which is struggling to keep afloat.
"On account of the increase in fuel prices the airline incurred an additional expense on fuel of Rs 650 crore in the period April-August 2011, vis-a-vis last year," a statement issued after the performance review of Air India by Civil Aviation Minister Vyalar Ravi said.
According to the review, the airline managed to reduce its operational losses from Rs 507 crore in April 2011 to Rs 266 crore in August 2011.
The airline's operational performance in August 2011, showed a significant improvement over the corresponding month last year, while passenger revenue went up by 12.3 per cent, from Rs 889 crore to Rs 998 crore.
"On account of the increase in fuel prices the airline incurred an additional expense on fuel of Rs 650 crore in the period April-August 2011, vis-a-vis last year," a statement issued after the performance review of Air India by Civil Aviation Minister Vyalar Ravi said.
According to the review, the airline managed to reduce its operational losses from Rs 507 crore in April 2011 to Rs 266 crore in August 2011.
The airline's operational performance in August 2011, showed a significant improvement over the corresponding month last year, while passenger revenue went up by 12.3 per cent, from Rs 889 crore to Rs 998 crore.
Frequent flyers feel airlines must do more to repay loyalty
Mumbai: The number of ways to earn and spend frequent flyer mileage points may have gone up, but so have the grievances of frequent flyers, who feel airlines aren't doing enough to pamper them for being loyal to a full-service carrier despite the lure of low-cost fares.
"The three main add-ons offered by frequent flyer programmes are ticket upgrades, lounge access and free tickets," says Kapil Arora of global consultancy firm Ernst and Young. Of the three incentives, the only incentive exclusive to the frequent flyer programme these days is that of redeeming mileage points to buy a free ticket. The other two incentives can be had without a frequent flyer mile card. Many credit card companies offer lounge access and there are varied ways to get ticket upgrades - like from economy to business -- be it for government or private airlines. This seems to have created some problems.
"Also, a frequent flyer feels cheated when he has redeemed his points for an upgrade to business class only to see an economy class flyer take the adjacent seat as the flight was overbooked," says Sudhakara Reddy, president, Air Passengers Association of India and a frequent flyer based in Chennai. "It is a common occurrence on Colombo-Chennai, Colombo-Mumbai flights," he says, adding that in the last four to five years instances of overbooking and subsequent free upgrades have gone up greatly.
"The three main add-ons offered by frequent flyer programmes are ticket upgrades, lounge access and free tickets," says Kapil Arora of global consultancy firm Ernst and Young. Of the three incentives, the only incentive exclusive to the frequent flyer programme these days is that of redeeming mileage points to buy a free ticket. The other two incentives can be had without a frequent flyer mile card. Many credit card companies offer lounge access and there are varied ways to get ticket upgrades - like from economy to business -- be it for government or private airlines. This seems to have created some problems.
"Also, a frequent flyer feels cheated when he has redeemed his points for an upgrade to business class only to see an economy class flyer take the adjacent seat as the flight was overbooked," says Sudhakara Reddy, president, Air Passengers Association of India and a frequent flyer based in Chennai. "It is a common occurrence on Colombo-Chennai, Colombo-Mumbai flights," he says, adding that in the last four to five years instances of overbooking and subsequent free upgrades have gone up greatly.
DGCA officer taken off duty preparing safety manuals
Senior DGCA officer R S Passi, who was stripped of responsibilities as Director (Air Safety) five months ago, has been asked to prepare safety manuals as the government is yet to decide on the action to be taken against him on charges of nepotism.
"Passi is a Class-I Officer of the government. He was neither suspended nor sacked, but was taken off duties with immediate effect in April. As he has been drawing his salary and doing nothing, some work like preparing safety manuals has been given to him. His work is completely unrelated to anything concerning airlines," top officials of the aviation regulator said.
Passi was removed from his position in DGCA's Air Safety Directorate this April following investigations into the fake licence scam which revealed that his daughter had not cleared a flight test in the US but was working in an Indian carrier as pilot after getting a Commercial Pilot License. She quit after the probe began
"Passi is a Class-I Officer of the government. He was neither suspended nor sacked, but was taken off duties with immediate effect in April. As he has been drawing his salary and doing nothing, some work like preparing safety manuals has been given to him. His work is completely unrelated to anything concerning airlines," top officials of the aviation regulator said.
Passi was removed from his position in DGCA's Air Safety Directorate this April following investigations into the fake licence scam which revealed that his daughter had not cleared a flight test in the US but was working in an Indian carrier as pilot after getting a Commercial Pilot License. She quit after the probe began
Air India on-time performance improving; losses coming down
Struggling hard to tide over the financial crisis , the State-owned Air India has made valiant efforts to improve its on-time performance (OTP), achieving 100 per cent on-time performance of its flights on September 20 and 21 from Mumbai and Delhi. Overall OTP of Air India this month has been over 80 per cent on the domestic and international networks.
At a review meeting taken by Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi here on Friday, the new Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rohit Nandan gave a broad view on the overall improvement in the operational and financial performance of the carrier. The meeting was also attended by Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi and other senior ministry officials.
Mr. Nandan said that on-time performance of Air India flights was being continuously monitored at the highest level. All executive directors of the regions have been made responsible for monitoring, analysing the causes of the delay and taking adequate measures to resolve the problem.
At a review meeting taken by Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi here on Friday, the new Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rohit Nandan gave a broad view on the overall improvement in the operational and financial performance of the carrier. The meeting was also attended by Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi and other senior ministry officials.
Mr. Nandan said that on-time performance of Air India flights was being continuously monitored at the highest level. All executive directors of the regions have been made responsible for monitoring, analysing the causes of the delay and taking adequate measures to resolve the problem.
Close shave for 3 jets at Chennai airport
Chennai: Three aircraft came too close for comfort at Chennai airport on Saturday morning, forcing a Jet Airways flight to abort take-off at the last minute.
The pilot of the Jet Airways flight, which was moving to take-off on runway 25 at 8.40am with 120 passengers, saw an Indigo aircraft had not vacated the farther end of the runway, and stopped. Meanwhile, an Air India flight from Delhi was on its way to land. Seeing that the Jet flight was still on the runway, the Air India plane which was descending, did a 'go around', pulling up again. With the Air India plane hovering in the vicinity, the air traffic control asked the Jet pilot to reject take-off. The Air India flight landed 22 minutes later, at 9.02am.
"A miscalculation on the part of the ATC in measuring the distance between the flights and the time caused the problem," an aviation official said. An ATC source said such instances happen, but often go unreported. "There was a possibility of a collision if the Jet aircraft was allowed to take off as the Air India flight, carrying 160 passengers, was above the airport. It could also have proved tough for the Jet flight to maintain a lower height immediately after take-off," said a pilot who was present at the airport.
A minimum distance of three miles (5 km) is to be maintained between two aircraft in motion near Indian airports and this is often kept at 5 to 10 miles in Chennai.
The pilot of the Jet Airways flight, which was moving to take-off on runway 25 at 8.40am with 120 passengers, saw an Indigo aircraft had not vacated the farther end of the runway, and stopped. Meanwhile, an Air India flight from Delhi was on its way to land. Seeing that the Jet flight was still on the runway, the Air India plane which was descending, did a 'go around', pulling up again. With the Air India plane hovering in the vicinity, the air traffic control asked the Jet pilot to reject take-off. The Air India flight landed 22 minutes later, at 9.02am.
"A miscalculation on the part of the ATC in measuring the distance between the flights and the time caused the problem," an aviation official said. An ATC source said such instances happen, but often go unreported. "There was a possibility of a collision if the Jet aircraft was allowed to take off as the Air India flight, carrying 160 passengers, was above the airport. It could also have proved tough for the Jet flight to maintain a lower height immediately after take-off," said a pilot who was present at the airport.
A minimum distance of three miles (5 km) is to be maintained between two aircraft in motion near Indian airports and this is often kept at 5 to 10 miles in Chennai.
SpiceJet Bomb Scare Creates Chaos in Kathmandu
Kathmandu: Close on the heels of all 19 people on board a domestic flight in Nepal perishing in a plane crash, Indian budget airline SpiceJet's Delhi flight was delayed due to a bomb scare, unleashing chaos at Katmandu's lone international airport Sunday.
The flight, scheduled to take off at 10.55 a.m. from Kathmandu, was halted after rumours that a bomb had been stowed away on board.
