Dubai-Delhi Flights:
Indian will double its current daily flights from Dubai to Delhi from in winter this year, as it gears up to receive 43 new Airbuses ordered last year. Indian will receive its first of the 43 single-aisle aircraft in October this year followed by once-a-month delivery of the following 42 starting from early next year. The airline will award a major leasing tender in a months for 12 wide-bodied aircraft. (31 July 2006)

Air Deccan:
Air Deccan has upstaged its nearest competitor, government-owned Indian airline, to become the second-largest air carrier in the country. Air Deccan garnered a market share of 21.2 percent in June, a rise of 1.8 percent since May 2005. Jet Airways is the largest domestic carrier in India. Air Deccan plans to induct at least one aircraft a month for the next five years. However it is not planning a codeshare agreement in the near future. (31 July 2006)

Airports in India:
Despite infrastructure constraints, airport charges in Mumbai and Delhi are the highest in Asia. According to available data, landing, parking and navigation charges at these airports are around 70 percent more expensive than at the Changi International Airport in Singapore. Indian airports handle relatively low volume, resulting in higher cost per passenger.
(31 July 2006)

Etihad Airways:
Etihad Airways is planning aggressive growth plans for the Indian market. Etihad is targeting 300 percent growth in Abu Dhabi-India traffic. The company is also aiming at increasing the number of flights to and from India. It plans to have seven flights daily from Delhi and 14 between Mumbai and UAE. It also intends to have regular daily flights from Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. (31 July 2006)

Lufthansa:
Lufthansa will operate three non-stop flights a week between Kolkata and Frankfurt from 1 December 2006. With the regional network being extended to include Kolkata, India will become the only country in Lufthansa's Asia Pacific network to be served through six gateways. This now gives passengers a maximum choice of 45 weekly flights between India and Germany. Lufthansa will operate the route to Kolkata with an Airbus A340-300 offering a total of 221 seats. There will be eight first class, 48 business class and 165 economy class seats on the flights. (29 July 2006)

Air Deccan:
Deccan Aviation will start its international operations out of Sri Lanka in October this year. Deccan has chosen its Sri Lankan arm, Deccan Aviation (Lanka) to kickstart its international operations because Indian domestic carriers cannot fly overseas unless they have a five-year experience of flying in the domestic market. Initially, the services will connect Colombo to the southern Indian cities of Trivandrum, Madurai, Coimbatore, Cochin and Trichi. Three ATR turbo-prop aircrafts will be deployed on the route. (29 July 2006)

Singapore Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines:
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is in talks for an interline agreement with Kingfisher Airlines. This move is aimed at offering the international traveller of Singapore Airlines more routes on Kingfisher`s domestic network. At present, Singapore Airlines has a similar arrangement with Indian Airlines. (29 July 2006)

GoaAir:
GoaAir plans to ink a deal worth Rs. 22.25 billion with global jet engine manufacturer CFM International. The company will be acquiring 40 engines from CFM. The airline is negotiating for two different types of jet engines for its Airbus A320 fleet. GoAir has recently signed a purchase agreement for 10 Airbus A320 family aircraft with an option for 10 more at Farnborough Air Show in London. Meanwhile, it has also firmed up plans to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for aircraft engines, joining hands with an international partner. (28 July 2006)

Network Upgradataion:
A network of taxiways is now expected to be ready in a fortnight. Delhi International Airport (Pvt.) Ltd. (DIAL) said it opened a rapid exit way and part of a new parallel taxiway for aircraft operations on Thursday. These two links are part of the network required to make simultaneous use of runways possible at all times. Apart from causing massive discomfort to passengers, air traffic congestion forces airlines to burn expensive aero-turbine fuel at a huge cost. This is part of the ongoing upgradation works of runway to minimise runway occupancy time and improve traffic circulation. (28 July 2006)

