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Nary
a dull moment
Market
CIAL
subsidiary to develop cost-effective airports
After low-cost airlines, it is now the time for low-cost airports.
If all goes as planned, the Cochin International Airport (CIAL)
model will soon be replicated nationally and internationally.
Jet
to clear Air Sahara travel agent dues, PLBs
The recent buyout of Air Sahara by Jet Airways and its rechristening
as JetLite is probably the most discussed news in the aviation
business in India. But what went unnoticed were the various
repercussions and fallout that this change could bring about.
Air
Mauritius sharpens India focus
Air Mauritius has plans to sharpen its focus on the Indian
market. Manoj RK Ujoodha, its CEO, was in India recently to
strengthen the airline's position and business prospects,
by increasing its human resource and its GSA and PSA network
in India.
Air
ticket cess to fund small airport revamp
With the central government planning to fund the development
of 35 non-metro airports through internal accruals, rather
than taking the private funding route, some airline operators
believe the government may consider its earlier decision of
levying cess on air tickets.
TAAI,
TAFI issue notice to all Gulf carriers from India
The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) along with Travel
Agents Federation of India (TAFI) was, at the time of going
to print, on the brink of issuing a notice to all Gulf carriers
in India as they have taken a sudden decision to reduce airline
commissions from the existing seven per cent to five per cent,
effective May 1, 2007.
Merger
makeover: June may see new beginnings
The marriage between Air India and Indian has finally been
announced and now is the time to see what the future of the
new family is. In all probabilities, the month of June will
witness more news coming out from the Maharajah's office.
CSIA
becomes first Indian airport to install SITA's airport management
system
Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) has announced that it
is going live with India's first modern airport management
system at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA),
Mumbai.
CAPA
to organise two aviation events in Mumbai
The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) will be organising
two exciting aviation events to be held in June at Mumbai.
The two events will have the highest calibre of speakers addressing
major issues facing the sector.
Finmin
may review plane import duty
The finance ministry is likely to review its decision of imposing
a customs duty of 23 per cent on import of aircraft by chartered
operators. Currently, only aircraft imported by scheduled
operators and the government are exempt from this duty, which
includes three per cent basic customs duty, 16 per cent of
countervailing duty and four per cent of special additional
duty.
Big
players warn about widening gap between capacity and market
growth
Growth in Indian aviation is beginning to evoke a lot of concern.
Industry experts point out that growth in capacity in domestic
civil aviation has been much more rapid than the traffic growth
in the domestic sector, which in itself is a matter of extreme
concern for industry players.
Malaysia
Airlines intensifies BTP initiatives
Malaysia Airlines intends to undertake various initiatives
in order to further intensify its Business Turnaround Plan
(BTP) in the year 2007. It announced a net profit of RM121
million for the quarter ending December 2006, its second consecutive
profitable quarter since the unveiling of its BTP in February
2006.
Turkish
Airlines targets 30% growth in 2007
With a fleet of 102 aircraft, Turkish Airlines is expecting
its traffic from India to grow by 30 per cent in the current
year. According to the airline, it receives a large number
of queries from India for incentives and leisure travel.
Centre
approves Rs 1,542 cr modernisation plan for Kolkata airport
The Union Government has recently cleared a Rs 1,542-crore
modernisation programme for Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International
Airport in Kolkata. It is slated to have an upgraded terminal,
latest navigation and communication aids and an extended runway.
Allocation
of seats made compulsory for airlines
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made
it mandatory for airlines to allocate row numbers and seat
numbers to passengers travelling in a public transport aircraft.
This was issued to ensure correct loading of aircraft and
keeping the centre of gravity of the aircraft within limits
at all times during flight.
Indian
airport charges lowest among international hubs
A report submitted by India to the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) for the 'Worldwide symposium on performance
of air navigation system' shows the airport charges in the
country are comparatively low when compared with major international
hubs.
MIAL
eyeing 26 acres of private land near airport
Exploring all avenues for development, the land-locked Mumbai
airport finds itself in a critical dilemma. After the civil
aviation ministry put in a request to the Empowered Group
of Ministers to release 200 acres of salt-pan land to rehabilitate
encroaching slums, MIAL, the consortium headed by GVK, is
now eyeing 26 acres of private land skirting the Chhatrapati
Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) for aviation related
development.
Bharat
Forge to set up aircraft parts plant
Hitherto known as the auto-component hub of India, Pune has
upped the ante and staked claim as the new backroom for aerospace
engineering. The city-based Bharat Forge (BFL), already a
global player in the auto-components sector, is setting up
a Rs 350 crore Centre for Advanced Manufacturing at Baramati
in Pune district.