A private television channel said the bomb scare arose after an altercation among three Indian women and an American Buddhist nun.
The pilot reportedly heard the nun saying she had a bomb and the aircraft came to a halt on the runway.
The flight, scheduled to take off at 10.55 a.m. from Kathmandu, was halted after rumours that a bomb had been stowed away on board.
A private television channel said the bomb scare arose after an altercation among three Indian women and an American Buddhist nun.
The pilot reportedly heard the nun saying she had a bomb and the aircraft came to a halt on the runway.
Flights resume at TIA after bomb hoax
International flights to and from the Tribhuvan International Airport have resumed after half-hour closure of air traffic following a false bomb alert on an aircraft of SpiceJet, an Indian passenger airlines, that was preparing to fly to New Delhi, Sunday.
The airport was sealed off after a "suspicious object" was found inside the plane when it was preparing to take off at 10:45 am. The passengers were evacuated immediately after the object was found. Planes arriving to TIA were diverted to other routes due to the emergency situation at the airport.
Airport officials have confirmed that no explosive has been found inside the plane, but they are yet to reveal what the suspicious object was or where the 'rumour' came.
The airplane has been kept under surveillance at the TIA.
The airport was sealed off after a "suspicious object" was found inside the plane when it was preparing to take off at 10:45 am. The passengers were evacuated immediately after the object was found. Planes arriving to TIA were diverted to other routes due to the emergency situation at the airport.
Airport officials have confirmed that no explosive has been found inside the plane, but they are yet to reveal what the suspicious object was or where the 'rumour' came.
The airplane has been kept under surveillance at the TIA.
Dead bodies of Buddha Air crash victims recovered
All 18 dead bodies of the Buddha Air crash victims have been recovered from the crash site at Kotdanda hill, Lalitpur. One passenger had died while being rushed to B&B Hospital at Lalitpur.
The Buddha Air plane crash scene at Kotdanda, Lalitpur, Sunday morning, 25 Sept 2011. All 19 people on board including three crew members were killed in the crash.
Parts of the aircraft are scattered within a periphery of about 200ft. A portion of the aircraft has burnt.
Ten of the crash victims are three Nepali crew members, ten Indians, three Nepali passengers, two Americans and one Japanese tourist.
Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police are collecting the wreckages after collecting the dead bodies.
According to eyewitnesses, there was fire on the plane as it fell from the sky and slammed on the ground.
The Beechcraft 1900-D, which was returning after a mountain flight, crashed soon after it lost contact with the tower at around 7:30 am.
Name list of the plane crash victims:
Captain JB Tamrakar (Crew member)
Co-pilot Padma Adhikari (Crew member)
Air Hostess Asmita Shrestha (Crew member)
Sharada Karmacharya (Nepal)
Jagan Karmacharya (Nepal)
Nirajan Karmacharya (Nepal)
Pankaj Mehta (India)
Chhaya Mehata (India)
S Nagaraja (India)
T Nagaraja (India)
L Nagaraja (India
HD Nagaraja (India)
D Jalosubrisum (India)
DP Jalosubrisum (India)
P Jalosubrisum (India)
Nagraja Talosubrisum (India)
J Toshinori (Japan)
Natali Nailun (USA)
Andrew Wade (USA)
The Buddha Air plane crash scene at Kotdanda, Lalitpur, Sunday morning, 25 Sept 2011. All 19 people on board including three crew members were killed in the crash.
Parts of the aircraft are scattered within a periphery of about 200ft. A portion of the aircraft has burnt.
Ten of the crash victims are three Nepali crew members, ten Indians, three Nepali passengers, two Americans and one Japanese tourist.
Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police are collecting the wreckages after collecting the dead bodies.
According to eyewitnesses, there was fire on the plane as it fell from the sky and slammed on the ground.
The Beechcraft 1900-D, which was returning after a mountain flight, crashed soon after it lost contact with the tower at around 7:30 am.
Name list of the plane crash victims:
Captain JB Tamrakar (Crew member)
Co-pilot Padma Adhikari (Crew member)
Air Hostess Asmita Shrestha (Crew member)
Sharada Karmacharya (Nepal)
Jagan Karmacharya (Nepal)
Nirajan Karmacharya (Nepal)
Pankaj Mehta (India)
Chhaya Mehata (India)
S Nagaraja (India)
T Nagaraja (India)
L Nagaraja (India
HD Nagaraja (India)
D Jalosubrisum (India)
DP Jalosubrisum (India)
P Jalosubrisum (India)
Nagraja Talosubrisum (India)
J Toshinori (Japan)
Natali Nailun (USA)
Andrew Wade (USA)
Nepal plane crash: Builders' holiday turns into mourning for Trichy
Kathmandu: When eight friends and colleagues from the Tiruchirappalli Centre Builders' Association of India decided to give themselves a well-deserved break in Kathmandu, little did they dream that the date with Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world, and Lord Pashupatinath, would lead to tragedy and mourning.
The eight men as well as an Indian couple working for the UN in Kathmandu were among the 19 people killed in Kathmandu valley on Sunday morning when their mountain flight to view Mt Everest and other Himalayan ranges in the east ended in a crash in the Kotdanda village area in Lalitpur city, about 20 km away from the capital.
Adding to the chaos, Nepal's aviation authorities initially released a wrong set of victims' names, reviving memories of another air crash last year when the victims, mostly Bhutanese pilgrims, were at first declared to be Nepalis.
Finally, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu released the correct names of the 10 Indian victims, who included a woman.
They are Pankaj Mehta, who worked for the UN in Kathmandu, and his wife Chaya Mehta, and eight builders from Tamil Nadu's Trichy: K Thiyagarajan, RM Meenatchi Sundaram, Kattoov Mahalingam, D Hanasekaran, MV Maruthachalam, AK Krishnan, VM Kankasabesan and M Maniraran.
"They checked into our hotel Saturday evening," said Furpa Sherpa, sales manager at Kathmandu's Grand Hotel. "They had come on a SpiceJet flight from Delhi and were to have left on Oct 27. We put them to a local travel agency, Losar Tours and Travels and they booked a mountain flight for Sunday morning."
The flight took off from Kathmandu around 6.30am and was returning from the Everest region an hour later when it lost contact with the control room. Minutes later, it crashed, killing 18 people. The 19th, 36-year-old Nirajan Karmacharya, was rescued from the wreck by a team of locals and security personnel but died of his injuries while being treated at the B & B Hospital in Lalitpur.
The dead included the three-member Nepali cabin crew of Captain J B Tamrakar, co-pilot Padma Adhikari and airhostess Asmita Shrestha. The others killed were two American tourists, Andrew Wade and Natalie Neilan, Japan's Uejima Toshinori and two Nepalis, Sarda Karmacharya and Jagjan Karmacharya
The eight men as well as an Indian couple working for the UN in Kathmandu were among the 19 people killed in Kathmandu valley on Sunday morning when their mountain flight to view Mt Everest and other Himalayan ranges in the east ended in a crash in the Kotdanda village area in Lalitpur city, about 20 km away from the capital.
Adding to the chaos, Nepal's aviation authorities initially released a wrong set of victims' names, reviving memories of another air crash last year when the victims, mostly Bhutanese pilgrims, were at first declared to be Nepalis.
Finally, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu released the correct names of the 10 Indian victims, who included a woman.
They are Pankaj Mehta, who worked for the UN in Kathmandu, and his wife Chaya Mehta, and eight builders from Tamil Nadu's Trichy: K Thiyagarajan, RM Meenatchi Sundaram, Kattoov Mahalingam, D Hanasekaran, MV Maruthachalam, AK Krishnan, VM Kankasabesan and M Maniraran.
"They checked into our hotel Saturday evening," said Furpa Sherpa, sales manager at Kathmandu's Grand Hotel. "They had come on a SpiceJet flight from Delhi and were to have left on Oct 27. We put them to a local travel agency, Losar Tours and Travels and they booked a mountain flight for Sunday morning."
The flight took off from Kathmandu around 6.30am and was returning from the Everest region an hour later when it lost contact with the control room. Minutes later, it crashed, killing 18 people. The 19th, 36-year-old Nirajan Karmacharya, was rescued from the wreck by a team of locals and security personnel but died of his injuries while being treated at the B & B Hospital in Lalitpur.
