How UDAN scheme has changed IndiGo’s flight plan
IndiGo, it seemed, was convinced that a single-breed aircraft fleet works best for a low-cost airline. But, now, in a complete change of tack, the carrier has announced that it will acquire ATR 42-600 aircraft to fly on regional routes. The airline has signed a term-sheet with ATR for these aircraft. IndiGo’s change in plans can be viewed in various ways. First, it can be seen as a logical step to grow in Tier 2 and 3 cities, for which, the airline’s existing fleet of Airbus A-320 will not work. With many believing that the next phase of growth in the domestic aviation market will come from tier 2 and 3 cities, and the fact that the number of passengers flown under the Government’s UDAN scheme will count towards domestic market share, it probably makes sense for IndiGo to venture into this market. Many also believe that the announcement follows a nudge from the Government that the market leader needs to be part of its new aviation initiative. Anyway, there is history of other airlines opting for smaller aircraft. SpiceJet ordered Q400 in 2010 almost five years after Ajay Singh restarted the airline. Jet Airways picked ATR aircraft years after starting and stabilising its operations in the domestic market. Guarding dominance Many believe that as the market leader, with a share of over 40 per cent, IndiGo may be looking at ATRs as a natural way to ensure that its competitors — SpiceJet and Air India, which have already secured routes under UDAN — do not become a threat to its dominance. Incidentally, this is not the first time IndiGo has announced its intention of entering the regional market. During the UPA government’s second term, IndiGo officials had told media, off the record, that it was signing up for smaller aircraft to look at regional routes. The then Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh, had been keen on regional connectivity. But with the Manmohan Singh government losing the elections that plan died a natural death. This time, the regional connectivity scheme is already up in the air. Focus division And, IndiGo is serious about that. Addressing a conference call after announcing the ATR move, Aditya Ghosh, IndiGo President, said a ‘focus division’ will handle the turbo-prop operating functions that will not overlap with its narrow-body working. These operating functions will comprise flight operations, inflight services, despatch and operations control, route planning and revenue management. But human resource, finance and legal functions will be managed by the IndiGo infrastructure already in place. “The advantage of this overall structure is that it will avoid adding complexities to IndiGo’s mainline operations. At the same time, most if not all administrative functions will be handled by the existing IndiGo department,” Ghosh said. ATRs will also face other hurdles. The first is lack of a trained manpower, especially pilots to operate the ATR 42-600 aircraft. If IndiGo is forced to bring in expat pilots, it could be looking at a monthly salary packageof $10,000 (?645,000) per commander. The actual payout is likely to be higher, as the airline will have to bear the taxes on pilots’ salaries. While IndiGo has not indicated how many ATRs it is planning to get, the rules stipulate that there should be a minimum of three sets of crew per aircraft, which means that the airline will need at least six pilots per aircraft. Besides, the pilots operating the smaller aircraft will naturally want career progression by moving to operating the larger Airbus A-320 aircraft of the airline. This is something which has played out in several Indian carriers already, including in Air India. At the moment, IndiGo does not face this problem as it operates an all Airbus A-320 fleet. Jason McCourty Jersey
‘It is difficult to harmonise airline services’
As Star Alliance, a club of 28 global airlines including Air India, celebrates its 20th anniversary, its Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Goh, met global media to outline the Alliance’s plans. Excerpts A lot of customer service issues have been raised by various airlines with United being the big one? Has there been any discussion at the Alliance on common standards of customer service? We should recognise that certain operational matters remain the prerogative of our members. In terms of cooperation, Star Alliance is not all-encompassing. On the issue of more standardised service, it is not easy to achieve because our members are of different size, cultural backgrounds and have different business models… it is very difficult to try and harmonise service standards. In the case of United, there has been a lot of interaction within the Alliance…The resulting new policy for this airline (United) is certainly one of communication and exchange with other members. The discussion was not across the Alliance but among members. In a large country like India, is one airline enough for the Alliance, or will you look at another partner? India and Brazil are big and fast growing markets. We are constantly assessing to see whether one, two or even a third member will meet our purposes. Will that be a low-cost carrier or a full-service airline? The Connecting Partner Model gives us the option of working either with a full-service carrier or with, I will not call it a low-cost carrier, a hybrid carrier, on a more local or regional basis. (Launched