Super-jumbo:
Airbus 380, the world’s largest commercial passenger aircraft, will thunder across the Mumbai city’s skies in April. The double-deck aircraft will test the competence of city's runways. The European aircraft company has sent a team to India to explore the preparedness of Mumbai and Delhi airports to handle such a huge aeroplane. The source confirmed that Mumbai’s test has been fixed for April 25. Though an airport source claimed that an A380 can land in Mumbai even today, he admitted that parking is a problem. The airport will also require additional ladders and extra vestibules for passengers. The airport revamp plan will enable parking of two A380s, but that will only come about by 2010. Till then, it will have to be ‘remote’ parking for the super-jumbo. (28 February 2007)
Air Sahara:
Air Sahara is set to add another destination and increase flights on the domestic sector besides launching a new flight on the international sector. According to the official sources, Kuala Lumpur will be added to the airline's network from March 19, making it the fifth international destination after Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore and the Maldives. Air Sahara is offering the Delhi-Kuala Lumpur-Delhi flight for Rs.13, 000 (plus taxes), which includes a two-night-three-day stay. In addition, the airline will begin a direct flight from Thiruvananthapuram to the Maldives from March 10. To strengthen its presence in southern India, Coimbatore will be added to the route network from March 10 with two daily direct return flights to Delhi and Bangalore. (28 February 2007)
FDI:
Indian government may allow 100 percent foreign direct investment in seaplane and helicopter services. The government may also allow full foreign investment in setting up maintenance and overhaul facilities for chartered and other non-scheduled flights. However, the government will not increase the foreign investment quotas on domestic passenger airlines. The ministry has plans to start operating some 21 unused airstrips across the country to clear air congestion. (28 February 2007)
Airbus, Boeing:
Airbus and Boeing, which have already together secured orders worth Rs 45,000 crore from state-run Air-India and Indian Airlines, apart from huge orders from other Indian airline operators in the past two years, are fine-tuning their business strategies to penetrate further into the Indian aviation market. Airbus is not only planning to set up its own MRO facility in India, but also promising its customers assistance from 15 MROs worldwide, with whom they have a tie-up. On the other hand, Boeing is already in the process of setting up an MRO facility in Nagpur. Airbus predicts that the Indian market will need 1,100 passenger and freighter aircraft valued at $105 billion over the next 20 years, while Boeing has forecast that the Indian market will need about 856 commercial aircraft in the next 20 years. (27 February 2007)
Destination India:
Aircraft sellers hope to strike some really big deals as India's military aircraft market is reportedly worth about US $7 to US $10 billion. Boeing is hoping to sell the fifth generation Super Hornet fighter to India. Each aircraft could cost upwards of US $70 million but Boeing is ready to co-produce it. Boeing say the Indian order is the biggest fighter aircraft deal since the 1990s. Lockheed is also in the race with its ageing but combat proven F-16 fighter and is also offering co-production. Building on a three decade old partnership with India, Russia's MiG Corporation is offering the MiG-35. (27 February 2007)
Aerospace Outsourcing:
Indian software firms say they are well placed to grab a bigger share of the aerospace market as airplane makers and defence companies look to control costs by outsourcing design and management systems. Asia's fourth-largest economy is already a hub for global corporations to outsource software services from application development and system integration to supply chain management. The total offshore engineering spend is expected to grow to $150-$225 billion by 2020 and India, with its talent pool and experience in engineering services, could pick up 25 percent of that, according to the association. (27 February 2007)
AI, IA:
Even as the grand alliance between Air India and Indian Airlines readies for take-off, the carriers are individually exploring opportunities in South-East Asia and the Far East. The twin airlines have identified half a dozen sectors in these regions that can be serviced from Kolkata. Air India, which has a thrice-a-week direct service between Kolkata and London at present, is evaluating the viability of a flight to Tokyo via South-East Asia. The stop-over could be at Hong Kong. With multiple flights already in operation from all metros except Kolkata, AI is expected to get its long-due share of overseas flights in the next couple of years.