The dead included the three-member Nepali cabin crew of Captain J B Tamrakar, co-pilot Padma Adhikari and airhostess Asmita Shrestha. The others killed were two American tourists, Andrew Wade and Natalie Neilan, Japan's Uejima Toshinori and two Nepalis, Sarda Karmacharya and Jagjan Karmacharya
Saturday, September 17, 2011
India sees 25 pc rise in air traffic in last 2 years
New Delhi: India has witnessed an over 25 per cent increase in air traffic in the last two years with Kingfisher emerging as the number one carrier.
According to the data received by an RTI filing with the DGCA, the number of passengers travelling by air are increasing and there has been an increase of 25.42 per cent over the last two years.
Among all the air carriers in India, Kingfisher topped the list carrying nearly 9.61 lakh passengers for the month of July 2011, followed by IndiGo.
"Kingfisher faces stiff competition from IndiGo, which has consistently been battling for the top spot since December 2010," Medianama.com Founder Nikhil Pahwa said.
IndiGo carried 10.91 lakh passengers in May 2011. Besides, in the three months period between September-December 2010, it has risen from the fourth spot to the second.
According to the data received by an RTI filing with the DGCA, the number of passengers travelling by air are increasing and there has been an increase of 25.42 per cent over the last two years.
Among all the air carriers in India, Kingfisher topped the list carrying nearly 9.61 lakh passengers for the month of July 2011, followed by IndiGo.
"Kingfisher faces stiff competition from IndiGo, which has consistently been battling for the top spot since December 2010," Medianama.com Founder Nikhil Pahwa said.
IndiGo carried 10.91 lakh passengers in May 2011. Besides, in the three months period between September-December 2010, it has risen from the fourth spot to the second.
US embassy felt ai-boeing deal was 'well-scripted'
New Delhi : The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) may not agree, but for the US embassy in New Delhi, the Air India–Boeing aircraft purchase agreement of 2005 was perfect, a scripted plan, jointly executed by its officials and those of the US aircraft manufacturer.
The Boeing deal, worth $8.5-billion (Rs 39,500 crore), was to supply 50 wide-body B777-B787 aircraft, powered by GE engines, to government-owned AI. The embassy observations are part of a confidential official cable released by whistleblower website Wikileaks on August 30(http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2005/04/05NEWDELHI3147.html).
Extracts of the embassy communication, dated April 27, 2005, credited the success of the deal to the multi-pronged advocacy efforts carried out by the economic, political, public affairs and foreign commercial service arms of the US government. “This USG-Boeing effort was well-scripted and provided a new paradigm in how to marry USG advocacy with a commensurate level of company commitment at the highest levels,” the communication from Robert O Blake stated.
The embassy notes indicate Boeing officials had informed them that the lessons learned (from the India deal) would be used in developing a new world wide sales strategy to counter Airbus' inroads on commercial aircraft sales.
The Boeing deal, worth $8.5-billion (Rs 39,500 crore), was to supply 50 wide-body B777-B787 aircraft, powered by GE engines, to government-owned AI. The embassy observations are part of a confidential official cable released by whistleblower website Wikileaks on August 30(http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2005/04/05NEWDELHI3147.html).
Extracts of the embassy communication, dated April 27, 2005, credited the success of the deal to the multi-pronged advocacy efforts carried out by the economic, political, public affairs and foreign commercial service arms of the US government. “This USG-Boeing effort was well-scripted and provided a new paradigm in how to marry USG advocacy with a commensurate level of company commitment at the highest levels,” the communication from Robert O Blake stated.
The embassy notes indicate Boeing officials had informed them that the lessons learned (from the India deal) would be used in developing a new world wide sales strategy to counter Airbus' inroads on commercial aircraft sales.
Ravi defends AI aircraft purchase decision
Notwithstanding the criticism by CAG over the acquisition of aircraft for Air India, Civil Aviation minister Vayalar Ravi on Tuesday defended the decision, saying due process was followed and that it was needed to replace the ageing fleet of the national carrier.
Mr. Ravi said the order for the acquisition was placed after a series of negotiations and only after the decision passed through four stages of discussion, including by a Group of Ministers and by an oversight committee appointed by the Prime Minister.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has come down heavily on the Ministry over the decision to acquire 111 planes through debt, calling it “a recipe for disaster” besides terming the merger of the two national carriers “ill-timed.”
While defending the decision, Mr. Ravi also pointed out that the process of acquisition had started in 2002 during the NDA government’s tenure.
“Indians need to travel abroad and they need Air India as well as other carriers. The (erstwhile) Indian Airlines aircraft were old and the (former) Air India fleet was also not that good. It was necessary to go for acquisition,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function
Mr. Ravi said the order for the acquisition was placed after a series of negotiations and only after the decision passed through four stages of discussion, including by a Group of Ministers and by an oversight committee appointed by the Prime Minister.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has come down heavily on the Ministry over the decision to acquire 111 planes through debt, calling it “a recipe for disaster” besides terming the merger of the two national carriers “ill-timed.”
While defending the decision, Mr. Ravi also pointed out that the process of acquisition had started in 2002 during the NDA government’s tenure.
“Indians need to travel abroad and they need Air India as well as other carriers. The (erstwhile) Indian Airlines aircraft were old and the (former) Air India fleet was also not that good. It was necessary to go for acquisition,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function
Forget it; the airline won't be sold
For cash-strapped Air India (AI), figures do not matter: whether it is the 43,000 crore debt that includes a working capital loan of 22,000 crore, accumulated losses of 18,000 crore, or other dues and employees' salaries of around 8,000.
The CAG has found nothing new taking a dig at the very basis of merger, acquisition of aircraft beyond its requirement, giving away bilateral routes without enhancing the indigenous capacity of airlines in India including AI. The merger and fleet acquisition completely destroyed the airline. The government is now mulling a new turnaround proposal.
Reforms unleashed during the NDA regime benefited the aviation sector - be it the low-cost carriers or privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, or greenfield airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore. Strangely, reforms to foster growth left AI untouched. This prompts every taxpayer to ask why they are compelled to sustain AI's burgeoning losses of 20 crore everyday. Someone has to do the answering, raising a frenzied pitch for outright privatisation of AI
The CAG has found nothing new taking a dig at the very basis of merger, acquisition of aircraft beyond its requirement, giving away bilateral routes without enhancing the indigenous capacity of airlines in India including AI. The merger and fleet acquisition completely destroyed the airline. The government is now mulling a new turnaround proposal.
Reforms unleashed during the NDA regime benefited the aviation sector - be it the low-cost carriers or privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, or greenfield airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore. Strangely, reforms to foster growth left AI untouched. This prompts every taxpayer to ask why they are compelled to sustain AI's burgeoning losses of 20 crore everyday. Someone has to do the answering, raising a frenzied pitch for outright privatisation of AI
Al-Qaeda’s bombs from sky threat adds to vigil at airports
Mumbai: Security agencies are on high alert after receiving inputs from central intelligence agencies that al-Qaeda could carry out an attack in the city. The inputs assume high significance as they come in the wake of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Three alerts came in three days prompting authorities to beef up security.
Union home minister P Chidambaram, who was in town on Monday, held a meeting with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, senior ministers and police officials, a day before the completion of the second month after the 13/7 Mumbai blasts.
According to sources, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) sent inputs that the al-Qaeda planned to carry out an attack using small aircraft and charter planes. The input said Qaeda wanted to send a message that the outfit was alive and kicking.
“It says that nations friendly to the US can be targeted by Qaeda,” said an intelligence official. He refused to elaborate.
Union home minister P Chidambaram, who was in town on Monday, held a meeting with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, senior ministers and police officials, a day before the completion of the second month after the 13/7 Mumbai blasts.
According to sources, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) sent inputs that the al-Qaeda planned to carry out an attack using small aircraft and charter planes. The input said Qaeda wanted to send a message that the outfit was alive and kicking.
“It says that nations friendly to the US can be targeted by Qaeda,” said an intelligence official. He refused to elaborate.
Al-Qaeda’s bombs from sky threat adds to vigil at airports
Mumbai: Security agencies are on high alert after receiving inputs from central intelligence agencies that al-Qaeda could carry out an attack in the city. The inputs assume high significance as they come in the wake of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Three alerts came in three days prompting authorities to beef up security.
Union home minister P Chidambaram, who was in town on Monday, held a meeting with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, senior ministers and police officials, a day before the completion of the second month after the 13/7 Mumbai blasts.
