Cochin airport:
The Cochin International Airport, the first airport in the country built under public-private partnership, will be expanded with an investment of Rs.35 billion. These investments would take place over five years. Traffic at the airport has picked up tremendously from 76 flights per week in 1999 when it was inaugurated to more than 315 flights of 11 domestic and 14 international airlines every week now. The total number of passengers is expected to go up from 1.8 million during the last fiscal to 2.2 million for the current fiscal. (29 December 2006)

Hindustan Aeronautics:
Hindustan Aeronautics is embarking on new partnerships with global aviation majors for military and civil projects with an eye on trebling the turnover to $3 billion by 2011. The defence PSU expects to cross the Rs 7,000-cr mark this year. For 2005-06, it posted a turnover of Rs 5,375 crore at a growth rate of over 18 percent. Currently, the aircraft major is the object of interest of many global aircraft and aero engine majors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Airbus, Bell, Eurocopter, Pratt & Whitney, for sourcing and manufacturing tie-ups. The current orders for mainly Sukhoi, Jaguar, LCA fighters and the indigenous intermediate jet trainer should last for the next 3-4 years. While HAL would continue its core business of defence fleet maintenance, it is looking at entering civil aircraft MRO activities with Airbus and its MRO associates from 2008. (29 December 2006)

Air India:
Air India has been forced to re-enter the market to lease up to 12 long-and-medium haul aircraft after it was unsuccessful in its earlier attempt to acquire them. Air India plans to attempt to dry lease up to three aircraft and is looking at either taking a Boeing 747-400 or Boeing 777-200 Extended Range aircraft. Besides, the airline plans to wet lease four long range and five medium range aircraft to operate its scheduled flights to the US, the UK and Far East. (28 December 2006)

Heli-Tourism Growth:
Heli-tourism is gaining popularity in India. Heli-tourism operations account for over seven percent of the annual revenue of Deccan Aviation. Jagson Airlines, which uses some of its helicopters to offer services for various pilgrimage sites, is now targeting inbound pilgrims. The airline will be adding two more helicopters to its fleet by May 2007 at an estimated investment of Rs. 20 to 25 crore. Global Vectra Helicorp plans to add eight new 13 seater helicopters to its existing fleet by May 2007. The firm already provides helicopter services to various off-shore oil and natural gas companies. (28 December 2006)

Dabolim Airport:
Goa's Dabolim international airport is expected to join the league of modern airports. The government is planning to upgrade the airport with state-of-the-art facilities by 2008. According to sources, the government is in the process of acquiring nine acres of land from the Navy for the purpose. According to the plan, the runway would be expanded and a parking space for around five aircrafts would be constructed in order to ease the congestion. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will expand the building, which will have an international standard state-of-the-art facility. This is expected to be completed by 2008. Besides escalators, seven aero bridges are being planned. (27 December 2006)

Outbound Traffic:
This winter outbound travel in India is set to hit a new high. As competitive pricing and value-for-money deals favour the holiday traffic movement toward Southeast Asia and South Asia, places like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Sri Lanka are gearing up to receive Indian revellers to their shores for New Year. Travel industry analysts are, therefore, banking on a 10 to 15 percent increase in the Indian outbound figure during December 2006, as compared to last year. (27 December 2006)

Ahmedabad Airport:
The central government has approved a plan to construct a new international terminal building at the Ahmedabad airport along with some development works in the city at an estimated cost of Rs.2.9 billion. To be constructed in two phases, the project is expected to be completed in 18 months.While Phase I is expected to cost Rs.1.96 billion, the second phase to be taken up in 2011-12 will entail an expenditure of Rs.920 million. The project cost includes a foreign exchange component of Rs.273.5 million in Phase I at 2005-06 prices, which would work out to Rs.3.13 billion after considering inflation. (26 December 2006)

Nagpur Airport:
With a view to developing the Nagpur airport into a cargo and passenger hub, the civil aviation ministry has proposed a five-year exemption on all airport and navigation charges. This is for airlines undertaking cargo operations to and from the Nagpur airport. The exemption extends to both domestic and international sectors. According to civil aviation minister Praful Patel, work on the new cargo terminal will start in a few months and the objections raised by defence authorities on land-related issues have been sorted out. (26 December 2006)

Growing Traffic, Better Airports:
A massive growth in passenger traffic, mainly due to low fares and more number of planes on the Indian sky, marked an accident-free aviation scene in 2006. Air-India and Indian placed orders for 68 and 43 aircraft respectively, as did the private carriers for a large number of planes. Major initiatives were taken to improve and enhance the aviation infrastructure, with the work on upgradation and modernisation of several of the 35 identified non-metro airports across the country beginning at a rapid pace. (22 December 2006)

