Sunday, November 18, 2012
Govt may tweak FDI norms in aviation:Chidambaram
New Delhi: Government may be open to tweaking FDI norms in the aviation sector to attract investment, for which there has to be "willing buyer and a willing seller", Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today.
"What is there to tweak, we have allowed 49%. Let us see whether there are potential investors. These are executive decisions, they can always be tweaked," he told PTI in an interview.
"See, merely because you raise it (the 49% limit) to 51% does not mean somebody is going to come. There may be a willing buyer, there has to be a willing seller also. The Indian company must be willing to yield control. And (there is) no evidence of that. There are only half a dozen players in the sector," Chidambaram said.
He was asked whether there was a possibility of tweaking the FDI norms for the aviation sector due to the lack of response so far.
18/11/12 PTI/Business Standard
Diwali air fares set off government probe
New Delhi: Alarmed by the rocketing air fares this Diwali, aviation minister Ajit Singh on Saturday ordered a probe into the pricing mechanism of airlines, saying "there must be some reasonableness and limit" despite the demand-supply maths. Alongside, the Competition Commission of India may look into complaints that airlines acted as a cartel to push up prices in the festive season.
On Diwali eve, economy-class tickets from Mumbai to Kolkata went for up to anything between Rs 35,000 and Rs 43,000, while business class tickets cost over Rs 60,000. A Delhi-Ahmedabad economy ticket of a full-service airline on Diwali was between Rs 6,500 and Rs 39,000.
"I have received complaints of overcharging. Airlines have a system of putting seats in different fare buckets (fares rise as an aircraft gets filled). The range of fares in this bucket system must have some logic," said Singh
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Summer rush: Air India launches more flights
Bangalore: With the lifting of runway restrictions at the Bangalore International Airport (BIA), Air India will now operate more flights with higher capacity from Bangalore airport to meet the increased passenger demands during the holiday season.
Air India will operate two daily flights to Male (Maldives) every day, one direct and the other via Thiruvananthapuram.
AI 263 will leave Bangalore at 9.10 am to reach Maldives at 11.20 am (local time) via Thiruvananthapuram.
The second flight AI 265 will leave Bangalore at 11.45 am to reach Male (Maldives) directly at 1.15 pm (local time).
The incoming flight from Male will reach Bangalore at 4.45 pm.
Air India will operate five direct flights to New Delhi, two in the morning, one in the afternoon and two in the evening.
While the early morning flight AI 804 will leave Bangalore at 6.15 am on all the days of the week except Tuesdays (on Tuesdays at 5.55 am), the mid morning flight AI 505 will leave at 9.30 am daily.
In the afternoon, the flight AI 501 will leave Bangalore at 1.10 pm five days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Air India will operate two daily flights to Male (Maldives) every day, one direct and the other via Thiruvananthapuram.
AI 263 will leave Bangalore at 9.10 am to reach Maldives at 11.20 am (local time) via Thiruvananthapuram.
The second flight AI 265 will leave Bangalore at 11.45 am to reach Male (Maldives) directly at 1.15 pm (local time).
The incoming flight from Male will reach Bangalore at 4.45 pm.
Air India will operate five direct flights to New Delhi, two in the morning, one in the afternoon and two in the evening.
While the early morning flight AI 804 will leave Bangalore at 6.15 am on all the days of the week except Tuesdays (on Tuesdays at 5.55 am), the mid morning flight AI 505 will leave at 9.30 am daily.
In the afternoon, the flight AI 501 will leave Bangalore at 1.10 pm five days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Airlines' cash flow to improve as IATA brings in new billing cycle
Mumbai: Airlines and travel agents are on a collision course. Yesterday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) informed travel agents that they would have to remit the ticket sale proceeds to airlines every week, in place of the current fortnightly span. IATA has slated the change to come into effect from June 1, even as agents are demanding a deferment in its implementation.
The proposed change, according to a senior executive with a private airline, would bring about a paradigm shift in the way airline ticketing business is done in India. IATA’s billing settlement plan (BSP) is as a payment gateway for travel agents. Twice a month, agents are required to remit to airlines proceeds from ticket sales. For instance, if a ticket is sold by an agent between the 1st and 15th of a month, the agent deposits the amount to the airline on the 25th or the 30th of that month.
Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher, all of which are struggling with mounting losses and finding it difficult to pay their vendors in time, took the lead to secure an approval from IATA to change the billing cycle to seven days from fifteen. A resolution to change the billing cycle in India was approved way back in October last year at an IATA conference attended by all member airlines, though it was only yesterday that the new remittance plan was introduced.
The proposed change, according to a senior executive with a private airline, would bring about a paradigm shift in the way airline ticketing business is done in India. IATA’s billing settlement plan (BSP) is as a payment gateway for travel agents. Twice a month, agents are required to remit to airlines proceeds from ticket sales. For instance, if a ticket is sold by an agent between the 1st and 15th of a month, the agent deposits the amount to the airline on the 25th or the 30th of that month.
Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher, all of which are struggling with mounting losses and finding it difficult to pay their vendors in time, took the lead to secure an approval from IATA to change the billing cycle to seven days from fifteen. A resolution to change the billing cycle in India was approved way back in October last year at an IATA conference attended by all member airlines, though it was only yesterday that the new remittance plan was introduced.
Travel to IGI airport difficult due to lack of public transport
Noida: For Noida and Greater Noida residents, travelling to and from IGI airport continues to be problem, particularly when a flight is scheduled is to depart or arrive at an odd hour. The absence of proper public transport leaves residents with little option but to pay the exorbitant taxi fares. While DTC runs an airport-service bus on its route number 392A in Noida, residents complain about low frequency. The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) says their buses cannot ply beyond certain points in Delhi due to lack of permits.
Greater Noida residents are worse off as they stay further away from Noida. "We don't have any form of public transport to travel to the airport at any time of the day," said K P Singh Tomar, president of Federation of Greater Noida RWAs. "With taxi drivers from Delhi unwilling to cross the border, we have to ask a taxi from our city to come to pick us up from the airport late at night," added Tomar.
Greater Noida residents are worse off as they stay further away from Noida. "We don't have any form of public transport to travel to the airport at any time of the day," said K P Singh Tomar, president of Federation of Greater Noida RWAs. "With taxi drivers from Delhi unwilling to cross the border, we have to ask a taxi from our city to come to pick us up from the airport late at night," added Tomar.
Airlines cut business-class seats on domestic routes
New Delhi: Government-owned Air India has begun changing the configuration of a substantial number of its short-haul aircraft to all-economy seats.
Of the 62 Airbus-320 family of aircraft, AI has started converting 14 to single-class configuration and to decrease the number of business-class seats in 43 others from 20 seats per aircraft to 12.
“We have already converted one of the aircraft to single configuration and the conversion of others is in process. These will be operated in connecting smaller cities that do not have any business class traffic and the business class seats go empty,” said a senior AI official, who did not wish to be identified. “We will be able to increase our capacity (with this) by at least 10 per cent. This will help us in increasing our revenue in sectors where business class seats have no takers.”
The domestic market currently offers around 10 per cent inventory in business class and the rest in the economy category. It has seen a decline in business class seats due to curtailment of flights by Kingfisher Airlines and addition of capacity by various low-cost carriers. Domestic airlines provide a little over 200,000 seats a day. Till six months earlier, 15 per cent of the inventory was business class.
Of the 62 Airbus-320 family of aircraft, AI has started converting 14 to single-class configuration and to decrease the number of business-class seats in 43 others from 20 seats per aircraft to 12.
“We have already converted one of the aircraft to single configuration and the conversion of others is in process. These will be operated in connecting smaller cities that do not have any business class traffic and the business class seats go empty,” said a senior AI official, who did not wish to be identified. “We will be able to increase our capacity (with this) by at least 10 per cent. This will help us in increasing our revenue in sectors where business class seats have no takers.”
The domestic market currently offers around 10 per cent inventory in business class and the rest in the economy category. It has seen a decline in business class seats due to curtailment of flights by Kingfisher Airlines and addition of capacity by various low-cost carriers. Domestic airlines provide a little over 200,000 seats a day. Till six months earlier, 15 per cent of the inventory was business class.
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