According to sources, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) sent inputs that the al-Qaeda planned to carry out an attack using small aircraft and charter planes. The input said Qaeda wanted to send a message that the outfit was alive and kicking.
“It says that nations friendly to the US can be targeted by Qaeda,” said an intelligence official. He refused to elaborate.
Union home minister P Chidambaram, who was in town on Monday, held a meeting with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, senior ministers and police officials, a day before the completion of the second month after the 13/7 Mumbai blasts.
According to sources, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) sent inputs that the al-Qaeda planned to carry out an attack using small aircraft and charter planes. The input said Qaeda wanted to send a message that the outfit was alive and kicking.
“It says that nations friendly to the US can be targeted by Qaeda,” said an intelligence official. He refused to elaborate.
Finnair Not Averse to Kingfisher's Direct Flights to Helsinki
Helsinki: Despite a pact with Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines, Nordic carrier Finnair said it has no objection to the Indian carrier connecting directly with Helsinki from other Indian cities as it saw huge possibilities in their partnership.
"I cannot rule out Kingfisher connecting Helsinki with some of the major Indian cities. But it is up to them," said Mika Vehvilainen, chief executive of Finnair. "I would love to see our partnership develop further," Vehvilainen told IANS here.
His reference was to the recent pact with Kingfisher that enabled the carrier to add seven more Indian destinations to its network in India by quick transfers for pasengers on the Indian carrier to Finnair's own direct flights between New Delhi and Helsinki.
"We area already doing a lot of code-sharing and this will only grow," he said. The pact covers Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur and Ahmedabad, and allows the passengers to also redeem points on any of the two carriers.
Vehvilainen said Finnair also saw a huge opportunity to transfer traffic between India and North America, but said the collaboration with Kingfisher on that may happen only after Kingfisher formally joins the OneWorld alliance of 12 global carriers.
"Kingfisher is a first class, high quality airline. It fits into the OneWorld image," said the airline's chief executive.
"I cannot rule out Kingfisher connecting Helsinki with some of the major Indian cities. But it is up to them," said Mika Vehvilainen, chief executive of Finnair. "I would love to see our partnership develop further," Vehvilainen told IANS here.
His reference was to the recent pact with Kingfisher that enabled the carrier to add seven more Indian destinations to its network in India by quick transfers for pasengers on the Indian carrier to Finnair's own direct flights between New Delhi and Helsinki.
"We area already doing a lot of code-sharing and this will only grow," he said. The pact covers Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur and Ahmedabad, and allows the passengers to also redeem points on any of the two carriers.
Vehvilainen said Finnair also saw a huge opportunity to transfer traffic between India and North America, but said the collaboration with Kingfisher on that may happen only after Kingfisher formally joins the OneWorld alliance of 12 global carriers.
"Kingfisher is a first class, high quality airline. It fits into the OneWorld image," said the airline's chief executive.
Air India doesn't have money for 27 Boeing 787 Dreamliners: Vayalar Ravi
Delhi/Mumbai: The ministry of civil aviation is having second thoughts on plans by Air India to take delivery of 27 Boeing 787 aircraft, better known as the Dreamliner, as it would aggravate the debt burden of the financially stressed national carrier.
"Air India does not have the money to pay for the 27 Boeing planes. Air India will not increase its debt burden right now," said civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi Tuesday at a public event in Delhi. Air India had ordered 27 Dreamliners in 2005 from US aerospace giant
Boeing was part of a massive fleet programme in which the state-owned airline decided to acquire 68 aircraft worth Rs 30,000 crore. This plan was questioned by the Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG) in a report submitted last Thursday on the ground that the orders were based on unrealistic assumptions about growth.
Air India, which faces the daunting task of repaying debt of Rs 43,000 crore, may have to bear an additional debt burden of Rs 17,000 crore to finance the Dreamliners, the newest aircraft from Boeing.
"Air India does not have the money to pay for the 27 Boeing planes. Air India will not increase its debt burden right now," said civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi Tuesday at a public event in Delhi. Air India had ordered 27 Dreamliners in 2005 from US aerospace giant
Boeing was part of a massive fleet programme in which the state-owned airline decided to acquire 68 aircraft worth Rs 30,000 crore. This plan was questioned by the Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG) in a report submitted last Thursday on the ground that the orders were based on unrealistic assumptions about growth.
Air India, which faces the daunting task of repaying debt of Rs 43,000 crore, may have to bear an additional debt burden of Rs 17,000 crore to finance the Dreamliners, the newest aircraft from Boeing.
Mahindras take to skies with 5-seater aircraft
Mumbai: In what is being described as a milestone for both the country's indigenous civil aviation and the public-private partnership programmes, the software-to-transportation Mahindra group in collaboration with CSIR National Aerospace Laboratories has successfully test-flown a five-seater aircraft. The project, which took three years to move from the drawing board to the skies, is billed to revolutionize Indian transportation over the next decade.
The aircraft has completed five tests in the last ten days and it could take six months or more before it gets the FAR 23 certification, which guarantees the highest standards of safety. It could then go for commercial development. Once ready, each aircraft is expected to cost around $400,000 (about Rs 2 crore) and would also be the first such commercial aircraft in the world which offers a five seat configuration.
For the Mahindra group, it is the second leap into aviation after it acquired the Australia-based aircraft maker Gippsland Aviation about two years ago.
The running cost of the aircraft (in terms of per seat km) would be only 30% more expensive than a car, Hemant Luthra, chairman of Mahindra Aerospace said. The market for small aircraft (20 seats and below) started to de-grow in 2007 and stands at roughly 2000 a year and is expected to turn the corner in 2011 with a small growth, he said. The main competitors for Mahindra in the segment include Cessna and Piper.
The aircraft is ideal as an air taxi operator and for distances of about 300 km, Mahindra Aerospace CEO Arvind Mehra said.
The aircraft has completed five tests in the last ten days and it could take six months or more before it gets the FAR 23 certification, which guarantees the highest standards of safety. It could then go for commercial development. Once ready, each aircraft is expected to cost around $400,000 (about Rs 2 crore) and would also be the first such commercial aircraft in the world which offers a five seat configuration.
For the Mahindra group, it is the second leap into aviation after it acquired the Australia-based aircraft maker Gippsland Aviation about two years ago.
The running cost of the aircraft (in terms of per seat km) would be only 30% more expensive than a car, Hemant Luthra, chairman of Mahindra Aerospace said. The market for small aircraft (20 seats and below) started to de-grow in 2007 and stands at roughly 2000 a year and is expected to turn the corner in 2011 with a small growth, he said. The main competitors for Mahindra in the segment include Cessna and Piper.
The aircraft is ideal as an air taxi operator and for distances of about 300 km, Mahindra Aerospace CEO Arvind Mehra said.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Huge traffic rights to gulf hit AI
New Delhi: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Thursday criticised the civil aviation ministry for granting “massive increases” in bilateral air traffic rights to Gulf nations in 2004-05, despite Air India’s (AI) “strong reservations”, as this was its most profitable international sector. Between May 2007 and March 2010, the Dubai sector saw the number of seats per week rise from 18,400 to 54,200.
The government’s apex auditor said as a result of liberalisation of the bilateral rights, Indian carriers did not get any increase in the number of destinations in the Gulf countries, while airlines from that region got the right to operate to 14 destinations in India, four more than before.
“Despite repeated protestations of AI on the lack reciprocity and the funnelling of the sixth freedom traffic by Emirates through Dubai from interior locations in India, even change of gauge facility was not adequately pursued, nor linked to additional benefits.
This resulted in vague commitments for such facility, not at Dubai airport, but at the upcoming Jebel Ali Airport (an impractical solution for AI and other Indian carriers) and that too with distant time frames between 2012 and 2018,” the CAG said in its report placed before Parliament on Thursday.
The government’s apex auditor said as a result of liberalisation of the bilateral rights, Indian carriers did not get any increase in the number of destinations in the Gulf countries, while airlines from that region got the right to operate to 14 destinations in India, four more than before.
“Despite repeated protestations of AI on the lack reciprocity and the funnelling of the sixth freedom traffic by Emirates through Dubai from interior locations in India, even change of gauge facility was not adequately pursued, nor linked to additional benefits.