in December 2015, the Connecting Partner Model allows low-cost and hybrid airlines to connect to the Alliance network.) In its 20th year, will you look at advocacy as the Alliance has not really spoken up on issues concerning the industry? If it is an industry issue, we think the better people to advocate it will be the International Air Transport Association or the International Civil Aviation Organisation. But almost three-fourth of the passengers flown globally are on your partner airlines… It will depend on the issues. Which are the issues? Our voice may add, but it is not going to change, for instance, the electronic devices ban. We have a view on this and we will share it with IATA and ICAO. What is your view? Our members are concerned. Obviously this impacts operations and customer experience. If this has a negative customer experience, then we should be careful. But it is a positive for a number of your airlines (the laptop ban has seen passenger carriage increase on Air India)… If you look at the latest coming out of Washington, they are also thinking of extending the ban to Europe. We have a member from the US as do the other alliances and they operate to many stations in Europe. If this ban happens, it is going to affect them just as much as other airlines. In its 20th year, is Star Alliance now targeting 20-year-olds by shifting the focus to a digital experience? We have to adapt. If we continuously focus on high-value travellers… then we are missing an important segment of the market. Travis Frederick Womens Jersey
Let the scripting of Air India’s future begin with professionalising it
Even half-hearted suggestions of a stake sale (read: privatisation) in Air India (AI) have invariably been followed by virulent protests. This has compelled the government to repeatedly deny the existence of any such plan. As a result, AI continues to be in a turnaround mode for over two decadeswith every incumbent aviation minister and AI chairman and managing director periodically making claims of having achieved success, even if discernible signs of a meaningful turnaround have been non-existent. Rusney Castillo Womens Jersey
Run ragged by rivals, Air India has just two choices left: Privatise or perish
Two months after the Narendra Modi government took charge in May 2014, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) called a meeting to discuss the possibility of Air India advancing its revival by two years and subsequently going in for a stake sale. “During the meeting, pointed questions were raised on advancing Air India’s profitability target to FY19 from FY21and a plan to divest stakes in the national carrier after it turns around,” said a senior Air India official, who did not want to be identified. Kamalei Correa Authentic Jersey
Centre cuts UDAN levy on air tickets
In a relief to passengers flying on major domestic routes, the Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to significantly reduce the levy on air tickets imposed to fund the Centre’s new regional connectivity scheme UDAN. From June 1, it will only charge a uniform levy of Rs. 5,000 per flight on major routes, down from Rs. 7,500-Rs. 8,500 per flight it had ordered to charge earlier. The move will come as a relief to passengers taking flights on major domestic routes as each passenger will have to bear about Rs. 30 as cess against about Rs. 50 as per government’s previous order in November 2016. “The Central Government has decided to revise the levy on scheduled flights being operated within India to fund the Regional Air Connectivity Fund at a uniform rate of Rs. 5,000 per flight till further revision. The said levy will now come into effect from June 1, 2017,” said an order sent by the Civil Aviation Ministry to all Secretaries of Central government and chief secretaries of State governments on May 9. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been directed to issue a circular on the revised levy amount. The Centre had ordered imposing a levy of Rs. 7,500 for flights up to 1,000 km, Rs. 8,000 for flights between 1,000 and 1,500 km and Rs. 8,500 for flights beyond 1,500 km, except north-eastern states and regional routes, effective from December 1. A reduction in levy is also seen as government’s efforts to bring domestic airlines on board its UDAN scheme as most domestic airlines refused to charge a levy on air tickets. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which represents IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and GoAir, had dragged the Centre to the courts challenging the levy to finance the regional connectivity scheme. Only AirAsia and Air India had imposed a regional connectivity scheme surcharge on its tickets so far. Michael Hoomanawanui Womens Jersey
India’s first ATR simulators inaugurated in Gurugram