Air India Cargo, Cargojet:
Air India Cargo and Cargojet are entering into a strategic marketing and operational alliance for the Canadian market. Through this alliance Cargojet will provide sales, marketing and operational support to Air India Cargo in Western and Atlantic Canada. Cargojet will receive cargo sales, marketing and interline support from Air India Cargo who currently serve over 44 destinations in more than 23 countries. All Air India Cargo originating from, or destined to Western and Atlantic Canada, will connect with Cargojet's premium domestic overnight service flights. This partnership will enable both carriers to share and benefit from one other's expertise in the marketplace and extend their global networks. (28 July 2006)

Indian:
Indian Airlines is pursuing all possible means to increase engine availability. Indian is doing this through outsourcing of engine overhaul to outside agencies, continued retention of three short-term leased engines till January-February 2007, leasing three more engines on short-term basis and implementing the engine upgrade programme. These steps are being taken by Indian since the grounding of a number of aircrafts are primarily due to shortage of engines. Normally, about six A-320 aircraft remain ground for scheduled maintenance. Presently, about 12 A-320 aircraft are grounded for major maintenance/want of engines and for scheduled maintenance checks. They have not been grounded due to shortage parts. (27 July 2006)

Bajpe Airport:
Intra-net facility linking Bajpe Airport with all other airports in the country has been set up at the Bajpe Airport. The technology, which benefits all administrative purposes, will be soon transformed into a passenger-friendly system with display of flight timings of airlines from other airports. (27 July 2006)

Amritsar-London Flights:
Eyeing the growing Punjab market, airlines are making a beeline for Amritsar. While Air India doubled its Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto flights to six days a week from May this year, Jet announced the launch of its Amritsar-London flight from August 4. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are also operating flights on the route. Passengers who board the onward flights to various destinations in USA and UK can avail this service now. Besides offering special fares to attract the local population, Jet is deploying an Airbus A330-200 on the route, which can carry 226 passengers. (27 July 2006)

Paramount Airways:
Paramount Airways plans to consolidate its position in the south. By 2008, it plans to emerge as a national player. According to published reports, it is adding two more aircraft to existing fleet in August this year. The airline also plans to increase frequency. As per plans, it will have four flights to Hyderabad, three each to Coimbatore and Madurai and five to Bangalore. The airline would also operate on three new sectors: Chennai-Trivandrum, Coimbatore-Bangalore and Trivandrum-Bangalore. (26 July 2006)

Indian:
Indian remains firmly the number two airline in the country, confirmed data from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). According to the figures between January and June, Indian’s market share has come down from 25 percent to 21.8 percent, while Air Deccan’s has risen from 13.3 percent in January to 20.3 percent. Another legacy carrier whose market share has taken a thrashing in the last six months is Air Sahara. Kingfisher Air and SpiceJet have winged past Sahara’s 7.3 percent spoils to eight percent and 7.8 percent, respectively, in June.
(26 July 2006)

Lufthansa:
Deutsche Lufthansa AG posted a 58 percent surge in second- quarter profit as traffic was bolstered by soccer fans flying to Germany for the World Cup tournament. Net income rose to $231 million a year. Sales increased 13 percent to 5.15 billion euros from 4.55 billion euros. The higher profit suggests that the strong revenue environment has actually delivered strong yields. This is likely to encourage airline investors, depending on whether Lufthansa's new chief financial officer changes the full-year guidance. (26 July 2006)

Jet Airways:
Jet Airways has no plans to acquire any other airline and preferred to go it alone. Jet Airways' 500 million dollar deal to take over the Air Sahara collapsed in June for want of regulatory approvals and has subsequently sparked a legal battle between the two carriers. According to officila sources, the airline would expand its fleet to 90 aircraft by next year from the present fleet strength of 43. The airways plans to fly to US from the summer of 2007. But the airlines is yet to secure Washington's permission to operate services to that country. (25 July 2006)

Boeing:
Boeing reported a quarterly loss as it took $1.1 billion of previously announced charges to settle government investigations into its defense unit and to cover the costs of delayed surveillance aircraft. The company has cut its full-year earnings forecast to account for the charges, but raised forecasts for next year on strong plane sales. Its shares dropped slightly in pre-market trading. Boeing reported a loss of $160 million, or 21 cents per share for the second quarter, compared with a profit of $566 million, or 70 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 2 percent to $15 billion. (25 July 2006)