This resulted in vague commitments for such facility, not at Dubai airport, but at the upcoming Jebel Ali Airport (an impractical solution for AI and other Indian carriers) and that too with distant time frames between 2012 and 2018,” the CAG said in its report placed before Parliament on Thursday.
Praful Patel denies helping private airlines
On a day when former civil aviation minister Praful Patel is being blamed for benefiting private airlines in the wake of a CAG report, he came out to defend himself, saying these are "conspiracy theories" that should be "rubbished".
"The hallmark of civil aviation is opening up of the sky. Earlier, people were ashamed of talking about Indian airports. Now, look at the change that has come about in the aviation sector. When Manmohan Singh (who was the finance minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao cabinet) liberalized the economy, he faced similar allegations," Patel, who is in the eye of a storm over the CAG report that has called the Air India expansion plan a huge waste, told Headlines Today on Thursday.
"People will always say something. Show me a single route where the AI was stopped from flying, giving space to private jets," Patel said.
Asking why people of India should be "denied the right to fly", Patel said at a time when the domestic sector has seen 300% growth and the international sector has witnessed 200% growth, it was but natural to think of the modernization of the AI fleet, some of whose aircraft were "20-years-old".
"The hallmark of civil aviation is opening up of the sky. Earlier, people were ashamed of talking about Indian airports. Now, look at the change that has come about in the aviation sector. When Manmohan Singh (who was the finance minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao cabinet) liberalized the economy, he faced similar allegations," Patel, who is in the eye of a storm over the CAG report that has called the Air India expansion plan a huge waste, told Headlines Today on Thursday.
"People will always say something. Show me a single route where the AI was stopped from flying, giving space to private jets," Patel said.
Asking why people of India should be "denied the right to fly", Patel said at a time when the domestic sector has seen 300% growth and the international sector has witnessed 200% growth, it was but natural to think of the modernization of the AI fleet, some of whose aircraft were "20-years-old".
India Refuses Lufthansa A380 Landing Rights
India has refused to grant New Delhi landing rights for Lufthansa’s Airbus A380, a German daily said on Friday.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported in a pre-release of its Saturday edition that the Indian government’s decision apparently was made because the Star Alliance, of which Lufthansa is a member, had rejected Air India’s bid to become a Star Alliance member.
It said Star Alliance last month decided to turn down the request of state-owned Air India to become a member because of the latter’s weak financial situation.
The report said the denial of landing rights would be a blow to Lufthansa’s ambition to expand its flight offers to India.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported in a pre-release of its Saturday edition that the Indian government’s decision apparently was made because the Star Alliance, of which Lufthansa is a member, had rejected Air India’s bid to become a Star Alliance member.
It said Star Alliance last month decided to turn down the request of state-owned Air India to become a member because of the latter’s weak financial situation.
The report said the denial of landing rights would be a blow to Lufthansa’s ambition to expand its flight offers to India.
Airfares to Delhi zoom up to 200% ahead of F1
Mumbai: If you want to witness the action at the 2011 Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix in October, be prepared to shell out more moolah. Airfares to Delhi across all sectors have shot through the roof for travel in the last week of October (October 28-31), which is still one-and-a-half months away.
A return trip from Mumbai to Delhi has shown the highest spurt, with fares up by 100-200% to Rs 15,000-22,000 from the average Rs 7,000. These fares are mostly for low-cost carriers, and for travel on October 28 morning (in time to reach the F1 venue) and on October 30 late night, right after the event is over.
For the same period, the average hike for other sectors (Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai) to Delhi ranges from 20-25%, while flight and hotel packages are up by 50%.
Bookings through travel agents and online websites have gone up by around 30% as of now. "The market is still warming up. We have seen a spurt of 15-20% in bookings till now. We expect a further spike over the next week or so," says Manmeet Ahluwalia marketing head, Expedia India, an online travel website.
A return trip from Mumbai to Delhi has shown the highest spurt, with fares up by 100-200% to Rs 15,000-22,000 from the average Rs 7,000. These fares are mostly for low-cost carriers, and for travel on October 28 morning (in time to reach the F1 venue) and on October 30 late night, right after the event is over.
For the same period, the average hike for other sectors (Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai) to Delhi ranges from 20-25%, while flight and hotel packages are up by 50%.
Bookings through travel agents and online websites have gone up by around 30% as of now. "The market is still warming up. We have seen a spurt of 15-20% in bookings till now. We expect a further spike over the next week or so," says Manmeet Ahluwalia marketing head, Expedia India, an online travel website.
Tragedy averted: Plane lands safely after bird-hit
Bhopal: Passengers of Air India flight AI 633 travelling from Mumbai to Bhopal had a miraculous escape when the airplane was hit by a bird while it was about to land at the Raja Bhoj Airport here on Friday. No casualty was reported in the incident.
According to reports, the flight from Mumbai via Indore was scheduled to land at the airport at 8.35 am. At the time of touchdown, pilot reported a bird hit due to which one of the engines of the aircraft developed some technical snag.
According to reports, the flight from Mumbai via Indore was scheduled to land at the airport at 8.35 am. At the time of touchdown, pilot reported a bird hit due to which one of the engines of the aircraft developed some technical snag.
Aircraft snag, poor visibility disrupt operations at Kolkata airport
Kolkata: Flight operations at Kolkata airport were suspended twice on Friday, first when an aircraft was stranded on the runway and again when heavy rain reduced visibility.
While the shutdown caused by aircraft snag could not be averted, the rain-led disruption occurred because the primary runway that is equipped with instrument landing system was shut for maintenance. A notice to airmen had been issued, alerting pilots that the primary runway would be shut from noon till 2.45pm and that the secondary runway would be in operation during this period.
Though the secondary runway has category-I ILS that allows flight operations till 550-metre visibility, pre-commissioning procedural delays has prevented its use. Airport officials said they were hopeful of completing the procedures before November to commission it before fog sets in.
The first disruption in operation took place between 12.42pm and 12.56pm when an Air India flight arriving from Guwahati got stranded on the runway after touchdown. The pilot noticed a problem in the nose wheel hydraulic system and alerted the ATC before landing. After the plane landed, it could not steer off the runway and had to be towed along the taxi track.
While the shutdown caused by aircraft snag could not be averted, the rain-led disruption occurred because the primary runway that is equipped with instrument landing system was shut for maintenance. A notice to airmen had been issued, alerting pilots that the primary runway would be shut from noon till 2.45pm and that the secondary runway would be in operation during this period.
Though the secondary runway has category-I ILS that allows flight operations till 550-metre visibility, pre-commissioning procedural delays has prevented its use. Airport officials said they were hopeful of completing the procedures before November to commission it before fog sets in.
The first disruption in operation took place between 12.42pm and 12.56pm when an Air India flight arriving from Guwahati got stranded on the runway after touchdown. The pilot noticed a problem in the nose wheel hydraulic system and alerted the ATC before landing. After the plane landed, it could not steer off the runway and had to be towed along the taxi track.
Diamond-studded haul at airport
Nihar Mehta, a Mumbai-based jeweller, thought declaring part of the jewellery he was carrying would help him get away with diamonds worth crores stashed away in his blazer pockets.
But he was grossly mistaken. For Mehta had not reckoned that by now the Mumbai Customs officials were quite adept in discerning suspicious body language.
Mehta, who was a passenger on the Frankfurt-Mumbai Lufthansa flight, had entered the Customs zone at 1.20 am yesterday.
While attempting to make a safe exit he was intercepted by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs Sameer Wankhade.
"After reaching the Customs screening point he produced the document for his declared jewellery worth $44,000, which he had carried from India.
The official on duty asked him to stop and carried out a detailed search. Large amount of diamond jewellery running into crores was found hidden inside his blazer," said an Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) official of Mumbai Airport Customs.
But he was grossly mistaken. For Mehta had not reckoned that by now the Mumbai Customs officials were quite adept in discerning suspicious body language.
Mehta, who was a passenger on the Frankfurt-Mumbai Lufthansa flight, had entered the Customs zone at 1.20 am yesterday.
While attempting to make a safe exit he was intercepted by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs Sameer Wankhade.
"After reaching the Customs screening point he produced the document for his declared jewellery worth $44,000, which he had carried from India.
The official on duty asked him to stop and carried out a detailed search. Large amount of diamond jewellery running into crores was found hidden inside his blazer," said an Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) official of Mumbai Airport Customs.