In an attempt to uplift the country’s civil aviation sector, the Flight Simulation Technique Centre (FSTC) acquired India’s first ATR 72-500 full flight simulator in the previous year. Issued to be certified by the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) and Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) India, FSTC officials informed that it was the first of its kind simulator in the South East Asian region. FSTC, one of the largest training organisations registered under Approved Training Organization (ATO), has a substantial number of full flight simulators catering to all the airlines in India flying various fleet types. The pilots trained by the institution are placed in major domestic airlines like Indigo, Vistara, Jet airways, Spice Jet and Air India. According to the official announcements, the ATR simulator will help pilots who have to travel to Toulouse, Madrid and Bangkok for type-rating training. ”This is a fruitful measure that will help trainee pilots gain more confidence and also reduce the cost and time spent on training,” the spokesperson stated. The move was welcomed as a part of the Centre’s increased emphasis on Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). According to the official report, IndiGo announced that it will be purchasing 50 ATR 72-600 aircrafts. Air India’s subsidiary, Alliance Air also plans to expand its fleet by leasing 10 ATR planes this year. Captain Sanjay Mandavia, MD & Accountable Manager, FSTC, commented, “FSTC’s decision to bring India’s first ATR 72-500 state of the art simulation in the heart of the Gurugram, where we are already providing instructor-led ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ training for the Airbus A320 & Boeing B737 further extends FSTC’s commitment to the aviation community in India and the region. Positioning this simulator close to Indian customers and operator’s base of operation will enable them to be more efficient while continuing to train the pilot skills and decision making that enhances safety and effectiveness.” Zaza Pachulia Womens Jersey
World Lags on Clean Energy Goals
It may be the 21st century but more than three billion people still use fire for cooking and heating. Of those, one billion people have no access to electricity despite a global effort launched at the 2011 Vienna Energy Forum to bring electricity to everyone on the planet. “We are not on track to meet our goal of universal access by 2030, which is also the Sustainable Development Goal for energy,” said Rachel Kyte, CEO for Sustainable Energy for All and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General. “We must all go further, faster—together,” Kyte told more than 1500 delegates and government ministers at the 2017 version of the biannual Vienna Energy Forum this week, organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Kyte reminded everyone that the 2015 Sustainable Development Goal for energy (SDG 7) was a unanimous promise to bring decarbonized, decentralized energy to everyone and that this would transform the world bringing “clean air, new jobs, warm schools, clean buses, pumped water and better yields of nutritious food”. Moreover, to prevent catastrophic climate change the world committed to net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 under the 2015 Paris Agreement, she said. “Why are we not moving more quickly?” At the current pace in 2030 there will still be one person in ten without electricity, according to the Global Tracking Framework 2017 report. Most of those people will be in Africa. In Chad, Niger, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo only one person in ten currently has access and this is falling as populations increase, said Elisa Portale , an energy economist at the World Bank who presented the report’s findings. Although renewable energy like solar and wind gets a great deal of press and attention, the world is failing to meet the SDG target of decarbonizing 36 percent the global energy system and will only get to 21 percent by 2030. Currently it is about 18 percent since renewables include hydropower and biomass. A few countries managed to increase their renewable share by 1 percent per year but some others like Canada and Brazil are actually going backwards, she said. Decarbonizing electricity is going much faster than decarbonizing energy for heating and for transportation, which is seen to be more challenging. Improvements in energy efficiency are also far behind. Investment in energy efficiency needs to increase by a factor of 3 to 6 from the current 250 billion dollars a year in order to reach the 2030 objective, the report concluded. The biggest failure the Global Tracking Framework revealed was that the current number of people still using traditional, solid fuels to cook increased slightly since 2011 to 3.04 billion. Those fuels are responsible for deadly levels of indoor air pollution that shorten the lives of tens of millions and kill four million, mainly children, every year according to the World Health Organization. This seems to be a low priority and by 2030 only 72 percent of the world will be using clean cooking fuels, said Portale. In other words, 2.5 billion people – mostly in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa – will still be burning wood, charcoal or dung to cook their foods. Clean cooking is not a priority for most governments although Indonesia is doing quite well, said Vivien Foster, Global Lead for Energy Economics, Markets & Institutions, The World Bank. “Indoor air pollution has a bigger health impact than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined,” Foster told IPS. One reason clean cooking is a low priority is that men are largely the decisions makers in governments and at the household level and they often are not involved in cooking. Environmental health issues generally get far less attention from governments she said. “Sadly, it’s often mobile phones before toilets,” Foster said. However, the situation in India is dramatically