Deccan Aviation:
Deccan Aviation is considering lauching helicopter charter services, which according to the official sources, is under consideration of board of directors of the company and any such proposal is subject to the approval of the shareholders of the company. Deccan Aviation`s net swung to a profit of Rs. 96.40 million for the quarter ended December 2006 as compared to a net loss of Rs. 429.40 million during the previous quarter ended september 2006.
(14 February 2007)

India's aviation pie:
India's aviation sector is slated to cruise far ahead of other Asian giants like China or even strong economies like France and Australia. The number of passengers who will be airborne by 2020 is a whopping 400 million. According to a survey undertaken by the Airports Council International (ACI), Asia will be the fastest-growing region with an annual nine percent growth. The two fastest-growing markets are set to be India (10.4 percent) and China (8.1 percent) in the next 20 years, led by strong growth in domestic traffic. Indian aviation industry will grow by 25 percent a year, sources in the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said.
(14 February 2007)

Airplane manufacturers:
With the central government poised on developing around 300 unutilised airstrips across the country, airplane makers are raising the projections for jets required for regional connectivity. Apart from Boeing and Airbus, Embraer, Bombardier, Sukhoi, ATR, and BAE System are gearing up to tap the emerging regional jet market in the country. The opening up of unused airstrips would boost greater regional connectivity and for that India would require at least 1,500-2,000 airplanes over the next 10 years. The ministry was considering bidding out the airstrips in blocks for development as it might not be feasible to do it individually.
(13 February 2007)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines is planning to start helicopter services as corporate demand gains in the world's second-fastest growing major economy and private wealth boosts leisure travel. Goldman Sachs Group and BNP Paribas are among those investing in Indian airlines as demand for air travel rises 25 percent annually. Kingfisher is in talks with three companies to buy six craft for its new helicopter unit. The company wants to start a helicopter charter service for companies and also offer services to business- class passengers of its airline.
(12 February 2007)

Air India:
After naming its aircraft after rivers and emperors, Air India is now planning to name its 68 Boeing fleet after the country's States. The first aircraft, a Boeing 777 is to be inducted in April this year, and the airline plans to follow the alphabetical order for naming them as they join the fleet. Although airline officials are tight-lipped, the first aircraft could well be called Andhra Pradesh. The airline has ordered 23 Boeing 777 including eight Boeing 777-200 long range and 15 Boeing 777-300 extended range aircraft apart from 27 Boeing 787 aircraft. In addition, Air India Express, the 100 percent subsidiary of AI, ordered 18 Boeing 737-700 aircraft to make up a deal valued at more than Rs 30,000 crore. (12 February 2007)

Indian:
Indian Airlines will be the first carrier in India to operate Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A330s. The airline is scheduled to take delivery of the first of two A330-200 aircraft with PW4000-100" engines in October 2007. Pratt & Whitney and Indian announced the deal at the recently held Aero India 2007 air show in Bangalore. The Pratt & Whitney PW4000-100" engine was designed specifically for the Airbus A330 twinjet. (9 February 2007)

Flight to India:
Aviation analysts feel that engineering and design services being outsourced to India are emerging the main opportunities. Reaping the windfall is a wide gamut of homegrown aerospace and IT majors—Hindustan Aeronautics, Larsen and Toubro, TCS, Wipro, Infosys and HCL. A recent report by Research & Consultancy Outsourcing Services (RNCOS) predicts that the Indian aerospace technology outsourcing market, which is currently at $155 million, will reach $1 billion by 2009. And by 2020, India’s offshore engineering services market could go up $3 billion, according to Booz Allen Hamilton analysis. (9 February 2007)

Lufthansa Technik:
Lufthansa Technik is scouting for partners in India to set up an MRO facility here. The company is in talks with several domestic airlines and airport operators including, greenfield airports. The deal is expected to be announced in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, One Stop Airline MRO Support — the Indian subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik — is also planning to set up a regional components pool in India, which is expected to be ready in two-three months. The company is looking at Mumbai and Bangalore, apart from other cities for setting up the pool, which will help get airlines spares quicker. Currently, Lufthansa Technik provides total component support to Air Deccan. (8 February 2007)

Jupiter Aviation:
Jupiter Aviation has entered into a strategic tie-up with global aerospace major EADS to set up training centres and lifecycle support facility for maintenance, repair and overhaul - of civilian aircraft here. According a company statement Friday, Jupiter is set to invest Rs.11 billion - in the ventures, including flying schools and airline resources training. EADS will bring in technology, know-how and resources for training rookies as pilots, cabin crew and maintenance. The proposed aviation knowledge venture - VimanaVidhya will have an aerospace academy, training about 5,000 students, trainees and pilots in various categories. (8 February 2007)

Tax Relief:
The Indian aviation industry has sought an extension on the exemption of tax payment on leased aircraft. According to industry players, the tax exemption on leasing of aircraft should be extended beyond the present period of 31 March. It is important to bring down costs for airlines and render them more competitive. This tax doe not exist abroad, making leasing cheaper there and disadvantaging Indian aviation players, added the players.
(7 February 2007)

