ATF taxes:
To create a sustainable business and drive aviation growth in the country, say airlines, the Centre needs to realign the taxes with other markets. The petroleum companies and the government account for close to 55-60 percent of their costs, on which they have no control. ATF alone accounts for 42 percent of an airline's cost in India. If the government declares ATF as a declared good, the sales tax across the states will be uniform, and come down. The irlines could become profitable, and straight away reduce fares by Rs. 300 to Rs. 500.
(15 January 2007)

NIIT-GIS:
NIIT-GIS has bagged an order from Airports Authority of India for implementation of its Esri Enterprise GIS technology for height clearance system. The '[no objection certificate application system' (NOCAS) project awarded to the company will automate the processing of NOC applications, which is required for construction projects like high rise buildings or communications masts that fall within 20 km of an airport. The implementation will be completed by the end of first quarter this year. The enterprise-based Geographic Information System (GIS) will be Internet based with a link available on the AAI website.
(15 January 2007)

Air Cargo:
Air cargo imports into Mumbai airport rose 32 percent to 13,336 tons in November 2006, compared to November 2005, as per the latest available airports authority of India data. Exports from Mumbai dropped 1.9 percent in the same month, over last year, to 12,405 tons. On the imports side, Air India maintained its lead, with 1,925 tons imported in November 2006, a rise of 24 percent over November 2005, followed closely by Cathay Pacific, with 1,407 tons, showing a 164 percent year-on-year growth, aided by the increase of flights to China from August 2006. (12 January 2007)

Jet Airways:
Jet Airways plans to double the frequency of its Kuala Lumpur-Chennai flights to cater to the increasing demand for the service. The route is now served once daily. The airline is fine-tuning the plan and hopes to introduce the added frequency at the start of its summer schedule in June. In line with its expansion plans in Malaysia, Jet Airways plans to further strengthen its collaboration with national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS). The partnership would focus on ways to enhance air connectivity between Malaysia and India.
(12 January 2007)

Qatar Airways:
Qatar Airways recently announced a huge expansion of its operations across India with the launch of two new routes and the introduction of additional capacity on existing services. Beginning April 2007, Chennai in southern India, and Ahmedabad, in western India, will join Qatar Airways’ burgeoning Indian network, which already includes non-stop services from Doha to Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Cochin and Trivandrum. Chennai and Gujarat will each be served with seven flights a week from the start of the Summer 2007 flying season. With immediate effect, the carrier has been granted rights by the Indian government to increase capacity to the country’s commercial capital of Mumbai and the southern city of Trivandrum with its bigger, state-of-the-art Airbus A330 aircraft – almost doubling the number of seats on both routes, each served daily. The Cochin and Hyderabad flights will see frequency increase by two and three flights, respectively, to give both cities a daily operation, and each served with a two-class Airbus A321. (11 January 2007)

India, Singapore:
India and Singapore have agreed to increase the number of seats being offered by their designated airlines in a phased manner till winter 2009. The designated airlines of Singapore will now be allowed to operate regular flights to Coimbatore, there by increasing its footprint here. The agreement not only permits airlines from Singapore to increase the current number of flights that they operate to some cities here but also allows similar freedom to airlines from India. (11 January 2007)

Jet Airways:
Jet Airways will launch daily non-stop flights from New Delhi and Kolkata to the Thai capital Bangkok, making it the airline's sixth international destination. The inaugural flights for both routes will take place on 23 January 2007. The new routes would increase business and tourist traffic between the two countries. Jet Airways already flies to Colombo, Kathmandu, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and London. It began operations in 1993, and plies 44 domestic routes. The airline plans to open a route to Newark in the US this August, followed by destinations in China, Canada, Europe and South Africa. (10 January 2007)

Air India, Indian Merger:
The merger of Air India and Indian is expected to take effect from 1 April 2007. Based on recommendations of Accenture, the consultants appointed to assist the government with the merger, steps have already been initiated to integrate the two state-owned carriers as well as their low-cost subsidiaries. The civil aviation ministry has said that there would be no retrenchment of any staffer of these airlines. The government is examining various routes like enacting a law for merging the two state-owned carriers. (10 January 2007)

Growth in Flight Movement:
Flight movement through the Cochin airport registered a substantial growth during the 2005-06 financial year with most international and domestic airlines increasing the services. The total aircraft movement during the period was 20,975 as against 18,611 in the preceding fiscal, thus registering a growth rate of 12.7 percent. International sector services recorded a growth rate of 10.85 percent for the period with the airport handling a total of 11,444 services, compared to 10,323 services in the previous fiscal. During the period the airport handled around 300 international services a week. Non-scheduled flights, however, witnessed a marginal decline, as the number dropped from 37 to 21. The growth in the domestic sector services was 15 percent. (10 January 2007)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines has announced the launch of direct flights from Bangalore to Tiruchirapally. With flights in each direction, these new routes will provide convenient service for business and leisure travelers alike. With the launch of this new route, Kingfisher Airlines will be operating more than 146 flights across 25 cities. (10 January 2007)