(26 February 2007)
MiG-21:
Indian Air Force Chief-designate Air Marshal F.H. Major has ruled out immediate phasing out of the MiG-21s. There was a need for mid-life up-gradation of aircraft as induction of new combat jets, which was prohibitively expensive, might take eight to nine years. The IAF would induct the first of three Phalcon airborne warning and control aircraft [AWACS] by the end of the year or early 2008, while the first batch of indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was expected to be part of the force by 2009. The IAF had come a long way from being a "tactical" air force to becoming a "strategic" one. It was now the world's fourth largest air force.
(26 February 2007)
Pilot Licences:
Close on the heels of the directorate general of civil aviation’s decision to issue multiple pilot licences, enabling pilots to fly two variants of Airbus A320 on the same day, the industry is seeking common rating for all Airbus A320 planes and remove the restriction of not flying more than two aircraft variants on the same day. Globally, there is only one simulator for all A320-family aircraft. A pilot, trained on such a simulator, gets a common rating on A319s, A320s and A321s. The cockpit support for all variants of the particular family is identical-if not totally similar. According to industry sources, a similar common rating is necessary. Without those, airlines are required to recruit additional pilots and, thereby, adding to manpower costs of such highly paid professionals. (26 February 2007)
Bajpe Airport:
There is an increase in the number of passengers who travelled via Bajpe (Mangalore) airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in 2006 when compared to 2005. According to sources in the AAI, the airport handled 4,39,743 passengers, including domestic and international, in 2006. It had handled 2,76,709 domestic passengers in 2005. Citing reasons for the hike in the number of passengers, the sources said that the first international flight service from Mangalore to Dubai began in October last year. In addition to this four new domestic flight services from the airport also began last year. The domestic services were started to Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. (26 February 2007)
ATF:
Leading legacy carriers have urged the Central government to re-allow the airlines to import aviation turbine fuel (ATF) directly. Though the government is unlikely to allow import of 100 percent of the airlines' requirement, it may agree to allow import of up to 10 percent of their annual consumption directly. The government believes regulation of 100 percent direct import would become difficult. ATF sales tax varies from state to state from 26 percent to 30 percent. Besides that, there is an eight percent excise duty on aviation fuel. India has the highest duty structure on aviation fuel in the world. As a result, in India, ATF prices are 60 percent higher than global aviation fuel prices. (26 February 2007)
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport:
Jet setters will be able to see the first visible changes at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in June this year, with airport operator Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) partially overhauling the domestic terminal currently, its first major city-side upgrade. Accorrding to the laid-out plan, within three months, a new arrivals plaza, verdant landscaping and new traffic patterns are assured. But what will bring the most relief to travellers will be the opening of the 4,100 sq m new arrivals wing, which will help in bifurcation of the arriving traffic. (23 February 2007)
Domestic Air Traffic:
In the next five years, domestic air traffic is set to grow by about 25 percent annually and international traffic 15 percent. In the first three months of the current fiscal, domestic traffic increased by 48 percent on a year-on-year basis. The key to good infrastructure is ensuring use of low cost options, flexible maintenance, innovative leasing and efficient financing.
(23 February 2007)
Air India:
Under the special pilot training scheme launched by Air India, courses at flying schools abroad will last from six months to a year, after which the trainees would get a licence. AI would then train them on its simulators before allowing them to fly as co-pilots in the medium-sized Boeing 737-800s and A-310s. With more flying experience, these pilots would make the transition to bigger aircraft.