Jet, Deccan:
Jet Airways and Air Deccan entered into an agreement on Tuesday to fly each other's passengers when flights are cancelled. The agreement is the first of its kind for the airline industry in India and would come into effect immediately. The arrangement would be a barter exchange, wherein excess seats would be allocated to the airline, which has a cancellation. An option is given to the passenger for availing the seat available. The arrangement would help improve the performance of Air Deccan, which cancels about 40 of its 260 flights in a week due to technical problems. (25 July 2006)

Kamaraj Airport:
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has constructed a departure passenger concourse module as an extension of the Kamaraj Domestic Terminal (KDT), which has registered a whopping 50 per cent growth in the domestic passenger traffic in the first quarter of this year. The 880 sq. mt. module was equipped with 15 check-in counters and would cater exclusively to four domestic carriers: Air Sahara, Air Deccan, Spice Jet, and Go Air. The highlight of the Departure-II facility would be the "express check-in" counters to facilitate passengers with hand baggage. These special counters would segregate those with checked-in baggage and thereby ease the congestion. (24 July 2006)

Earnings From Foreign Tourism:
India's earnings from foreign tourists has almost doubled between 2002 and 2005. The foreign exchange earnings from inbound tourism, estimated at 2923 million dollars in 2002 rose to 5731 million dollars in 2005, showing a growth of 96 percent in three years time. The government has identified the Bhubaneshwar-Dhauli-Puri-Konark circuit in Orissa for development as a major tourist draw. It also sanctioned Rs. 720.09 lakh during 2005-06 for integrated development of the circuit. (24 July 2006)

Mangalore Airport:
The Airports Authority of India is working to upgrade the Mangalore Airport in Karnataka. A new runway for operation of AB-310-300 class of aircrafts has already been constructed. There are plans to construct a new integrated terminal building complex with all modern facilities for handling 500 passengers at a time. Menawhile, AAI has taken up renovation/modification of the existing terminal building and has initiated action for providing space for customs and immigration. Instrumental Landing System (ILS) has already been installed. (24 July 2006)

Fuel Wastage:
Domestic airlines burn Rs. 3.5 billion of fuel annually for idling in the air, or on the ground. According to published reports, aircraft have to hover in the air for 30-45 minutes on an average at different airports, particularly Delhi and Mumbai, due to excessive traffic, fewer runways, poor airport infrastructure and outdated ATC equipment. Airlines waste fuel worth Rs. 96 lakh every day due to this, which amounts to an additional burden of 10 percent on their aviation turbine fuel (ATF) bills. (24 July 2006)

Indian Aviation:
The government, after a gap of over 10 years, is now spending US $10 billion on buying 111 new aircraft for state-owned carriers Indian and Air-India.On the ground, modernisation of existing airports and the setting up of new ones have also been initiated. According to estimates, investments of Rs. 40,000 crore will be needed to develop and modernise airports by 2010. The Delhi and Mumbai airports alone will require Rs. 15,000 crore. The modernisation of other two metro airports, Chennai and Kolkata, is being examined. The government has also firmed up plans for upgradation of the non-metro airports. This will be done jointly by the Airports Authority of India and private players. (24 July 2006)

Ready for the future:
A GPS augmentation system is being installed to meet the aviation industry’s emerging needs in a broad spectrum of areas like communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management. Also known as space-based augmentation system (SBAS) or GAGAN, it will be operational by 2008. When implemented, GAGAN will play an important role in the introduction of satellite-based navigation services in the Asia Pacific. India will, thereafter, join the select club of US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan and China to ensure that its skies become safer. It could also emerge as a major hub in air navigation and other important services.
(24 July 2006)

Indian:
Private sector insurance companies are rushing to bid for the insurance deal of Indian. The sum assured of Indian’s present fleet is about $2 billion and the renewal is due on 1 October 2006. While the state-owned general insurance companies have repeated their alliance for bidding for the Indian account, top private sector general insurers including ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Iffco Tokio General Insurance are competing for the deal independently. (22 July 2006)