SEZ for Aerospace Industry:
Karnataka is keen on developing aerospace industry in a big way through a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). A proposal for creating an aerospace and aircraft components manufacturing cluster at Devanahalli for maintenance, operation and servicing of aircrafts would be sent to the Centre in a couple of days.Devanahalli near Bangalore was suited for the project and already several organisations like the Indian Institute of Science, ISRO and Hindustan Aeronautical LTD. were functioning there. (9 January 2007)

Spicejet:
Spicejet hopes to achieve financial break-even this fiscal subject to costs remaining constant. The airline expects to post a turnover of Rs 1,100 crore in 2006-07 against Rs 481 crore last year. Prices of aviation turbine fuel remained stable until December 2006, but witnessed a hike this month. If it continues at the present level, achieving breakeven should be possible. Spicejet's projected turnover of Rs 1,100 crore by March 2007 will be on account of addition of four aircraft to its fleet. (9 January 2007)

Aircraft Engine School:
CFM International will shortly set up an Aircraft Engine Training School in India to impart advanced courses in maintenance of its CFM56 engine that powers all the short-and-medium haul Boeing 737s and a majority of Airbus 320 series aircraft. This will be the fourth school of its kind in the world and it would train some 500 engineers from India and other countries in South Asia. CFM will provide two dedicated engines, one each for Boeing B737 and Airbus A320 applications, as well as instructors and the training material for the school. It is looking for a partner in India to provide the building and logistics for the school. It has three similar schools at present - in the US, France and China. (9 January 2007)

Superjumbo:
Airbus plans to bring the superjumbo, which can seat up to 850 passengers in a double-decker format, on a trial run in the first quarter of 2007. The airliner is expected to touch down in the national capital Delhi as well as the financial capital Mumbai as part of its flight plan. Major world hubs which have already geared up to take the A380 include San Francisco and Singapore. India is among the few countries which have lined up to buy the superjumbo. Kingfisher Airlines has already booked an order for the plane and is due to take delivery of the aircraft in 2011-12. (8 January 2007)

State-level Airlines:
According to aviation expert s, with over a 100 unutilised airfields scattered all over the country, launch of regional or state-level airlines to small but important cities could be a profitable venture. As many as 35 such towns and cities have already been identified by the government for development of airports there. A new consultancy firm, Starair Consulting, has come into being to provide all support to new and upcoming airline companies under a single umbrella. (8 January 2007)

Goa airport:
The Navy has agreed to extend night landing facilities to civilian aircraft from 8 January 2006. Post Goa's liberation, Goa airport, situated next to Hansa naval base, is being managed by the Navy. The runway is being recarpetted. The Navy will reserve some portion for civilian aircraft, which will enable the landing and take-off even at night. According to sources from the Airport Authority of India, Goa airport lacked facilities and needed urgent expansion. Heavy rush is witnessed during week-ends when the number of chartered flights rise to 13.
(8 January 2007)

India's Airlines:
With the soaring investment and demand for new pilots, the potential for India's airline sector to take off is sky-high. Airbus recently announced plans to invest US $1 billion in India over the next decade, and will also spend US $300 million in setting up a pilot-training school and US $250 million on an engineering unit, both likely to be in Bangalore. The Tata Group is making an indirect entry into the domestic airline business as a financial investor, by picking up a 7.5 percent stake in the Delhi-based low-cost airline SpiceJet. The investment, to be made through the group's financial arm Ewart Investments, is reported to be worth about US $17.2 million. Boeing expects India will need 856 new jet aircraft worth over US $72 billion over the next 20 years. (6 January 2007)

Air India Express:
All Air India flights from Kerala to the Middle East would soon be replaced by Air India Express flights without cargo facilities. Air India has been going positive on fleet acquisition and as a result AI Airbus would be replaced by Air India Express flights which are Boeing aircrafts. A final decision of this changeover has still not been taken. The direct losers of this changeover would be exporters of vegetables to most Middle-East airports. However, alternate arrangements would be made for carrying the cargo and one option is to introduce Air India freighters. There are also plans to convert the existing Airbus aircrafts of Air India into cargo freighters. The carrying capacity of Airbus 310 is 215 passengers and cargo up to 20 tonnes that fetches Air India close to Rs.1 billion a year. (6 January 2007)