Probe Patel, Chidambaram roles in AI plane buys: CPM
New Delhi: CPM on Friday demanded an investigation into the role of former civil aviation minister Praful Patel and former finance minister P Chidambaram who chaired the Empowered Group of Ministers in the purchase of 68 aircraft for Air India. The party also said the whole matter should be investigated by the CBI.
In a detailed reaction to the CAG report on Air India, CPM said it clearly indicted the then civil aviation minister for the state of affairs of Air India, whose accumulated losses since 2006 have crossed Rs 20,000 crore and its current debt burden amounts to over Rs 46,000 crore.
CPM said the CAG report only confirmed the findings of the parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings (CoPU) which had noted in its March 2010 report, "The Committee notes with concern that the merger of the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India was an ill-conceived and erroneous decision neither arrived at by the two airlines on their own accord nor mutually considered by them to be in their best interests." The CoPU report further recommended that the loss attributable to the merger of IA and AI should be recouped by the government "as the decision of merger was a policy decision spearheaded by the ministry-in-charge"
In a detailed reaction to the CAG report on Air India, CPM said it clearly indicted the then civil aviation minister for the state of affairs of Air India, whose accumulated losses since 2006 have crossed Rs 20,000 crore and its current debt burden amounts to over Rs 46,000 crore.
CPM said the CAG report only confirmed the findings of the parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings (CoPU) which had noted in its March 2010 report, "The Committee notes with concern that the merger of the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India was an ill-conceived and erroneous decision neither arrived at by the two airlines on their own accord nor mutually considered by them to be in their best interests." The CoPU report further recommended that the loss attributable to the merger of IA and AI should be recouped by the government "as the decision of merger was a policy decision spearheaded by the ministry-in-charge"
For AI, customer not king, everyone else is
New Delhi: Besides questionable government decisions, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found that treating everything else - not the passengers - as the real Maharaja has also contributed to Air India's decline. The cash-strapped airline spent more on its employees, aircraft and financing but cut cost where it matters most: Providing amenities to the flyer, which fell by almost 15% from Rs 566 crore in 2005-06 (for both AI and Indian Airlines) to Rs 483 crore in 2009-10 for the merged entity.
On the other hand, the combined workforce of IA and AI fell 12% from 33,575 in 2005-06 to 29,630 in 2009-10. But the employee cost shot up by 43% from Rs 2,352 crore to Rs 3,357 crore in the same period. Despite this, the CAG report quotes a market survey that AI got conducted to compare itself with Jet, Kingfisher, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways in early 2009 where its personnel were found "elderly and unpleasant". The customer perception for service on AI planes was found "apathetic, grudging" and the ambience "ordinary, outdated".
Terming the decline in expenditure on passenger amenities like food and accommodation provided in event of flight delays and cancellations, the CAG says: "This is a disturbing trend as passenger service is critical to the image of a commercial full service airline. Instead of excessive cost-control in this area (which is apparently easy to cut but could adversely affect customer satisfaction, (the airline) should focus more on cost-cutting in other areas."
On the other hand, the combined workforce of IA and AI fell 12% from 33,575 in 2005-06 to 29,630 in 2009-10. But the employee cost shot up by 43% from Rs 2,352 crore to Rs 3,357 crore in the same period. Despite this, the CAG report quotes a market survey that AI got conducted to compare itself with Jet, Kingfisher, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways in early 2009 where its personnel were found "elderly and unpleasant". The customer perception for service on AI planes was found "apathetic, grudging" and the ambience "ordinary, outdated".
Terming the decline in expenditure on passenger amenities like food and accommodation provided in event of flight delays and cancellations, the CAG says: "This is a disturbing trend as passenger service is critical to the image of a commercial full service airline. Instead of excessive cost-control in this area (which is apparently easy to cut but could adversely affect customer satisfaction, (the airline) should focus more on cost-cutting in other areas."
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Plane skid due to speeding pilot: DGCA
Mumbai: According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Friday's incident is the second in the last four days in which the pilot was found to have made an error of judgement. "On the basis of preliminary findings, we can tell that this has not happened because of rain but as a result of error in judgement by the pilot. The first mistake was that the flight headed towards the taxiway at a high speed, and the second was the application of emergency brakes at that speed due to which the plane veered off and got stuck in the mud," a senior DGCA official said.
Officials from Turkish Airways said there were no casualties. But the skid partially blocked the runway and caused it to be closed, which delayed flights. An airport official said the runway would remain closed till 8 pm yesterday. Joint DG, DGCA, AK Sharan, said, "We have constituted a three-member investigation team that is investigating all the aspects related to the incident."
The airport operator, MIAL, issued a statement saying they had carried a runway check at 3.58 am and "all infrastructure and facilities were found functional". A landing and takeoff took place after that. A statement released by Turkish Airlines blamed the skid on the rains
Officials from Turkish Airways said there were no casualties. But the skid partially blocked the runway and caused it to be closed, which delayed flights. An airport official said the runway would remain closed till 8 pm yesterday. Joint DG, DGCA, AK Sharan, said, "We have constituted a three-member investigation team that is investigating all the aspects related to the incident."
The airport operator, MIAL, issued a statement saying they had carried a runway check at 3.58 am and "all infrastructure and facilities were found functional". A landing and takeoff took place after that. A statement released by Turkish Airlines blamed the skid on the rains
Night-landing facilities installed at Puduchery
Puducherry: Commercial flights are scheduled to resume operations from the? airport here from Oct 10.
The runway length of the airport has been extended from 1222 metres to 1482 metres and? night landing facilities have been installed. A new terminal building which can handle 300 passengers is under consideration, said Rajavelu.
It is expected that the Airport Authority of India will complete all work by December. These works had been taken up following a memorandum of understanding between government of Puducherry and Airports Authority of India on June 16, 2007 for expansion of Puducherry Airport in two phases. Phase -I was the extension of the runway by 260 metres to enable landing of ATR aircraft along with ground support facilities. Land 19.92 hectares of land was acquired in Puduchery at a cost of `18.95 crore and handed over to AAI on February 25, 2007 for first phase development.
Phase II comprising the extension of an additional 1100 metres of runway to facilitate operating large Jet Aircraft by acquiring another 200 acres of adjacent land in the state of Tamil Nadu.
So far the government had spent Rs 18.95 crore for land acquisition? and `9.83 crores for construction of a box culvert for the sewage pipe lines crossing the runway.
The runway length of the airport has been extended from 1222 metres to 1482 metres and? night landing facilities have been installed. A new terminal building which can handle 300 passengers is under consideration, said Rajavelu.
It is expected that the Airport Authority of India will complete all work by December. These works had been taken up following a memorandum of understanding between government of Puducherry and Airports Authority of India on June 16, 2007 for expansion of Puducherry Airport in two phases. Phase -I was the extension of the runway by 260 metres to enable landing of ATR aircraft along with ground support facilities. Land 19.92 hectares of land was acquired in Puduchery at a cost of `18.95 crore and handed over to AAI on February 25, 2007 for first phase development.
Phase II comprising the extension of an additional 1100 metres of runway to facilitate operating large Jet Aircraft by acquiring another 200 acres of adjacent land in the state of Tamil Nadu.
So far the government had spent Rs 18.95 crore for land acquisition? and `9.83 crores for construction of a box culvert for the sewage pipe lines crossing the runway.
No sign yet of ILS equipment at Pune airport
Pune: The disruption of flight operations at the Lohegaon airport on Saturday morning once again brings the focus back on the long-pending proposal to install a modern instrument landing system (ILS) at the airport.
The ILS refers to a ground-based instrument approach system. It provides precision guidance to aircrafts approaching the runway for safe landing during inclement weather conditions, like low ceilings or reduced visibility caused by fog or heavy rains.
It will help avoid situations like delays or flight diversions. The need for such equipment is more pronounced during monsoon and winter seasons, when flight disruptions owing to heavy rains/fog are often reported, throwing plans of air travellers as well as airlines out of gear.
The ILS refers to a ground-based instrument approach system. It provides precision guidance to aircrafts approaching the runway for safe landing during inclement weather conditions, like low ceilings or reduced visibility caused by fog or heavy rains.
It will help avoid situations like delays or flight diversions. The need for such equipment is more pronounced during monsoon and winter seasons, when flight disruptions owing to heavy rains/fog are often reported, throwing plans of air travellers as well as airlines out of gear.