Rural India:
Recent months have seen a spurt in demand from small towns in India for hiring private planes. According to published reports, these aircraft are being hired not for transporting people or goods, but also for showering flowers at birthdays, marriages and religious ceremonies. This surge in demand has promopted the government to allow even flying schools to undertake such activities. (22 July 2006)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines has launched daily services in five new routes, on which it would use ATR-72-500 aircraft to connect seven cities in the country. The routes are Ahmedabad to Mumbai, Hyderabad to Chennai, Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam, Chennai to Visakhapatnam and Chennai to Kochi. With the launch of the service, Kingfisher has increased its operating flights to 86 and now connects 17 key destinations in the country. (22 July 2006)

Airbus:
Airbus has just announced sales orders for 85 planes at the Farnborough event. Naerly 60 of those orders were announced in the last 24 hours. Malaysian carrier AirAsia dominates the order book, with 40 firm orders for planes from the A320-family, with an option for 30 more. And aircraft leasing company ILFC picked up six of the narrowbody jets. Greece's Aegean Airlines picked up three A320s, as well, and Spain's Grupo Marsans signed a nonbinding agreement to purchase 12 A330-200 widebodies, with an option for 10 future airframes. Airbus also announced one order, from an unnamed European customer, for an A319CJ corporate airliner. Earlier in the show, India's GoAir ordered ten A320s, and Air Caribe picked up one A330-300. (21 July 2006)

Cathay Pacific:
Cathay Pacific plans to start freighter flights to Beijing as it expands its global network to fend off growing competition for loads out of China. The Hong Kong-based carrier is also planning more freighter flights to Shanghai, and may add more cargo services to southern Europe and India over the next few years. Cathay will add all-cargo flights to Stockholm and Toronto in September, raising its number of freighter destinations to 30. The airline has applied for permission to fly its freighters to Beijing and to increase its daily Shanghai service.
(21 July 2006)

AirAsia:
AirAsia plans to order 30 new A320 passenger jets from Airbus to meet expanding operations. The low-cost carrier said the option for 30 additional A320s is subject to board approval with a decision expected next week. AirAsia has confirmed an order for 40 single-aisle A320 planes in a deal worth US $2.7 billion. The carrier expects to fly to China and India in early 2007. It will also take up 99 domestic routes from Malaysia Airlines under a government route rationalisation plan. AirAsia has been planning its major expansion plan on the wings of 100 Airbus A320 planes, including the latest confirmed order of 40. (21 July 2006)

Jet Airways:
Jet Airways has made an important commitment to Aviation Partners Boeing patented Blended Winglet Technology. The carrier will take delivery of 10 Blended Winglet Shipsets, as Buyer Furnished Equipment (BFE), with 737-800s deliveries with the last delivery in October 2007. Specific benefits for Jet Airways include annual fuel savings projected to be in excess of 100,000 gallons per aircraft as well as improved range capability for planned international expansion. Blended Winglet Equipped 737-800s, in Jet Airways' distinctive blue livery with a yellow sun gleaming on the tailfins, will expand international markets of the Delhi-based carrier to Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore. (20 July 2006)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Vijay Mallya, owner of the Kingfisher Airliens, has set his sights on an US-based premium-class-only airline MAXjet Airways to fuel his dreams of taking Kingfisher Airlines international. Mallya is also in talks with leading American carriers, like United and Continental, for a codeshare deal. MAXjet acquisition, sources said, is aimed at cruising past the Indian regulation that restricts international flights only to airlines that have a five-year domestic flight track record. (20 July 2006)

Indian Aviation Industry:
Regulatory and security clearance have forced up to half a dozen new airline start-ups to delay starting operations in India's already overcrowded aviation industry, according to published reports. Until the end of 2005, Magic Air, East West Airlines, Jagson Airlines, Indigo Airlines and Indus Airways have announced their plans to fly in early 2006, but are yet to begin operations. Magic Air is waiting for regulatory approval for its founder, Nira Radia, who is an NRI. This may be a problem for Magic Air as India only grants an airline operating permit to Indian citizens. East West Airlines, which shut operations in mid-1990s due to debts, plans to restart operations sometime in 2006 after scheduling its debt repayments. (20 July 2006)