Airline experts say the existing pool of CPL holders has been lapped up and now airlines have to look at foreign pilots to meet the demand. AI alone will 100 new pilots every year for the next seven years. (23 February 2007)
Paramount Airways:
Paramount Airways has chalked up plans to have a national footprint by end 2009, which will be done by acquiring 15 new aircraft in three years. The airline, which started operations a year ago, connects eight destinations through 50 flights daily. Paramount is the lone carrier in the HVC (high value carrier) segment, while most airlines follow a LCC (low cost carrier) or full service carrier (FSC) model. The funding of the 15 new jets will be through internal accruals and debt. Paramount has opted for Embraer airplanes. (22 February 2007)
Indian, AI:
Air India and the domestic carrier Indian have finally got the green signal to merge from the Group of Ministers (GoM). The two airlines would come together under a new name and the new entity will have a fleet of over a 100 planes, and 33,000 employees. The new entity would be worth around Rs 2,500 crore with assets of over Rs 7,000 crore. However, the merger would come at a price. The government has promised that there'll be no job cuts and salaries would be equalized across the two airlines. This would add Rs 300 crore to the merged airlines' wage bill. (22 February 2007)
Tata Group, Changi Airports International:
The Tata Group and Singapore's Changi Airports International have agreed to jointly bid for the modernisation works of airports at Chennai and Kolkata as also vie for similar projects in non-metro airports. While the Tatas hold a controlling 51 percent stake in the joint venture company, Changi would own the rest. No final decision has yet been taken by the Centre on the course of modernising these two metro airports, though the West Bengal government has said that Kolkata airport should be developed by the Airports Authority of India, while Tamil Nadu government favours the public-private partnership route. This is the second time the Tatas are entering the aviation sector in the recent past. Earlier, the Indian conglomerate had tied up with the Singapore Airline to bid for flag carrier Air-India when it was proposed to be privatised, but the process failed to take off. (22 February 2007)
GE, Air India MoU:
General Electric (GE) has announced the signing of a MoU with Air India that will see GE delivering eco-friendly engines for aircraft currently on order by Air India. The MoU mark the launch of its ecomagination initiative in India. The value of the Air India orders is over $2.2 billion at list price. Beyond aircraft engines, GE will partner Air India in other areas such as green building, in-flight content creation, co-branding etc. (22 February 2007)
Plan for Aviation Sector:
The central government has in principle approved a plan to develop the Kannur airport on the lines of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), according to Aviation Minister Praful Patel. The state government’s stake is limited to 26 percent while the rest was offered to the public and financial institutions. Air India Express would start its operation from Hyderabad in the later part of this year providing connectivity to the Gulf Region. The Committee had extensive deliberations on better connectivity for south India and Kerala. The government is contemplating induction of 80-seater small aircraft to provide better connectivity to small cities across India. It is also looking into the possibility of connecting pilgrimage centres such as Tirupati, Sabarimala, Vaishno Devi, Ajmer Sheriff and Shirdi. (22 February 2007)
Air India Express:
Air India Express has inducted a new Boeing 737-800 aircraft in its fleet. This is the sixth aircraft owned by Air India Express and will have only economy class seats and will conduct service on the Gulf and Singapore routes. According to a statement, with this acquisition the fleet size of Air India Express will increase to 13, seven of which are on lease. The new aircraft's tail will bear Raja Ravi Varma paintings. (21 February 2007)
Indian:
Indian airlines is planning to introduce online check-in facility at the international airport within a month. The online check-in facility was recently introduced in New Delhi and will be extended to all metro cities within a week or two and to other major cities including Thiruvananthapuram within a month, according to sources at Indian. The online check-in facility, known as i-check-in facility, helps passengers to save time and enables them to choose their seats, check-in and get boarding pass via internet. To begin with, the facility is limited to passengers holding e-tickets, dial-a-ticket, net ticket and bid and fly tickets for travel on domestic sectors only.
(21 February 2007)
Insurance Companies:
Public and private sector insurance companies are forming alliances to bid for state-run carrier Air-India’s aviation cover worth $3.5 billion. To counter intense competition and get better rates from reinsurers, public sector insurance majors — New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance — have decided to float a consortium to bid for Air-India’s cover. Private insurers are considering a similar alliance, which will include Bajaj Allianz and ICICI Lombard. Air-India has invited technical bids for aviation insurance for its aircraft fleet worth $3.5 billion this year, against $3.2 billion last year. The government-owned airline currently has 48 aircraft, the largest fleet size since its inception. (21 February 2007)
Air India:
Air India has announced the launch of its second daily flight from Dubai to Mumbai and Delhi from 26 February 2007. The carrier will operate Boeing 767-300 aircraft offering 12 seats in executive class and 249 seats in economy class on the routes to meet the growing demand for travel to India. With these additional flights, Air India will be operating 37 flights out of Dubai to different destinations in India like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Thiruvanthpuram, Kozikode, Goa, and Lucknow providing passengers with more choice to fly on Air India. Apart from the 37 flights, Air India's budget carrier Air India Expess offers 33 flights from Dubai and Sharjah. Air India has the code share arrangement with Emirates Airlines on nine flights to Cochin and Chennai. (20 February 2007)
Small Aircraft:
The government is planning to connect smaller cities by introducing 80-seater aircraft. There is also a move to connect pilgrimage centres to develop a good aviation network. There was the need to have better connectivity among smaller cities and the government was looking at acquiring small 80-seater aircraft. The Centre was also looking at connecting the various pilgrimage centres across the country like Sabarimala, Tirupati, Shirdi, Vaishno Devi and Ajmer. Growth in the domestic sector was nearly 50 percent, the highest across the globe.
