Airport & Airline 2007 Expo

Ground Handling Activities:
The Civil Aviation Ministry is contemplating restricting ground handling activities in six metro airports to a few players, including the Airports Authority of India or the Joint Venture companies working on modernising these airports. The metro airports, where the Ministry is thinking of restricting the number of ground handling agencies, are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The airports at Mumbai and Delhi are now being run by consortia led by GMR and GVK groups. (13 June 2006)

Indian Air Industry:
India will need US $90 billion in investment in its air industry by 2030 to meet demand for flights as the country's economy expands and disposable income rises. The International Air Transport Association, whose 261 members represent 94 percent of scheduled air traffic, said demand will rise to 300 million passengers annually as India's economy grows. Investment in airlines and airports is threatened by current regulation. High airport charges and the inability of foreign investors to enter the Indian aviation industry may stifle growth. (13 June 2006)

Air India:
Air India has decided to go in for a new model of first class on its new 777 series planes to be deployed for long haul-flights and has also entered into a US $50 million pact with Italian seat manufacturer Avio Interior for getting state-of-the- art seats for these aircraft. The airline is planning to have only four first class seats on eight of its 301 seater 777-200 LR and 15 of its 365 seater 777-300 ER aircraft. A bulk of these aircraft will be deployed on the airlines long-haul routes to US and Europe. Moreover, in a bid to optimise its returns from non-core operations, national carrier Air India is beefing up its cargo-handling business. The airline, which had recently won a contract to handle cargo for the greenfield Bangalore International Airport (BIAL), plans to invest Rs. 41 crore for building a state-of-the-art cargo complex at the new venture. The airline has awarded its US $2 billion insurance portfolio to be managed by a consortium led by state-owned New India Assurance in 2006-07. The Air India account consists of aircraft (the airlines has 42 aircrafts and another 68 have been ordered) and passenger liability. (13 June 2006)

Goa Airport:
Besides Amausi airport in Lucknow and Chakeri airport in Kanpur, the government plans to upgrade some other non-metro airports as well, including, Jaipur, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Goa, Varanasi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The connectivity of these centers with international airlines is being augmented to fetch more passengers from these airports to different destinations abroad. The government would provide concessions to 80 seaters and other smaller aircraft like landing charges, parking route charges, navigational facilities, which was 15 percent of the total operational cost. (12 June 2006)

Anti-Hijacking Policy:
India has toughened its anti-hijacking policy to allow security forces to aggressively pursue hijackers. This measure will do away with the need for National Security Guards to requisition an aircraft and place commandos on board in order to pursue and possibly storm hijacked aircraft. India had faced an embarrassment when militants recently hijacked a passenger aircraft from Kathmandu and demanded the release of a few terrorists lodged in Indian jails. The hijacked aircraft was returned safely after the government released the militants.
(12 June 2006)

Air Cargo Volume:
India remained the largest air cargo market for Malaysia in the South Asian region with total freight traffic recording over 20,000 tonnes between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and seven major Indian airports last year. Air cargo movements between South Asia and the KLIA recorded a remarkable growth of 19.1 percent and within South Asia, India remained as the largest market for Malaysia. The total volume of cargo between the international airport here and the airports at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai registered 32.36 percent totalling 23,745 tonnes last year compared with 17,939 tonnes in 2004. The South Asian region, which included India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and the Maldives remained as the fifth biggest air cargo market for Malaysia after North East Asia, Europe and South East Asia and southwest pacific. (12 June 2006)

Jet Airways:
India's largest private sector carrier Jet Airways is likely to get a security clearance from the ministries of home affairs and civil aviation to fly its 100-percent subsidiary, Air Sahara, to the US, making it the first domestic private carrier to fly India-US. The official ratification is expected soon. Air Sahara, meanwhile, entered into a code-sharing agreement with American Airlines in November 2005. Jet Airways currently operates one flight each from Delhi and Mumbai to the UK and one each from Mumbai and Chennai to Singapore. (10 June 2006)

Hyderabad Airport:
The Begumpet airport in Hyderabad witnessed a stunning growth of 45 percent in domestic traffic during the last six months. While this has meant 50 percent increase in revenue for the AAI, if the same growth continues, the airport will be choking soon. The new Shamshabad airport is slated to be operational only in April 2008. Airlines seeking to introduce additional flights will have to settle for off peak hours. Hyderabad is leading the race leaving behind Pune, Bangalore and Chennai and has emerged as the favourite destination for airliners. Presently, Begumpet handles nearly 200 flights in a day. About 16 to 18 flights take off and land in an hour on the runway during peak hours. The maximum flights the airport can handle in a day is 300. (10 June 2006)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines is gearing to serve its guests during monsoon. The airline recently announced "King Mobile", a service that will enable passengers get the latest flight information on their cell phone via SMS. The guests would stay updated at all times by availing information such as schedules, flight status, etc. by typing 'King' and sending an SMS to 6388. On days of heavy rains, the company will deploy canopy-size umbrellas to escort guests to the aircraft. It will also provide complimentary umbrellas to all their guests at airports on bad weather days. (10 June 2006)

Jetstar:
Singapore-based low-cost airline Jetstar Asia is in the process of planning a network expansion in India. The airline currently operates five flights a week from Bangalore. Jetstar Asia had been named the winner of the Skytrax Airline of the year and Best Low-cost Airlines Award for 2006 for both the Asia and Southeast Asia categories. (9 June 2006)

Air-India, Indian Merger:
Air-India and Indian will soon be merged and made a single airline. Praful Patel, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, has set a one-year timeframe for completing the proposed merger. After the merger, the new airline would become the largest airline in Asia. Consultants for the purposed merger would be appointed soon. Even after the merger, the new airline would continue to operate budget services such as Air India Express. (9 June 2006)