different. Green energy – decarbonized, decentralized energy — is no longer expensive or difficult. It is also the most suitable form of energy for developing nations because both access and benefits can come very quickly, said Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Energy. Access to clean liquid propane gas (LPG) for cooking has increased 33 percent in the last three years, which is about 190 million homes. In the last year alone 20 million of the poorest of the poor received LPG for free, Goyal told IPS. Although millions have no connection to electricity, Goyal said it was his personal belief this will no longer be the case by 2019, three years before India’s 2022 target. “Prime Minister Modi is completely committed to universal access,” he said. “He grew up poor. He knows what it is like to not have electrical power.” India is adding 160 gigawatt (GW) of wind and solar by 2022 and it may beat that target too as the cost of solar and wind are well below coal, the country’s main source of energy. The US currently has just over 100 (GW) in total. One GW can power 100 million LED lightbulbs used in homes. On the energy efficiency front, India is also closing in on a target of replacing all of its lighting with LEDs, saving tens of millions in energy costs and reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 80 million tonnes annually. “We are doing this even if no one else is. We have a big role to play in the fight against climate change,” Goyal said. New York Jets Jersey
Cheaper, greener way to grow semiconductor films found
Scientists have developed a greener and cheaper way to make single-crystalline semiconductor films, components at the heart of our electric gadgets, including smartphones, computers and solar panels. The fastest integrated circuits feature transistors consisting of germanium films on silicon. However, such materials are typically only prepared at elevated temperatures, with complex machinery that involve hazardous gases. Researchers at University of Michigan (UM) in the US invented a method to simultaneously synthesise and deposit crystalline semiconductor films from water at room temperatures using equipment that can be assembled for just a few dollars. “Our method does not require excess heat, and everything is done in an aqueous solution so we are not using any toxic precursors,” said Stephen Maldonado, an associate professor at UM. “And we are doing this without sacrificing any quality in the crystallinity of the material, which is usually the trade-off,” said Maldonado. To do this, Maldonado and his team make a thin, liquid metal film that rests on a substrate that they connect to a power supply. When they electrify the metal film, molecules on the surface of that film – if they are in contact with water – can be reduced into their elemental parts. In this case, units of dissolved germanium oxide are transformed into germanium atoms that dissolve into the liquid metal film. “If the liquid metal film is thin enough, the germanium atoms will precipitate out, but selectively at the bottom and as a uniform crystalline film,” Maldonado said. “The cool thing about this is we are taking an oxidised precursor – like what you’d find in nature – and in one process step, we can produce a technologically relevant film that is one large contiguous crystal,” he said. The team’s next steps will be to do the same process with silicon. The chemistry is more nuanced but the principle is the same. Ultimately, without complex machinery and high temperatures, the new process could provide a cheaper, greener way to produce semiconductors. “There is a reason why everyone on the face of this planet does not have access to advanced electronics. Making high performance semiconductor devices requires a substantial infrastructure,” Maldonado said. The research was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Karl Joseph Jersey
If we simplify process of tariff fixing, it will reduce corruption: Piyush Goyal
With the NDA government’s efforts to make India a power surplus and energy secured nation, electricity will never be a political subject, says power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal. The government has put in place an honest and transparent system in the energy sector that will be irreversible, he told ET’s Sarita C Singh in an interview on the sidelines of Vienna Energy Forum. Goyal said states are working towards removing land ownership as requirement for providing connections to give electricity access to slums. Electricity access and lower tariff has always been a political agenda and part of electoral promises in India. With power surplus scenario, do you think this situation will change? Energy is not a political issue for the Modi government. It is our commitment to provide electricity to every household of the country. If there are honest governments in states and the Centre, I don’t think power will now be an issue at all. Some of the things that we are doing are irreversible. For example, reverse auction of power has put an end to the regime of negotiated tariffs, feed-in tariffs, mutual consultation tariff, etc. We have created such an honest and transparent system that anyone will be afraid of trying to corrupt it again. Once we make electricity available to every household, would it be possible to keep people deprived of electricity? What role will rationalisation and simplification of