(20 February 2007)
Expat Pilots:
Faced with steep rise in pilot salaries over the past couple of years, airlines have asked the finance minister for income-tax sops for expat pilots working in the country. In a pre-budget note to FM, airlines have requested the government not to tax foreign pilots under Indian income-tax laws but treat them as scarce technical manpower. If accepted, this will help the domestic airlines to cut their wage bill for foreign pilots by around one-third. The exemption would help airlines to attract foreign pilots and engineers, till the time adequate pool of local talent is available. However, as per income-tax law, any foreigner who stays and works in the country for more than 182 days in a year is liable to pay income-tax. (20 February 2007)
Tax Benefits:
The government is expected to end the tax exemption on lease rentals for aircraft which is available till March this year. Sources said the decision to withdraw the exemption has already been conveyed to the civil aviation ministry. While airlines have been in a rush to buy aircraft, they have also resorted to selling them to another company and then leasing them back. The move helps them show lower losses and also benefit from the tax exemption. North Block has also decided to limit the tax benefit for mergers and acquisitions to Indian Airlines and Air India. (19 February 2007)
Flying High:
The government is keen to categorise ATF and aviation gasoline as ‘declared goods’ under the Central Sales Tax Act. This will ensure that all states levy a uniform four percent duty on these fuels. The government plans to offer some concessions to promote regional air connectivity. It may lower ATF sales tax to four percent for 70-seater aircraft with jet engines. At present, only the turboprop aircraft like the ATR have the privilege of paying four percent sales tax on ATF. The move will allow the Bombardier and Embraer aircraft operators like Air Sahara, Paramount Airways and Indian Airlines to buy fuel at a lower cost. (19 February 2007)
Infrastructure at Airports:
Efforts were on to improve infrastructure facilities at airports in India, which have seen a 40 percent growth in the domestic passenger segment during certain months. The development of Mumbai and Delhi Airports has begun. work on the new greenfield airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad has already taken off and is expected to be completed within one or two years. Nearly 35 airports are being developed by the Airports Authority of India and a new airport is coming up at new Mumbai. (19 February 2007)
Delhi Airport:
India has initiated work on a project that will enable New Delhi airport to handle 37 million passengers a year by 2010, more than double its current capacity. The US $1.94 billion revamp will see a third terminal building constructed in the next three years and a new runway by 2008 to ease congestion at the airport. The new runway — the airport’s third landing strip — would be one of Asia’s longest at 14,530 feet and would allow Airbus A-380 super jumbos to land. Work will be completed before the Commonwealth Games open in New Delhi in Oct 2010. (19 February 2007)
Pawan Hans:
India's remote destinations may soon get better air connectivity. Pawan Hans has begun exploring plans to enter the regional airline market with a fleet of small fixed-wing aircraft that can seat about 20 passengers. The market slot for a purely regional airline was lying vacant, despite the bullish growth in domestic aviation, after the government-owned Vayudoot suspended operations more than a decade ago. The idea came up three months back when the Andaman and Nicobar administration asked Pawan Hans to supply them two small fixed-wing aircraft. (19 February 2007)
IGI Airport:
The new integrated passenger terminal (Terminal 3) set to come up at IGI Airport ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which will cater to both domestic and international passengers is to be eventually converted to a domestic terminal by 2020. When Terminal 3 is converted to a domestic terminal, all international operations will be shifted to a brand new international passenger terminal (tentatively called Terminal 4) which will come up at the same place where the international terminal currently stands. DIAL plans to raze the domestic airport by 2020 and clear the area for cargo operations. DIAL also plans to come up with a brand new Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Terminal (Terminal 6) exclusively to cater to low-cost carriers at the point where Nangal Dewat village and Centaur Hotel currently stand. In addition to an underground Metro link to the airport, DIAL plans to construct an underground road connecting the airport with National Highway 8. (19 February 2007)
The Tata Group:
The Tata group is set to enter the business of airport modernisation. Partnering the Tatas could be the Singapore-based Changi Airport International, which has already made bids in the past to get involved in the development of airport infrastructure in the country.