Budget Airline:
AirAsia has launched a new long-haul budget airline named AirAsia X, which will begin flying to destinations in China, India and Europe in July. AirAsia X will be a collaboration between AirAsia, owned by Tony Fernandes, and Fly Asian Express (FAX), a small airline serving rural routes in Malaysia. The airline has received approval to fly to several destinations in Europe, China, India and Australia. The first flight from Kuala Lumpur to Europe is scheduled for July, with the cheapest ticket fare going at 9.99 ringgit ($2.7) one-way. The airline is in the midst of discussions with Boeing and Airbus to decide which aircraft will be used. (6 January 2007)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines has announced the induction of the world's first and only ATR 72-500 aircraft facilitating In-flight entertainment system (IFE). The aircraft is the sixth ATR 72-500 delivered to Kingfisher Airlines. All ATR aircraft delivered to Kingfisher Airlines hereon will be equipped with in-flight entertainment system. The new ATR aircraft will have 17 LCD colour screens spread throughout the cabin. The new IFE, proposed as an option both in ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500, was certified last November and can be installed on new aircraft during production or also retrofitted on aircraft already delivered. (5 January 2007)

GE Aviation:
GE Aviation plans strategic tieups with suppliers from India for sourcing of materials. The firm is also looking at establishing relationships with Air-India and Indian Airlines for local MRO facilities. GE had early committed US $20 million investment in an engine shop as part of a US $8.1 billion deal by Air-India to acquire 68 airplanes from Boeing. GE will be supplying engines to Air-India for this mega deal. In India, GE Aviation is witnessing strong growth powered by a significant number of engine orders from a number of Indian carriers such as Air India, Indian, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, GO Air and Paramount Airways. This engine major plans to enhance its overall engine production by more than 60 percent between 2007 and 2009 due to growing demand for its large commercial engines. (5 January 2007)

Younger Pilots:
Owing to the shortage of pilots in the country and high salary offered, the aviation industry in India has witnessed an increase in the number of young pilots. About three years back, the average age of pilots at the entry level was around 23 years as compared to 20 years now and it will continue falling, say industry heads. Currently, about 500 pilots are needed per year, whereas only 200 pilots are being trained every year in India. There are 39 flying training schools in India. According to industry experts, these young pilots have opportunity of flying more with private carriers. With the average age of first level pilots being 20 now, Indian aviation industry will see in next few years commanders below 25 years of age.
(5 January 2007)

Bajpe airport:
A private airline operator will utilise Bajpe airport for pilot training activity from 7 January 2007. Another private company has planned to utilise the airport as the base to operate its helicopter for a study to find out oil reserves in the Arabian Sea. The company would take up the study under the new exploration licensing policy of the Union Government. Kingfisher Airlines will start day and night training programme for its pilots at the airport. Initially, it will press into service an ATR aircraft and later an Airbus 320 for the training. The training will fetch revenue to the AAI as for every landing and take off the airline has to pay a fee to the authority. (4 January 2007)

Air Deccan:
Air Deccan is on the verge of breaking even. When the Air Deccan board meets on January 25 to consider the quarterly results, the chances are that the airline could substantially pare down its losses and perhaps even turn in a modest profit during the October-December quarter, a vast improvement over the Rs 43-crore loss in the previous quarter. In fact, had it not been for the dreaded fog, which forced the airline to refund nearly Rs 35 crore, it would have posted a far stronger financial performance. (4 January 2007)

Crowded Skies:
India's aviation boom has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of people to fly for the first time in their lives, but the increasing aircraft congestion could also be risking passenger safety, experts say. Delhi and Mumbai handle the bulk of India’s air traffic. While the Mumbai airport handled about 1.53 lakh take-offs and landings, the Delhi airport handled 1.22 lakh aircraft movements in 2004-5, the last year for which such figures are available. In comparison, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, the world’s busiest airport in terms of aircraft movement, handled 9.67 lakh take-offs and landings in 2005 and Chicago O’Hare handled 9.42 lakh aircraft movements.By 2010, India is expected to have nine crore passengers. According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's projections, India's domestic airlines, which currently have about 210 aircraft, will need 650 by the year 2012. (4 January 2007)

Manpower Crisis:
The Delhi International Airport (DIAL), the GMR-Fraport JV that is modernising the airport in the Capital, recently made an offer to absorb all the existing employees of Airports Authority of India (AAI) based at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). DIAL will offer 2,400 IGIA employees a salary hike and a joining bonus, with all existing perks and incentives intact. A back of the envelope calculation shows that by 2010 airports in India will need close to 100,000 trained people to operate and service airports across the country, compared with AAI’s current employee strength of 20,000. According to the Air Traffic Control website, there is a shortfall of around 1,000 ATC officers in India. The new greenfield airport in Bangalore needs 300 people across levels, while Hyderabad airport needs to recruit 800 people before the launch in early 2008. (4 January 2007)