Airlines
plan increase in fuel surcharge
With aviation turbine fuel prices likely to go up again by
around 4% for the month of May, airline companies are planning
to increase the fuel surcharge, said Indian Airlines chairman
and managing director, Vishwapati Trivedi.
Kerala
fast-tracks intl airport at Kannur
The state government has decided to fast-track acquisition
of another 2,000 acres of land for Kannur airport. With this
move, Kerala is now on the track to having the most number
of international airports in the country - an average of one
every 130-odd kilometre.
11
non-metro airports to miss modernisation bus for land crunch
Due to non-availability of land, only 24 non-metro airports,
out of the total 35 being modernised, will witness city-side
development through the public-private-partnership (PPP) route.
The ones likely to miss the bus include Agatti, Agra, Chandigarh,
Jammu, Pune, Dehradun, Goa, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Port Blair
and Udaipur.
Air
India to add 25 aircraft, hire 1000 pilots for AI-Express
Air India (AI) has decided to replace leased aircraft of its
budget carrier AI-Express with completely owned fleet. It
is also on the lookout for recruiting more manpower.
Snippets
Management
US:
Eyeing the Indian skies
The first ever US-India Aviation Partnership Summit held in
New Delhi from April 23 to 25, 2007 proved to be a meeting
of like minds, with an active exchange of ideas in the field
of technology and security systems, and planning managerial
and strategic activities. More importantly, it focussed on
the challenges in the field of air traffic management. Express
AviationWorld brings to you the action directly from the summit's
epicentre
India:
Land of promise
Going by the way the world is looking at India and tracking
down it's every move across sectors and industries, one can
easily conclude that 'India' is the latest 'catch-word' or
should we say 'cash-word' for growth. The Indian aviation
sector is no exception and top of the line on the radar of
the global aviation business.
‘India's
booming airline industry needs consolidation’
Virgin Atlantic Airways, UK's second largest long haul airline,
has big plans for the UK bound Indian traveller. Steena Joy
spoke to Neha Lidder Ganju, marketing manager, India, Virgin
Atlantic Airways, of the airline's plans for the sector and
its new advertising campaign.
‘With
nearly seven airports planned, the future of aviation in AP
looks bright’
The new international airport coming up at Hyderabad is making
headlines for its technology, architecture, and runway length.
Consequently, the entire state of Andhra Pradesh, and, the
country, are taking note. K Brahmananda Reddy, IRAS, special
secretary to government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP), Transport,
Roads & Buildings (Ports) Department (T R &B) speaks
to Vyas Sivanand about the new initiatives undertaken and
the existing airports' renovations.
On
the global aviation map
The new state-of-the-art international airport coming up in
Hyderabad with its first phase slated to be operational by
March 2008 is expected to place the city as a major aviation
hub in the country, and even South Asia, reports Express AviationWorld.
Awaiting
higher altitude clearance
High fuel cost and airport clogs continue to keep low-fare
carriers below their potential says Jeh Wadia.
Edge
‘India
is not an over-serviced but an under-serviced market’
That Indian aviation sector is booming is well-known. However,
what is not so well-known is that there is a demand for maintenance,
repair and overhaul (MRO) of aircraft which is mandatory for
every aircraft after it flies for a number of hours and miles.
Worldwide the total volume of the MRO business is about US$
55 billion and growing at four per cent annually. India's
fleet strength, already prominent on the aviation radar with
300 commercial aircraft flying, is slated to grow to 500 by
2010 and 1,000 by 2020. This offers a huge opportunity to
MRO service providers. Lufthansa Technik AG, of the Lufthansa
group has just announced its plans to set up a MRO facility
in collaboration with GMR group, the promoters of the greenfield
Hyderabad International Airport, who are also modernising
the Delhi International Airport. August Wilhelm Henningsen,
chairman of the board, Lufthansa Technik AG shared his plans
with Satya Naagesh Ayyagary. Excerpts.
Now,
free Wi-Fi connectivity at Mumbai airport
At country's first international airport with a free wireless
service, internet kiosks also being set up says Lekha Agarwal.
Aviation Life
The
human factor
The merger of Indian and Air India and the acquisition of
Air Sahara by Jet Airways has shifted the spotlight to crucial
human resources. Viveat Susan Pinto finds out how these companies
are dealing with their manpower issues
Scorching
the sky
With the tag-line 'Choo lo Aasman' and an added distinction
of being the only all-vegetarian, full-service airline in
the Indian skies, MDLR Airlines, the brainchild of Gopal Goyal,
promises the stars and more to its passengers. Praveen K Singh
outlines the maverick's vision.
WeekEnd
Glimpses
of US-India Aviation Partnership Summit, New Delhi
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