Mumbai International Airport:
Mumbai International Airport has signed an MoU with TCS for IT consultancy services along with implementation and management of the technology backbone at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), the country’s busiest airport. The agreement is in line with MIAL’s efforts to upgrade CSIA to international standards. The scope of services covers the entire airport value chain from operations to services. (7 February 2007)

Virgin Air, Air Asia, EasyJet:
Virgin Atlantic and EasyJet are to team up with an Asian airline to create the world's first budget global network. The two airlines were said to be close to forging an alliance with AirAsia, a low-cost operator based in Malaysia and serving destinations across the region. Until now, budget airlines have stayed clear of alliances and code-sharing agreements that allow their passengers to make connecting flights. The proposed alliance is said to be ready to offer fares to Britain for between £43 and £365, half the cost of full-service scheduled airlines.
(6 February 2007)

Bajpe Airport:
Bajpe airport here will handle three more daily domestic flights — two to Mumbai and one to Bangalore — soon. This will take the total number of domestic daily flight operations at the airport from eight to 11. The airline operators have given their summer schedule to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Accordingly, the number of daily flights from Mangalore to Bangalore will go up from four to five, and to Mumbai from four to six. Presently Air Deccan operates two flights between Mangalore and Bangalore. Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways operate one flight each. (6 February 2007)

Civil Aviation Sector:
According to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, India will need 1,500 to 2,000 passenger planes in 10 years, up from 260 now. India's civil aviation industry will grow by 25 percent annually over the next decade, the Minister said. The country will need 500 cargo planes in the next 10 years and 300 to 400 private jets in three to five years. Meanwhile, he also added that he had received a positive response to the proposal to cut jet fuel prices. India's airlines have been lobbying with the Government to cut the tax on ATF as fuel accounts for an average 35 percent of the cost of local carriers. Besides the Central Government tax, the purchase of the fuel is also taxed by each state separately. (5 February 2007)

Indian Carriers:
Indian carriers have approximately 480 aircraft on order for delivery through to around 2012, as against a fleet of 310 aircraft currently operating in the country. Over the next 12 months, Kingfisher Airlines is expected to be the most aggressive in terms of fleet induction, according to the FICCI-CAPA (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry-Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) study titled "Indian Aviation: Overview and Outlook". (5 February 2007)

Austrian Tourism:
Austrian tourism is planning to tap the Chennai-Vienna route with an aim to increase the tourist flow and is in talks with airlines and tour operators to work out the strategies, which may include starting direct flights on the route. The Vienna Tourism Board is in discussions with airlines and Indian tour operators to work out strategies. The Board is also exploring the possibility of starting direct flights on the Chennai-Vienna route, if the Indian and the Austrian Governments give the green signal to start the flights. (3 February 2007)

Lower Jet Fuel Prices:
Indian airlines facing pressure from falling fares are seeking lower taxes on jet fuel, which makes up nearly 30 percent of a carrier’s operating cost. The reason is not only taxation, but also that the oil PSUs are charging a higher base price. Indian carriers are allowed to hedge fuel for their international flights but not for domestic operations, forcing them to buy fuel from state-run firms who dominate the local market. (3 February 2007)

New Flights:
The India-US sector is likely to witness a price war with Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines planning to introduce non-stop daily flights to the US. While the two domestic airlines are studying the market before finalising their pricing for the sector, US carriers Delta Airlines and Continental Airlines have already announced price cuts and other attractive discounts. Delta recently lowered its Mumbai-New York roundtrip fare from Rs 40,000 to Rs 29,000. The average fare on other carriers on this route is still around Rs 40,000. Continental Airlines, on the other hand, is augmenting its seat capacity and offers an attractive travel package. Jet is planning to launch its services to the US in July this year. Kingfisher will fly on the sector by January 2008. Air-India is currently the only Indian carrier to operate to the US.
(2 February 2007)

Singapore Airlines:
Singapore Airlines is all set to expand its operation and with a few more landing permissions they are all set to introduce a host of flights that will take off from India. Additional flights will be introduced shortly from Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. With four flights already operating from Kolkata, another flight is on the cards. The number of flights operating from Chennai and Delhi will be doubled. Its subsidiary regional airline, Silk Air, which operates daily flights to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, will get an additional flight to Coimbatore. E-ticketing and Internet check-in have been introduced as “people will no longer need to pick up paper tickets and with the Internet one can also enjoy faster check-in at the airport. (2 February 2007)

Pilots may soon get to pilot different aircraft on the same day:
In a move to address pilot shortages, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to introduce ‘multiple pilot licence’ to enable a pilot to fly different variants of a same family of aircraft in a same day. This licence, however, will at present be limited to the A-320 family. DGCA, however, has placed certain restrictions, which include, a minimum experience on A 320 family of not less than 300 hours and not less than 50 hours on each variant of A-320 family as Captain or First Officer. When flying a second variant for the first time, the pilot will have to undergo a route check and pilots will not be allowed to fly more than two variants on the same day, are the two other requirements. (1 February 2007)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines is moving to form a joint venture to support its fleet, as well as A320s operated by other Indian carriers. The carrier aims to have an MRO facility up and running by the fourth quarter 2008. According to official sources, it'll be a three-way program of a joint venture involving Kingfisher, Hindustan Aeronautics and, either the Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company or Lufthansa Technik. It will be located in Bangalore.
(1 February 2007)