categories of tariff play in reducing corruption? Corruption is the by-product of discretion, when there is scope for interpretation of policies. Some states have more than 100 categories and sub-categories of tariff and therefore one gets ample opportunities to interpret those provisions. I believe if we simplify the process of tariff fixing with lesser tariff slabs and rationalise the process, it will reduce corruption and simultaneously it will enable supply of adequate and cheap power to the poor as well as to farmers. We are also working on making merit order dispatch transparent. We want to make transparency one of the means to get rid of corruption. It has got game changing quality. You would need RTI because the government is going to tell you everything through a transparent mechanism. The government’s target of power for all by 2019 is a challenge in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. How would you ensure every citizen gets legal electricity connection? Earlier, the union government used to give money to grant free electricity connections to poor and farmers but states like Uttar Pradesh were not doing it. Now Uttar Pradesh government is working toward providing electricity to all. Yogiji’s government has accepted my suggestions that the state government will give free electricity connection to urban as well as rural poor, and will ensure that power is available when demanded by simplifying the application process. There shouldn’t be undue paper work and questioning for giving a new connection. Earlier, one had prove ownership of the property for getting a connection but the current government in Uttar Pradesh is working on a system to de-link ownership with electricity connection whereby you will be given a connection where you are residing. If you have to leave the property for any illegality, the connection will be removed. Uttar Pradesh has decided to do it and other states are willing to do it. There have been instances where people are not willing to take legal electricity connections. How are you tackling that? It’s a problem we are facing that a number of people are not willing to apply. I have asked states to organise awareness camps that people need not worry about huge power bills anymore. UPA has been a sad example as during its tenure people used to receive high power bills all of a sudden. In some cases the poor will not receive bills for months together and one day will receive a bill for last two years. Then he is harassed to pay up. We are talking to all states that they have to ensure monthly bills so people don’t have to get a shocker of their lives. If there is a default, then action can be taken on a monthly due amount. Isn’t this phenomenon of not applying for connection a problem for achieving the target of power for all? Power for all includes people who are interested in getting a connection. It cannot be for people who don’t want the connection. Having said that I am confident everybody will apply for power once they are sure that they will not be short-charged. It will be helped by my smart meters programme. Once smart meters come in at the desired scale, the consumer can control his power consumption and the possibility of inflated bill will reduce substantially. What was the key agenda of India’s participation at the Vienna Energy Forum? The Vienna Energy Forum dovetailed the poverty elimination programme with the energy access programme. In a way they have taken up a more holistic view of the sustainable development goals. For India, overcoming the twin challenge of alleviating poverty and giving access to electricity to all is necessary. Shaun Livingston Womens Jersey
India jumps 73 spots to 26 rank in World Bank’s power list: Piyush Goyal
India has climbed up to the twenty-sixth position in World Bank’s electricity accessibility ranking in the current year from 99th spot in 2014, Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said. “Our ranking has improved to 26 position from 99. So, it is truly very redeeming feature and satisfying for me that Prime Minister’s vision particularly to take electricity to every home, particularly to make electricity access very easy, particularly to make energy affordable is being furthered very rapidly,” the minister said here. He also exuded confidence that by 2019, three years ahead of its original schedule, the government would able to take power to every household. He said that the government was closely working with the states to see that electricity was made available on tap. “A person should be able to apply for electricity connection. If there is infrastructure available… get it in 24 hours. If an infrastructure needs to be created he should get in less than one week,” the minister said. Elaborating on energy access to all, the minister said at the Vienna Energy Forum, held on May 11, everyone was actually impressed about India that has actually led the global efforts by its action to address the challenge of the planet change. The focus there was more about energy access. Across Vienna energy forum, everyone praised that India has actually led the global efforts by its action to address the challenge of planet change. The government’s rural electrification programme is proceeding swiftly, with over 13,000 villages electrified out of a total of 18,452 and is on track for completion within the targeted 1,000 days. Alexei Emelin Womens Jersey