Airport & Airline 2007 Expo

Air India:
Air India expects to purchase more aircraft in the coming years, including possibly Airbus A380s or Boeing 747-8s, despite having recently placed firm orders with Boeing for 68 777s, 787s and 737-800s. "We were looking at a 75-aircraft fleet for Air India when we did this exercise, but two years down the line we may find that this is inadequate for our requirements," said V. Thulasidas, chairman and managing director of the state-owned flag carrier. He also added that this figure includes existing 747-400s that the airline owns and which it plans to retain. Air India’s order with Boeing late last year was its first for new aircraft in more than a decade, comprising 50 777-200LR/300ERs and 787s, in addition to 18 737-800s. (16 May, 2006)

Air Deccan:
In a bid to consolidate its market position and reduce cancellations and delays, India’s first low-cost carrier, Air Deccan, now boasts two standby aircraft for its metro route. Earlier, if a flight was late by several hours, passengers had no option but to wait, as budget airlines often have no standby aircraft. Air Deccan will now have one aircraft stationed at Delhi, which will service Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi, while the other, at Hyderabad will cater to Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai. Meanwhile, the carrier will have a dedicated spare jet once its Airbus fleet strength reaches 17. It currently has a fleet of 14 A320s. (16 May, 2006)

Hyderabad Airport:
Hyderabad is all set to get a new international airport. Thai Airways, British Airways, American Airlines, Continental and Tiger Airways (Singapore) are among the carriers that the new Hyderabad International Airport (HIAL) is trying to get to fly there. If these airlines come on board, the airport will be able to offer direct flights to the UK and the US. The airport is also in talks with FedEx and DHL for cargo services. The promoters of the new airport, the GMR Group, Malaysia Airports, the Andhra Pradesh Government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), are planning 60 check-in counters with Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and eight self check-in kiosks. On completion of the entire project the airport will be able to handle 40 million passengers a year. The project is expected to cost Rs. 1,760 crore during the first phase. While the physical completion of the Hyderabad airport's first phase is expected during the fourth quarter of next year, the first flight is expected to take off in the first quarter of 2008. In the first phase, the airport will have the capacity to handle seven million passengers annually. (16 May, 2006)

Open Aviation Schools:
Stung by mass departure of trained pilots, airlines are planning to beat the attrition by opening flying schools of their own. Air Deccan is setting up a training institute in Chennai. "We have already ordered for two flight training simulators," informed Captain G.R. Gopinath, chairman of the airline. Jet Airways has even short-listed a location. With 300 new airplanes set to hit the Indian skies over the next three to four years, the number of wanted pilots will be in the range of 3000. Airline experts predict that the time is not far away when Indian flight training institutes would start catering to the growing international demand for pilots too.
(15 May, 2006)

Air Deccan:
Air Deccan will add nearly a hundred planes over the next seven years, building a 125-strong fleet by 2013. Devesh Desai, Air Deccan's head of finance, said the airline would also add up to new 60 routes in the fiscal year ending March 2007, marking a major expansion from the 85 it already flies. The company, whose IPO opens on May 18, had placed firm orders for 96 aircraft: 67 Airbus A320s and 29 ATR turboprops. The airline has witnessed strong growth since it began operations in 2003 but has had to cope with rising fuel prices and increasing competition from rivals. (15 May, 2006)

Aviation Sector:
According to Praful Patel, minister for Civil Aviation, the domestic aviation traffic is expected to record a growth of 40 percent during the current year. The latest figures available with the government revealed that during FY05-06, the domestic aircraft movement increased by 15 percent as compared to the same period during the previous year. Airports that witnessed major growth in domestic aircraft movements include Amritsar (293.6 percent), Hyderabad (47.1 percent), Vishakhapatnam (40.3 percent), Delhi (24.1 percent), Cochin (24 percent) and Bangalore (24 percent). The government is taking a number of steps to give a boost to the sector. The proposed civil aviation policy is likely to provide a host of incentives to airlines operating on regional routes from a single metro airport. (15 May, 2006)

Jet, Lufthansa:
Jet Airways and Lufthansa Airlines have entered into a reciprocal frequent flyer agreement. Frequent flyer members of both Jet Airways and Lufthansa will benefit by way of earning and redeeming frequent flyer miles while travelling across the network of the two airlines. This partnership is in effect from 1 May 2006. Members of the Jet Privilege program can enjoy the convenience of Lufthansa’s global connectivity and earn JPMiles when they travel on any of Lufthansa’s 42 weekly flights to Frankfurt/Munich from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. (4 May, 2006)

India Approves Open Skies Act:
The government of India has approved a landmark deal with the US that allows US officials to assist in modernising Indian airports, as the aviation sector in India continues to boom. Under the agreement, the US will provide help with policies, procedures, operations and training at airports across India. (4 May, 2006)

Alliance Air, Indian:
Alliance Air, the 100 percent subsidiary of Indian Airlines (IA), is likely to get a fresh lease of life as the board of the state-owned carrier has struck down the option of merging it with itself. The option is not possible as Alliance Air follows a `contractual' model of employment, and hence cannot be merged with Indian. The other option of repositioning it as a low-cost carrier has also been rejected, the sources said. (4 May, 2006)