Qatar Airways:
Qatar Airways will be adding two new destinations in India – Chennai and Ahmedabad – from April besides increasing frequencies to Kochi and Hyderabad and capacity to Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, taking the number of Indian destinations would go up to seven. Qatar Airways now flies non-stop to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Under the new bilateral civil aviation agreement between Qatar and India the number of weekly flights would go up to 49 from 30. Also, Qatar Airways will be increasing frequencies to Kochi and Hyderabad, with daily non-stop flights to and from Doha. Currently, it flies five times to Kochi and four times to Hyderabad every week. The Airbus A321 will continue to be used in these two sectors. Under the Indian government’s temporary open skies policy for winter 2006/07, Qatar Airways has been granted rights to operate 42 flights a week till January 31. (22 December 2006)

Fewer Pilots:
The number of licensed pilots worldwide has declined steadily over the past few years; so has the number of student pilots. The shortage is a two-fold problem. First, it means the demand for commercial pilots may go unmet. Ten years ago, the number of U.S. pilots totaled 639,184. By the end of last year, the figure had dropped to 609,737, according to figures from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Though those numbers are declining, a higher percentage of pilots are seeking commercial flying careers. The number of airline transport pilot licenses, needed by professional pilots, grew from 123,877 in 1995 to 141,992 at the end of last year, according to GAMA. But the job market remains mixed. An emerging very light jet market also is expected to create a demand for commercial pilots over the next decade.
(21 December 2006)

Air India, Indian:
The special purpose vehicle (SPV) floated by Air-India and Indian Airlines is in talks with the West Asia’s Dnata and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) to bid for ground handling operations at GMR group-promoted new Hyderabad International Airport. Earlier, Air-India and Indian Airlines, which were bidding separtely for the project, had decided to come together for the SPV. According to sources, Indian is in talks with these two international majors for a possible tie up. Total revenue from ground handling operations for Air-India is at Rs 550 crore while Indian Airlines is at Rs 380 crore. The consortium of Air-India and SATS has been awarded the ground handling contract at Bangalore International Airport (BIAL).
(21 December 2006)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya has said that he has no plans to close down or sell the Kingfisher Airlines despite suffering huge losses in initial years of operations. He said that the airline company might take an additional year to break even than initially expected. Kingfisher seems to be suffering from the “current bloodbath” in the Indian civil aviation sector where budget airline companies are dominating with cheap fares. Mallya further said: “Kingfisher Airlines will never go belly up. We have a wonderful product, which is now rated as the best in the Indian skies.” (21 December 2006)

Jet Airways:
Jet Airways HAS introduced the "check-in while walk-in" facility at the Mumbai airport to make check-ins easier for passengers. A passenger can now be checked-in by an agent with the help of a hand-held interface device and a printer. The facility will have roving agents who will be like check-in counters on the move. These agents can quickly access and verify the travel reservation details of the passenger, complete check-in functions and generate a boarding pass and book them on their choice of seats. The facility will be available at the Delhi airport from 28 Dec 2006. (20 December 2006)

Hindustan Aeronautics:
India will soon have a dedicated global facility to convert passenger airplanes to cargo planes, with state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) planning a full fledged conversion centre for Boeing aircraft. This proposed facility will cater to the requirements of the international market as well as domestic demands. HAL is planning to set up this conversion facility as a part of our proposed maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) project. HAL will be aiming at converting Boeing passenger airplanes such as B737 and B747 for international market.. Industry analysts pointed out this aircraft conversion project is labour intensive and HAL can gain on low cost labour advantage in the country. (20 December 2006)

Private Equity Funds:
The entry of big daddies such as the Tatas and global private equity players Texas Pacific Group, Istithmar and Goldman Sachs have re-ignited the interest of PE funds in the Indian aviation industry, with ancillary segments such as MRO facilities and pilot training centres attracting attention. This comes at a time when airline companies are looking at raising working finances for their network expansion and adding aircraft to their fleet. According to an estimate by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an aviation industry consultancy, existing airlines would need to raise around $250-300 million through the PE route, while cargo carriers would need start-up funds to the tune of $50-75 million. Airlines are also likely to witness some big ticket private equity deals. Most companies in the sector including Jet, Kingfisher, Go, IndiGo and Air Deccan are in talks with private equity players for raising a substantial amount of money. (20 December 2006)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines has become the first private airline in India to receive certification to operate its flights in poor visibility using sophisticated Autoland Systems in the highest category of operation-Category IIIA. This development marks a significant step forward and is another effort in Kingfisher Airlines’ continuous commitment to on-time performance. All Kingfisher Airlines aircraft can now operate flights to fog prone airports like New Delhi and accomplish low visibility landings, independent of prevailing weather conditions. Autoland systems allow airplanes to land in poor visibility with far greater accuracy and reliability than is possible with only human control. The Autoland system in the modern jet airliner is a combination of a number of systems, including autopilot, autothrottles, the flight management system, and instrument landing system. (19 December 2006)

Thales:
French defence, aerospace and electronics major Thales has decided to set up a modern avionics centre in the country early next year. The company also announced that some new aircraft of Kingfisher Airlines will be fitted with its in-flight entertainment system with features like digital audio and video-on-demand on every seat in both economy and upper class sections. Called the Thales TopSeries system, the equipment for Air India comes with a 23-inch display for the first class, 15-inch screen for business class and 10.6-inch model for economy seats -- all with touch-screen operations. Though the size of investment will be around $5-7 million, it will be an important development for India and part of Thales' strategy to be a 'multi-domestic company' in markets it operates in. As opposed to a multinational group, a multi-domestic company seeks to become a local player in the markets it operates in and make it a world-class centre. (19 December 2006)