(19 February 2007)
M&As:
The revenue department in the finance ministry has ruled out tax sops for mergers and acquisitions between private airlines. The Income-Tax Act allows the transferee company to carry forward and set off unabsorbed depreciation and losses of the transferor company under Section 72A, as done in the case of the Indian Airlines and Air-India merger. According to the civil aviation ministry, the sector’s profitability is under tremendous pressure. For instance, the accumulated losses of Indian Airlines are about Rs 700 crore. At present, there are 14 scheduled airline operators in the country, including one cargo operator, Blue Dart Aviation. (17 February 2007)
Jobs in Aviation Sector:
According to industry analysis, India would require between 7,500-8,000 pilots and an equal number or more air cabin crew by 2010. Airbus has decided to set up an aviation school in Bangalore to train 1,000 pilots a year, Rajeev Chandrasekhar's Jupiter Aviation is looking to set up a similar venture in Bangalore or Hyderabad and aviation consultant Praveen Paul has set up his own aviation school and many more are in the offing including Deccan Aviation's venture with ATR. Heavy pay packets are awaiting pilots with a commercial pilot licence (CPL) and a rookie pilot can start off with a salary of Rs 2.5-3 lakh a month with a commercial airline. (17 February 2007)
ATF:
The Indian aviation industry has been lobbying hard to ensure that ATF prices are brought down to international levels. According to industry estimates, if various taxes on ATF are brought down to four percent from present average of 23 percent, the sector can save about Rs. 1,250 crore annually. The Federation of Indian Airlines have suugested that private oil companies should be allowed to use existing infrastructure at major airports as it could lead to increased competition and subsequent lowering of ATF prices. It said that competition could put pressure on the profit margins of public sector companies which presently range between 15 percent to 20 percent. (17 February 2007)
Air India:
Air India is on a major pilot-sourcing drive as the is enhancing existing services, apart from starting new ones. The carrier has already sourced 20 pilots from Belgrade-based Jat Airways Training Centre, and 18 more will join shortly. Air India, which has a fleet of 48 aircraft, will require 100 pilots every year for the next seven years. According to official sources, the airline will have a fleet size of 59 by the year-end. Air India is planning to start non-stop flights to the US and Air India Express will fly to Dubai and South-East Asia from Tiruchirapalli shortly. (17 February 2007)
Indian:
Indian will start services to Melbourne from November this year. The services will be started from five Indian cities - New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Bangalore. While the first flight from New Delhi is due to arrive on 1November 2007, flights from other cities will begin by January next year. (16 February 2007)
Air India Express:
Air India Express started its Abu Dhabi-Muscat-Mangalore and Mangalore-Abu Dhabi-Muscat service from Thursday. With this, Mangalore is connected to two more locations in West Asia. The city had direct flight only to Dubai when the same airlines started its Mangalore-Dubai tri-weekly service on 3 October 2006. The flight will operate twice a week on Thursdays and Saturdays. The flight to Dubai operates on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
(16 February 2007)
Indian:
In tune with its seasonal promotional scheme, Indian has revised its one way Chennai-Hyderabad fare to Rs. 1,570, including taxes. The new one way basic fare will be Rs. 595, besides airport tax of Rs. 225 and fuel surcharge of Rs. 750. Class 'I' fares have also been revised on the sector. The Airline had recently revised unchecked fares and easy fares on various sectors from stations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. (16 February 2007)
