Paramount Air to invest US $ 40 million:
Paramount Airways plans to invest US$ 40 million to set up a hangar, a building to store and maintain aircraft, in Chennai. The airline has been allocated 100,000 sq feet of space by the Airports Authority of India recently. (April 12, 2006)

Peak hour use of runways to make touch down faster:
The Airports Authority of India is planning to make the two runways at the Delhi Airport operational simultaneously during peak hours to drastically cut down on long hovering periods of aircraft over the city, thus facilitating quicker touchdowns. (April 12, 2006)

Government subsidy on non - viable routes:
The Government plans to encourage airlines to fly on non – viable routes by lowering user charges at those airports using a system of subsidy funded by an aviation cess on passengers and carriers. (April 12, 2006)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines has decided to appoint an advisory board consisting of eminent persons from the global industry. The board is intended to act as the guiding light to the company’s directors during this phase of rapid growth of the airline. The board includes former big wigs from Rolls Royce, Royal Air Force, Cathay Pacific, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Swiss International Airlines. (April 12, 2006)

New Aviation Policy to benefit city:
The Civil Aviation Ministry hopes to get a quick clearance on a policy that would enable metro cities to have a second airport. The current rule states that ther has to be a distance of 150 kms between two airports. This new Civil Aviation policy will act as a boon for the metro cities and lead to decongest the present overloads faced by the airports. (April 11, 2006)

Boeing to invest US $ 1.5 billion in India:
The Boeing Company will invest, directly and indirectly, US $ 1.5 billion in India as part of the 68 aircraft Air India deal. The money will be spent on setting up facilites like research and development facilities and for sourcing software and other equipment. (April 11, 2006)

Boeing may set up US$100 mn repair unit in Nagpur:
Boeing has zeroed in on Nagpur to set up their maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) base in Asia. The company is looking towards making an investment of US$ 100 million. Despite being approached by other Indian states, the company has found Nagpur advantageous. Both Shri Praful Patel, Minister of Civil Aviation and the Boeing Vice President has favoured the Maharashtra city as the favoured destination for the unit. (April 10, 2006)

HAL's new joint venture:
Hindustan Aeronautical Limited is looking for a 50:50 venture to design, develop and produce a large number of cargo or 24-28 seater copter for use by Indian army and navy. Three to four companies have been shortlisted and the partner selection is going on. It is believed that military helicopter majors Eurocopters and Sikorsky are in the running for the partnership. (April 7, 2006)

Increasing business class fares:
To cushion the impact of the high oil prices and rising demand has led to an increase in international business and first-class airfares out of India by 3-4% from the 1st of April. There has also been a marginal hike in the tour or leisure discounts given by carriers on group packages during summer. However, travel agents feel that due to the competition and promotion, the actual pay out for the business passenger may be less than the published hike in fare. (April 6, 2006)

Jet Airways - Air Sahara: Working out cultural differences:
Jet Airways and Air Sahara have differences in work culture and Jet wants to develop a synergy between the two airlines. Even though the dresses of the airhostess will not be changed as of now, Jet will be introducing their in-flight magazine, crockery and cuisine in Air Sahara. on April 5th, the cosultancy agreement which would enable senior Jet executives to act as consultants to Air Sahara was signed. This would help in preparing the ground for the merger of operations. (April 6, 2006)

Merger of Air India and Indian Airlines shortly:
The long awaited merger between the two state - owned aviation giants will be finalised within the next six months. The Government has decided to rationalise their international operations to ensure that the two airlines do not compete with each other. The merged entity will become a mega carrier with about 130 aircraft. (April 5, 2006)

Jet to rename Air Sahara:
Post securing regulatory clearance for their pending merger, Jet Airways has decided to change the nomenclature of Air Sahara and run its as a separate "wholly-owned airline subsidiary for nine months. (April 5, 2006)

Government plans new norms for non - economical routes disbursal:
The creation of a special fund from a new cess on air travel will be used by the Government to subsidise airlines, who would bid and then operate on non - economical routes. The airlines that seeks the lowest subsidy will be selected for these routes. (April 5, 2006)

Mumbai - Delhi Airports privatisation deal signed:
The OMDAs (Operations, Maintenance and Development Agreement) to handover Delhi and Mumbai airports to joint venture companies led by GMR and GVK groups were signed by the government on Tuesday. AAI Chief K Ramalingam and Director Finance V.D.V. Prasada Rao signed the mother agreements in presence of Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Secretary Ajay Prasad. "The OMDA and the shareholders agreements have been signed. The JV companies are in place and their Boards are meeting today," said Minister Praful Patel after signing of the agreement. (April 04, 2006)

Round two airport revamp starts off:
The second round of airport revamp is going to take off. It is a part of the exercise undertaken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to prepare the base for the modernization of Kolkata and Chennai airports. On these same lines the Ministry is also considering of allowing the private sector companies like GMR and GVK to bid for rebuilding Kolkata and Chennai airports who have already won the contracts for Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore airports.
(April 03, 2006)

Airbus and Boeings’ rivalry on Small or Big:
A350 of Airbus has a competitor in Boeing’s latest in the form of the 250-seater 787. Boeing is also concerned over the challenge from Airbus, where Airbus might bring to the market an enlarged version of its venerable 747, which is capable of flying with 450 passengers. Airbus is also happy with the safe and successful evacuation of its double-deck A380. (April 03, 2006)