Puducherry airport to go on stream in October
Puducherry: The Puducherry airport will go on stream from October 10 with the Spice Jet Airlines operating an ATR flight to Bangalore, Welfare and Tourism Minister P Rajavelu told the territorial assembly today.
The Airlines had obtained clearance from the Civil Aviation Ministry to operate the flight, he said in response to a query by P.Karthikeyan (AINRC).
Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfishers had also informed that they would depute their technical team to study feasibility of operating flights from Puducherry to other destinations.
Giving details of the progress of work in the airport at Lawspet near here, he said a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Puducherry Administration and Airports Authority of India in June 2007 for expansion of the airport in two phases
The Airlines had obtained clearance from the Civil Aviation Ministry to operate the flight, he said in response to a query by P.Karthikeyan (AINRC).
Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfishers had also informed that they would depute their technical team to study feasibility of operating flights from Puducherry to other destinations.
Giving details of the progress of work in the airport at Lawspet near here, he said a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Puducherry Administration and Airports Authority of India in June 2007 for expansion of the airport in two phases
Intra-state air service to take off next week
Indore: The much awaited intra-state air service, connecting Bhopal-Indore-Jabalpur-Gwalior, is likely to commence next week.
"The air service will commence next week for sure. The airline - Ventura Airconnect Private Ltd - is likely to get clearance soon from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to fly Cessna Grand Caravan Aircraft and the service will begin next week," Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) chairman Dr Mohan Yadav told TOI.
"All preparations have been completed for the launch of the air service," Dr Yadav said. MPTDC and Ventura Airconnect Pvt Ltd have inked an agreement to start the air service to boost tourism in Madhya Pradesh. Ventura will fly 9-seater Cessna aircraft of which 3 to 4 seats would be bought by the state government for its officials to ensure that the project is viable, an MPTDC official said.
After starting the air services between four cities, MPTDC and Ventura will connect smaller cities and tourist places like tiger reserves and Khajuraho, he added.
"The air service will commence next week for sure. The airline - Ventura Airconnect Private Ltd - is likely to get clearance soon from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to fly Cessna Grand Caravan Aircraft and the service will begin next week," Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) chairman Dr Mohan Yadav told TOI.
"All preparations have been completed for the launch of the air service," Dr Yadav said. MPTDC and Ventura Airconnect Pvt Ltd have inked an agreement to start the air service to boost tourism in Madhya Pradesh. Ventura will fly 9-seater Cessna aircraft of which 3 to 4 seats would be bought by the state government for its officials to ensure that the project is viable, an MPTDC official said.
After starting the air services between four cities, MPTDC and Ventura will connect smaller cities and tourist places like tiger reserves and Khajuraho, he added.
Capt Gopinath to sell Deccan 360
Bangalore/Mumbai: A final effort is on to salvage whatever little is left of Deccan 360, the air & ground cargo service launched by low-cost aviation pioneer G R Gopinath. Discussions have been initiated to sell the company to a Mumbai-headquartered, highly diversified, multi-billion dollar corporate group which has interests in retail and logistics, among various others.
Since early May, Deccan 360 had stopped its services because the volumes did not pick up to service the lease for the three Airbus 310s. The aircraft has since been taken back by the lessors.
Deccan 360 now has only two ATRs, which is grounded as the company is not taking any orders. Close to 1,000 employees have been asked to look-out for jobs and the majority have left the company in the past couple of months.
Deccan 360, launched during May 2009, had raised Rs 115 crore equity investment from Reliance Industries early last year, with a commitment to invest further as the operations expand. With operations of Deccan 360 not going according to plans, RIL stopped investments and is understood to have expressed willingness to exit or pare down its stake.
According to investment bankers close to RIL, Reliance Industries has since structured a transaction to move its investment in Deccan 360 to RIL’s CMD Mukesh Ambani’s personal investment portfolio.
Ever since May 2011, Capt Gopinath has been trying in vain to raise resources from various private equity funds and other global players to raise fresh investment through companies which would buyout RIL’s stake and invest further to take the operations further.
The search seems to have led him to the large corporate house and talks are understood to have progressed well.
Since early May, Deccan 360 had stopped its services because the volumes did not pick up to service the lease for the three Airbus 310s. The aircraft has since been taken back by the lessors.
Deccan 360 now has only two ATRs, which is grounded as the company is not taking any orders. Close to 1,000 employees have been asked to look-out for jobs and the majority have left the company in the past couple of months.
Deccan 360, launched during May 2009, had raised Rs 115 crore equity investment from Reliance Industries early last year, with a commitment to invest further as the operations expand. With operations of Deccan 360 not going according to plans, RIL stopped investments and is understood to have expressed willingness to exit or pare down its stake.
According to investment bankers close to RIL, Reliance Industries has since structured a transaction to move its investment in Deccan 360 to RIL’s CMD Mukesh Ambani’s personal investment portfolio.
Ever since May 2011, Capt Gopinath has been trying in vain to raise resources from various private equity funds and other global players to raise fresh investment through companies which would buyout RIL’s stake and invest further to take the operations further.
The search seems to have led him to the large corporate house and talks are understood to have progressed well.
Turkish plane skids off taxiway, flights disrupted in Mumbai
Mumbai: A Turkish Airlines plane with 104 people on board today skidded off the airport taxiway with its landing gear getting stuck in the mud near the main runway leading to flight disruptions, in the second such incident involving a foreign carrier this week.
All the 93 passengers and 11 crew members on board the flight from Istanbul have been safey evacuated, a Mumbai International Airport spokesman told PTI.
Turkish Airlines flight TK970 to Mumbai veered off the rapid exit taxiway at 4.13 AM after landing. The landing gear of Airbus 340-300 aircraft got stuck in mud, immobilising it, an airport official said.
Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered an inquiry.
"The main runway has been closed till 8 PM as a precautionary measure as the affected aircraft is very close to the runway. We are managing with the secondary runway and there is an average delay of 30 minutes in operations. The landing gear of the aircraft is stuck in the mud," the official said.
"We consider this as a serious incident and have ordered an inquiry," Director General of Civil Aviation E K Bharat Bhushan said.
In a statement from Istanbul, the Turkish Airlines blamed excessive rainfall in the city for the incident.
This is the second such incident involving foreign carriers this week.
On Monday, a Gulf Air plane with 137 on board, had skidded off the runway and got stuck in the mud at Kochi airport in bad weather, injuring seven passengers.
All the 93 passengers and 11 crew members on board the flight from Istanbul have been safey evacuated, a Mumbai International Airport spokesman told PTI.
Turkish Airlines flight TK970 to Mumbai veered off the rapid exit taxiway at 4.13 AM after landing. The landing gear of Airbus 340-300 aircraft got stuck in mud, immobilising it, an airport official said.
Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered an inquiry.
"The main runway has been closed till 8 PM as a precautionary measure as the affected aircraft is very close to the runway. We are managing with the secondary runway and there is an average delay of 30 minutes in operations. The landing gear of the aircraft is stuck in the mud," the official said.
"We consider this as a serious incident and have ordered an inquiry," Director General of Civil Aviation E K Bharat Bhushan said.
In a statement from Istanbul, the Turkish Airlines blamed excessive rainfall in the city for the incident.
This is the second such incident involving foreign carriers this week.
On Monday, a Gulf Air plane with 137 on board, had skidded off the runway and got stuck in the mud at Kochi airport in bad weather, injuring seven passengers.
Turkish plane skids off taxiway, flights disrupted in Mumbai
Mumbai: A Turkish Airlines plane with 104 people on board today skidded off the airport taxiway with its landing gear getting stuck in the mud near the main runway leading to flight disruptions, in the second such incident involving a foreign carrier this week.
All the 93 passengers and 11 crew members on board the flight from Istanbul have been safey evacuated, a Mumbai International Airport spokesman told PTI.
Turkish Airlines flight TK970 to Mumbai veered off the rapid exit taxiway at 4.13 AM after landing. The landing gear of Airbus 340-300 aircraft got stuck in mud, immobilising it, an airport official said.
Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered an inquiry.
"The main runway has been closed till 8 PM as a precautionary measure as the affected aircraft is very close to the runway. We are managing with the secondary runway and there is an average delay of 30 minutes in operations. The landing gear of the aircraft is stuck in the mud," the official said.
"We consider this as a serious incident and have ordered an inquiry," Director General of Civil Aviation E K Bharat Bhushan said.