Indian Carriers:
Three lowcost Indian carriers -- GoAir, Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan - have signed deals worth $2 billion to purchase aircraft and engines at the Farnborough airshow, putting India among the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. GoAir will buy 10 Airbus A320 planes and will exercise an option to buy further 10 planes at a later date, taking the total order size to 20 planes for a list price of $1.3 billion. Kingfisher Airlines has ordered 10 Pratt & Whitney engines to power its fleet of Airbus A330 planes and taken an option for 10 more. Air Deccan has placed an order for buying engines for its A320 fleet at the show. (19 July 2006)

Sri Lankan Airlines:
Amadeus has announced the launch of electronic ticketing for Sri Lankan Airlines, making the airline the latest to join the growing community of carriers to offer this service through Amadeus. With this implementation, the airline now offers e-ticketing facilities in 20 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and North America. According to IATA estimates, the airline industry will save up to US$3 billion a year by switching over to e-ticketing.
(19 July 2006)

Indian Airlines:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has extended the moratorium on payment of compensation to Indian Airlines by 18 months due to merger of Vayudoot Ltd. with it. The move would help Indian Airlines discharge liabilities of Vayudoot during the current financial year 2006-07 without financial burden. (19 July 2006)

AMR:
American parent company AMR Corp. confirmed that after ordering 20 winglets installed on Boeing 757-200s a year ago, it has ordered another 104 winglet shipsets. The airline is putting winglets on all its Boeing 737-800s. Aviation Partners Boeing makes the winglets, which reduce fuel consumption by up to 200,000 gallons per plane per year. (18 July 2006)

Air India:
Air India was voted as the most-preferred International Airline in the travel and hospitality category at the recently held Awaaz Consumer Awards 2006. The Awards are short listed on the basis of large-scale quantitative research exercise, which is carried out in 21 centers across 14 states. (18 July 2006)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines signed Thales UK for the supply of three new Full Flight Simulators (FFS) at a contract valued at over US $24 million. Thales UK will be providing two A320 Full Flight Simulators and one ATR Full Flight Simulator. The contract also includes provision of a Thales A320 maintenance/flight training device (MFTD) and a turnkey maintenance support package. All the equipment to be supplied will be from the Thales Formation family, a product range that covers all civil aviation crew training from desktop to FFS. (18 July 2006)

American Airlines:
American Airlines has ordered 104 Blended WingletS, and the installations will be accomplished by American Airlines employees in Tulsa where American Airlines is also installing the winglets on all of its B-737-800 aircraft. Depending upon fleet utilization and average sector length, American Airlines Blended Winglet Equipped 757's can save up to 200,000 gallons of fuel per aircraft per year. Aviation Partners Boeing has sold over 2000 Blended Winglet shipsets with over 1200 Boeing aircraft now in service with patented Performance Enhancing Blended Winglet Systems. (17 July 2006)

British Airways:
British Airways has stated that passenger numbers rose four percent in the first three months of the financial year to the end of June compared to the same quarter in 2005. It was reported that the increase in passenger numbers were in both short and long-haul destinations, with services to India doubling in the past year to a total of 42 flights. (17 July 2006)

Flyington Freighters:
After low-cost carriers, Indian cargo firms are now flying high at the Farnborough International Airshow. Hyderabad-based Flyington Freighters has placed a US $1 billion order for four widebody Boeing 777 Freighters for its start-up cargo venture which is expected to get off the ground by the end of the year. The Boeing 777 Freighter is a twin-engine freighter, with a payload capability of 103 metric tons and a range of 9,065 km. The freighter service will, however, get off the ground by the end of this year with the help of three leased Airbus MDL aircraft. The airline will start its operations from Hyderabad and will be targetting international cargo movement, especially to regions like China and West Asia. (17 July 2006)