Open-Sky Arrangement:
India is considering a near Open-Sky arrangement with the European Union. Under this arrangement, airlines from EU member nations will be allowed to operate flights to India from any of the 25 EU nations regardless of the carrier's country of origin. The move comes in the wake of a EU decision that allows airlines from its member nations free access to the EU skies and beyond, subject to permission from non-member nations. India will take a decision on the matter after detailed studies. The arrangement would be allowed only on reciprocal basis, with designated Indian carriers being permitted similar unlimited access to EU member nations.
(8 June 2006)

Civil Aviation Policy:
The draft Civil Aviation Policy is ready and could be taken up by the Union Cabinet for approval this month itself. According to the sources, a bill to establish an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority is also ready. (8 June 2006)

Modernisation of Airports:
The Indian Cabinet has approved a proposal mandating the state-run airport operator to modernise 35 airports in second-tier cities within the next two years. The modernisation process will cost the government between Rs. 70 to 80 billion. The development of airports will be done by Airport Authority of India. Work will start within one year and will be completed by 2008-09. (8 June 2006)

Boeing:
Boeing is planning to double the production capacity of its fast-selling 787 Dreamliner. The mid-sized 787 is sold out from 2008, the first year of delivery, until 2010, and 2011 is on its way too. The company is looking at adding a second production line. The 787, which will replace the 767, makes use of composite materials to reduce weight and help airlines battle fuel costs. It is Boeing's fastest-selling aircraft ever. Boeing has received 360 firm orders from 26 airlines for the long-range aircraft. Both Boeing and its rival Airbus are coming off a record year in orders in 2005. Last year Boeing reported 1,002 net commercial jet orders, while Airbus took 1,055 orders. (7 June 2006)

Indian:
Indian will launch its flights to Kuwait from the Thiruvananthapuram international airport. The new services, aimed at further expanding Indian's operation in the Gulf, will be the airline's third international service from Thiruvananthapuram. Indian already has flights to Sharjah and Maldives from the Kerala capital. The airline has also increased the frequency of its Thiruvananthapuram-Sharjah flights from 1 June 2006 onward from four to six. The introduction of new services has taken the number of flights that Indian operates from the Thiruvananthapuram international airport to 13 from the earlier 11. (7 June 2006)

Land For Aircraft Unit:
The government will expedite steps to handover land to set up an aircraft engineering base for Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Nearly 6.07 hectares would be provided for the base without affecting the development of the airport. The government would hold discussions with the persons concerned to secure the land and a decision to hand over the land would be taken at the earliest. Air-India plans to set up the engineering base at an estimated cost of Rs. 50 crores. (7 June 2006)

Air India:
Air-India is planning to ink a deal with West Asian freight forwarding company Falcon Group for carrying cargo to destinations in the Gulf and Europe. The tie-up between Air-India and Falcon Freight Group is likely to be signed in a month’s time. The airline is also planning to start a dedicated freighter service for which it is converting two A-310 aircraft into cargo aircraft. These two aircraft would be remodelled by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company. (6 June 2006)

Kingfisher Airlines:
Kingfisher Airlines targets to capture 15 percent of the market during the current year. Kingfisher now connects 15 Indian cities and operates 70 flights a day. The airline recently placed order for the ultra long-haul A340-500 capable of flying non-stop from India to the US. (6 June 2006)

Jet Airways:
Jet Airways has inducted Airbus A 330-200 aircraft into its fleet taking the airline's fleet size to 55. The maiden commercial flight of this aircraft will be on 13 June 2006, and will thereafter operate three times per week in Delhi-London route. The A 330-200 can carry 226 passengers with a maximum take-off weight of 233 tonnes. This induction will enable the airline to operate a daily second frequency between Mumbai and London's Heathrow. Jet Airways has one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world and operates over 320 daily flights to 48 destinations that span the length and breadth of India and beyond including London Heathrow in the UK, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Colombo in Sri Lanka and Kathmandu in Nepal.
(2 June 2006)

Cathay Pacific:
Cathay Pacific Airways recently placed orders for two additional wide-body Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with a total list price of about US $501 million. The order means Cathay is now committed to buy 18 of the extended-range planes, after the airline placed its biggest ever order in December. It holds purchase rights for 18 more. (2 June 2006)

Indian:
Indian has launched a daily Airbus service connecting Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh, to Delhi and Mumbai. Flying on the Mumbai-Indore-Bhopal-Delhi route, the Airbus IC-133 would help people, mainly industrialists, to travel frequently. (2 June 2006)

Bangalore International Airport:
The Center has given its stamp of approval for the new blueprint of the Bangalore International Airport, fast coming up at Devanahalli near the Garden City. The redesign of the airport was necessitated because of the booming traffic that the cyber city has seen of late. Thus, instead of the planned 4.5 million passengers by 2008, the airport will now handle 11.4 million when the first phase is thrown open by 11 April 2008. The new design will see 36 aircraft stands from the earlier planned 20 while apron area will be enhanced from 1.8 lakh sq. mt. to 2.6 lakh sq m. (1 June 2006)

Cathay Pacific Airways:
Cathay Pacific will launch the first direct freighter service between Hong Kong and Chennai, connecting the world's two fastest growing economies of China and India. The addition of Chennai further expands Cathay Pacific's world cargo network and strengthens Hong Kong's position as the world's busiest international air cargo hub and gateway to the Chinese mainland. The new freighter service, which operates via Mumbai, will operate every Tuesday and Friday using a Boeing 747-200F freighter. (1 June 2006)