In a statement from Istanbul, the Turkish Airlines blamed excessive rainfall in the city for the incident.
This is the second such incident involving foreign carriers this week.
On Monday, a Gulf Air plane with 137 on board, had skidded off the runway and got stuck in the mud at Kochi airport in bad weather, injuring seven passengers.
All the 93 passengers and 11 crew members on board the flight from Istanbul have been safey evacuated, a Mumbai International Airport spokesman told PTI.
Turkish Airlines flight TK970 to Mumbai veered off the rapid exit taxiway at 4.13 AM after landing. The landing gear of Airbus 340-300 aircraft got stuck in mud, immobilising it, an airport official said.
Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered an inquiry.
"The main runway has been closed till 8 PM as a precautionary measure as the affected aircraft is very close to the runway. We are managing with the secondary runway and there is an average delay of 30 minutes in operations. The landing gear of the aircraft is stuck in the mud," the official said.
"We consider this as a serious incident and have ordered an inquiry," Director General of Civil Aviation E K Bharat Bhushan said.
In a statement from Istanbul, the Turkish Airlines blamed excessive rainfall in the city for the incident.
This is the second such incident involving foreign carriers this week.
On Monday, a Gulf Air plane with 137 on board, had skidded off the runway and got stuck in the mud at Kochi airport in bad weather, injuring seven passengers.
IAF wants Indian private sector to manufacture aircraft
New Delhi: If the Indian Air Force has its way, then India could see a private consortium coming up for the first time in military aviation. Until now, military aviation business is dominated by the state owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne on Thursday said the air force was keen to exploit the Indian private industry for the programme to replace ageing Avro aircraft. "All the 56 Avros in service are scheduled to be phased out. IAF has given a proposal to MoD that they should exploit private industry in finding a replacement for these aircraft. The response has been positive," he said.
An official familiar with the programme said they had received the air force's suggestion and were deciding the final contours of the programme categorization - if it should be bought off-the-shelf from abroad, purchased from abroad with transfer of technology or be made by Indian companies. After the categorization is made, the tender would be issued accordingly.
According to market estimates, the entire Avro replacement programme would be in the range of about $3 billion (approx Rs 13,500 crore) with the IAF's requirement of about 60 planes
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne on Thursday said the air force was keen to exploit the Indian private industry for the programme to replace ageing Avro aircraft. "All the 56 Avros in service are scheduled to be phased out. IAF has given a proposal to MoD that they should exploit private industry in finding a replacement for these aircraft. The response has been positive," he said.
An official familiar with the programme said they had received the air force's suggestion and were deciding the final contours of the programme categorization - if it should be bought off-the-shelf from abroad, purchased from abroad with transfer of technology or be made by Indian companies. After the categorization is made, the tender would be issued accordingly.
According to market estimates, the entire Avro replacement programme would be in the range of about $3 billion (approx Rs 13,500 crore) with the IAF's requirement of about 60 planes
DIAL, HIAL threaten to snap credit line to AI
New Delhi: GMR group companies Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and Hyderabad International Airport (HIAL) have told the aviation ministry that they would start charging Air India on cash-and-carry basis as the government-owned airline had not paid airport charges on time for the last several months.
Air India owes about R350 crore to the two airport companies. The airport operators have continued to give credit line to the cash-starved airline since last September on instructions from the aviation ministry to go soft.
“We have informed the aviation ministry that we cannot now further give credit to Air India. We share revenue with Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the basis of projections and not on cash received. So, we have already shared almost R170 crore with AAI by market borrowings even as if we have not received payment from AI,” said a GMR official.
Air India owes about R350 crore to the two airport companies. The airport operators have continued to give credit line to the cash-starved airline since last September on instructions from the aviation ministry to go soft.
“We have informed the aviation ministry that we cannot now further give credit to Air India. We share revenue with Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the basis of projections and not on cash received. So, we have already shared almost R170 crore with AAI by market borrowings even as if we have not received payment from AI,” said a GMR official.
Finnair to expand its network to more Indian cities
New Delhi: Terming India as a "priority destination", Nordic carrier Finnair on Thursday said that in addition to Delhi, it would soon link more cities directly with Finland.
Important cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad are under consideration for starting Finnair services, Kari Stolbow, Director, Indian Sub-continent, Finnair, told reporters here.
He said, meanwhile, Finnair Cargo will launch services between Mumbai and Helsinki in co-operation with Nordic Global Airlines from September 16 this year.
Terming Delhi-Helsinki route as profitable, he said the airline's commercial income increased by around 25 per cent in the first six months of this year compared to corresponding period last year.
Finnair had launched direct flight between Delhi and Helsinki on October 30, 2007.
It is running a flight on the route six days a week except for Tuesday, Stolbow said.
Important cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad are under consideration for starting Finnair services, Kari Stolbow, Director, Indian Sub-continent, Finnair, told reporters here.
He said, meanwhile, Finnair Cargo will launch services between Mumbai and Helsinki in co-operation with Nordic Global Airlines from September 16 this year.
Terming Delhi-Helsinki route as profitable, he said the airline's commercial income increased by around 25 per cent in the first six months of this year compared to corresponding period last year.
Finnair had launched direct flight between Delhi and Helsinki on October 30, 2007.
It is running a flight on the route six days a week except for Tuesday, Stolbow said.
DGCA to inspect Juhu airport
Mumbai: Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Bharat Bhushan will inspect the Juhu airport in Mumbai on Friday, following complaints from operators about lack of infrastructure.
Helicopter operations were shifted to Juhu in January after Mumbai airport authorities banned chopper movements. However, the move has led to protests from helicopter operators and corporates, who said the Juhu facility did not have adequate hangars.
“There are several operational and infrastructure issues. The number of hangars is not sufficient and helicopters are parked in the open. With Mumbai airport not allowing helicopter operations an additional 10-12 helicopters have moved to Juhu. The Airport Authority of India had planned an investment of Rs 48 crore to upgrade the airport but nothing has happened so far,” Uday Geli, regional president of Rotary Wing Society of India, said.
Sources said corporate houses such as Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance ADAG and Essar do not have their own hangar space in Juhu and have to park choppers in open or in hangars owned by other companies.
“Exposing helicopters in rain can affect their performance over a period of time. Also, operators are unable to carry out maintenance if the helicopter is parked in the open,” an Airport Authority of India official said
Helicopter operations were shifted to Juhu in January after Mumbai airport authorities banned chopper movements. However, the move has led to protests from helicopter operators and corporates, who said the Juhu facility did not have adequate hangars.
“There are several operational and infrastructure issues. The number of hangars is not sufficient and helicopters are parked in the open. With Mumbai airport not allowing helicopter operations an additional 10-12 helicopters have moved to Juhu. The Airport Authority of India had planned an investment of Rs 48 crore to upgrade the airport but nothing has happened so far,” Uday Geli, regional president of Rotary Wing Society of India, said.
Sources said corporate houses such as Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance ADAG and Essar do not have their own hangar space in Juhu and have to park choppers in open or in hangars owned by other companies.
“Exposing helicopters in rain can affect their performance over a period of time. Also, operators are unable to carry out maintenance if the helicopter is parked in the open,” an Airport Authority of India official said
Airfares of India show no signs of slowing
Despite recent volatility in global share markets, airfares in the Asia-Pacific region are continuing their steady trend upwards according to the most recent American Express Business Travel Monitor. Airfares within the region are up 3 percent in the second quarter of 2011, and 4 percent higher compared to the same period in 2011.
Mr. Sandeep Shastri, Vice President and General Manager of Global Business Travel in India said “In global aviation market, India is a high growth and high potential market for travel because the economy is growing on the back of a strong internal demand and rising middle class. We are witnessing a double digit growth in travel spending and frequencies among some of our clients in the region and in India. Indian companies are growing and traveling, making it important for them to look at a strategic management of their business travel and not only focus on LCC strategy for their business travel program.
Mr. Sandeep Shastri, Vice President and General Manager of Global Business Travel in India said “In global aviation market, India is a high growth and high potential market for travel because the economy is growing on the back of a strong internal demand and rising middle class. We are witnessing a double digit growth in travel spending and frequencies among some of our clients in the region and in India. Indian companies are growing and traveling, making it important for them to look at a strategic management of their business travel and not only focus on LCC strategy for their business travel program.
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