Jet Airways:
Jet Airways has signed a purchase agreement to buy 10 Boeing 787-8 series aircraft. The order is worth $1.5 billion at list price. However, aircraft-valuation firm Avitas estimates the actual purchase price after standard discounts at $1 billion. The jets will be delivered between July 2011 and December 2012. Under the purchase agreement, the airline has the option to substitute other models of Boeing aircraft. The airline is buying the planes to maintain and expand its international operations using wide-body aircraft, and to deploy modern and economically efficient aircraft. The airline recently started flying to the US and Thailand.
(3 January 2006)

FDI:
The government is considering a proposal to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in scheduled domestic carriers to 74 percent from 49 percent. The idea is being mooted to increase the funding options for domestic airlines, that have drawn up huge expansion plans. Domestic carriers are expected to buy close to 480 aircraft in five years involving an investment of $30 billion. A review panel set up by the civil aviation ministry would suggest detailed policy changes in this regard early next year. Analysts are of the view that a higher FDI cap would help bring in foreign investments in the sector that will go a long way in funding the fleet and operation expansion plans of the airline companies. (3 January 2006)

Airbus:
Airbus' market share in India has gone up --- from 70 percent in 2005 to 75 percent in 2006. Over 10 percent of the 430-odd aircraft made by Airbus in 2006 winged their way to India. The Indian market for civilian aircraft, in Airbus' projections, will grow at 7.7 percent per annum for the next 20 years, compared to China's 7.2 percent and the world average of 4.8 percent. (3 January 2006)

Airports Authority of India:
Airports Authority of India (AAI) may soon take a new avatar to face the private sector competition. It plans to have independent subsidiaries for various operations such as ground handling, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), cargo operations and designing and development of airport. These subsidiaries will be run by professional managers, roped in from schools like the IIMs, as independent profit-centres. Each subsidiary will have a separate profit and loss account and a CEO. The government has proposed a similar decentralised business model for the merged entity of Air India and Indian. Apart from structural changes in the organisation, the government is also considering to improve its management.
(3 January 2006)

Domestic Airlines:
By 2009, Jet Airways expects half of its total revenue to come from international operations. The carrier has aircraft worth over US $4 billion on order, to see that this happens. A host of other domestic airlines such as Kingfisher and Air Deccan are busy ordering aircraft worth billions of dollars as well as detailing plans for their international forays. Jet Airways hopes to realise its international dreams this year after permission to serve Newark from its Mumbai base via Brussels, came through. (3 January 2006)

Spice Jet:
Spice Jet has achieved a load factor of 93 percent on 22 December 20096 by carrying 12,667 passengers in a single day. The airliner operates on 70 routes connecting 14 cities in the country. The airline also holds the record for highest load factor with 95.4 percent passenger occupancy achieved on 18 April last year. (3 January 2006)

Pilot Training:
Action has been initiated on several fronts to mitigate the growing problem in India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is reducing the time to acquire a commercial pilot license from 16 to 12 months and will introduce a multi-engine pilot license in 2007. About 250 foreign pilots will be granted commercial pilot licenses by DGCA in the first quarter of 2007. Additionally, DGCA is acquiring 11 trainer aircraft to distribute to India's top aviation academies, at pricetags equivalent to about $200,000 apiece. A new pilot training institute in Gondia near Nagpur will also be opened. And finally, the number of new students per session for the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi will increase from 40 to 100. (2 January 2007)

Jaipur Airport:
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up construction of a New International Terminal Building to cater to 250 arriving and 250 departing passengers at a total cost of Rs. 95 crore. The international terminal building will be based on the latest technology of using glass and steel structure to match international standard of other world class airports. The centrally air-conditioned terminal building will have 14 check-in-counters, 10 customs counters and three security check-in-counters in addition to 12 numbers of immigration counters. There is also a proposal to construct a new integrated cargo complex to meet the growing requirement for cargo handling. (2 January 2007)

Delhi Airport:
A multi-million dollor contract to undertake the modernisation of Delhi's international airport has been awarded to Lincolnshire-based computer firm CSE International. The company specialises in the assessment and management of high-risk computer projects and is a leader in its field worldwide. The contract involves design, development and delivery of all the computer-based systems, including airfield ground lighting control, baggage handling and screening. The firm was part of a consortium led by Larsen and Toubro to secure the contract to design and build a state-of-the art passenger terminal and one of Asia's biggest runways at the Delhi international airport. The contract is expected to be complete in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The new terminal in Delhi will handle 37-million passengers a year - more than double the present level. The building will cover 4.8 million square feet and will have more than 130 check-in counters and 70 immigration desks. The new runaway, stretching 4.43 kilometres, will be equipped with a system that enables landing with a visibility of only 50 metres. (2 January 2007)