Air Cargo:
The government has set up an inter-ministerial group (IMG) to attract private investments in air cargo operations from Reliance, Tatas and Deccan Aviation. The group will identify requirements of different sectors — ranging from those trading in perishable goods to consumer durables — and make suggestions to expedite and improve cargo trade at domestic airports. The civil aviation ministry, which is formulating a new policy to develop domestic airports for international cargo handling, will include suggestions of various ministries in that policy. The move is significant since a host of private companies such as Reliance and Deccan Aviation as well as Tata group have recently shown interest in starting dedicated air cargo carriers. The group comprises of officials from civil aviation, finance and commerce ministries. Representatives from the cargo industry such as DHL Express and Blue Dart are also part of the IMG. (19 December 2006)

Karwar Airport:
The state government of Karnataka has requested for permission to operate civil flights of AB-320 type of aircraft at the proposed new airport associated with project Seabird at Karwar of Indian Navy. The Indian Navy had asked for additional land from the state government for extending the runway for operation of civil commercial flights of AB-320 aircraft. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had carried out the site inspection and given suggestions regarding orientation/location of runway and extent of additional land required for extension of the proposed runway to 2,500 meters. (18 December 2006)

Indian:
As many as ten aircraft out of Indian's 57 Airbus fleet are grounded at present for maintenance and want of engines. Observing that normally about seven aircraft remained grounded at any given point of time, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that nine A-320s and one A-300 planes were presently not in service for major maintenance, want of engines or scheduled maintenance. The Indian has a fleet of 57 Airbus aircraft – six A-319s, 48 A-320s and three A-300s, and efforts are on to increase engine availability so that optimum utilisation of aircraft as per laid down norms was achieved. (18 December 2006)

SpiceJet:
SpiceJet has launched two new flights on the Hyderabad-Ahemdabad-Jaipur route and Jaipur-Mumbai-Chennai route. The company has announced special fares of Rs 99 on the new sectors. SpiceJet is among the first low-cost airlines to provide connectivity between major southern and western Indian destinations. Instead of opening more routes, it believes in introducing more flights on existing routes and connecting them to other cities across India. (18 December 2006)

Emirates Airlines:
Emirates Airlines has inaugurated its office in the Karnataka capital. The new office, located in the city's busy Vittal Mallya Road, is fifth of its total planned 19 offices across India. This comes at an opportune moment as India seeks to enhance its links with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to attract more Arab investment. (17 December 2006)

Cargo:
Low-cost airlines such as Air Deccan, SpiceJet and GoAir expect package and document shipments to make up at least 10 percent of their revenue in their first full year of cargo operations. GoAir recently launched cargo operations while SpiceJet hopes to start in the second half of 2007 and Air Deccan plans to lift on-board courier from February 2007. Currently, air cargo within India is carried primarily by full service carriers Jet Airways Ltd, state-run Indian and express delivery firm Blue Dart Express Ltd. Cargo revenue will rise substantially from next year, reaching at least a tenth of revenue. (17 December 2006)

GMG Airlines:
GMG Airlines is looking to increase its current number of flights and destinations into India. It currently operates daily flights to Kolkata and is set to start flying into Delhi thrice a week. Under the recent review of bi-laterals by respective countries, the DGCA has now allowed Bangladesh's carriers daily frequencies to seven metros and unlimited flights to eighteen tourism destinations. The carrier plans to fly to all seven metros and has an eventual target of at least 100 frequencies within two years. GMG will target leisure and medical tourism, business as well as student travel, all of which are on the rise on the outbound front in India. (17 December 2006)

Jet Airways:
Jet Airways has selected Thailand as its base for expansion into the region and wants to take advantage of the opportunities it can harness from the expected boom in passenger traffic through the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. The airline, which has fleet of 59 Boeing 737s and ATR72-500s, is set to launch its services from Bangkok starting on 23 January 2007, with two destinations in India, New Delhi and Kolkata. Jet Airways is set to price itself lower than the current market leader, Thai Airways International. (16 December 2006)

Air India:
Air India plans to introduce its low-cost Air-India express service from Bahrain, beginning 1 January 2007. The budget airline is to initially operate on the Bahrain-Mumbai route and expand to other sectors in India. The fares for the service will be 20% less than the published fare, providing relief to a large number of low paid workers in the Gulf. The airline also decided to phase out first and business class services on routes out of Bahrain once the Air-India Express service comes into operation. (16 December 2006)

Cathay Pacific:
Cathay Pacific Airways would augment its services by adding three more flights in the Delhi-Hong Kong, Mumbai-Hong Kong routes. The three extra flights will operate from 15 December 2006 till 31 January 2007. Currently, the airline operates four flights each on these sectors. (16 December 2006)