France ready to sell new fighter jets, submarines to India
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Under new President Emmanuel Macron, France will continue to beef up the Indian military arsenal with fighter jets and submarines. French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation and state-owned shipbuilder DCNS are in fact negotiating new deals with the Indian government for the sale of their Rafale multi-role aircraft and diesel-electric attack Scorpene-class submarine respectively. Last Sunday, coinciding with Macron’s inauguration, Dassault Aviation chief executive Eric Trappier revealed to French daily Sud-Ouest that its company was talking to India about the sale of a further 57 Rafales. Last September, Dassault Aviation secured an US$8.8 billion contract to supply the Indian Air Force with 36 Rafale jets. It is said that, once inducted, they will form two squadrons. One will be stationed in the state of Haryana, near the Pakistani border, and the other in West Bengal to face possible threats posed by China on the eastern front. The new batch of 57 Rafale aircraft is intended for the Indian Navy, which must still develop the aviation complex for its domestically built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The Indian government says the new flattop will be delivered in December 2018, but a national auditor reported last year that it might not be combat-ready before 2023. New Delhi has weighed other options for a new fighter platform for its aircraft-carrier force, including Sweden’s Saab Gripen, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and Russia’s MiG-29K. John Matuszak Jersey
Delhi airport handling lesser flights than capacity: Government
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, the biggest and busiest in the country, is handling fewer flights than it can, government data revealed. The data, accessed by ET, shows that Delhi airport currently operates a maximum of 67 flights every hour when it can handle up to 75 flights an hour. Yet, the airport is unable to add flights during the peak period. “The airport, despite three runways, is not able to utilise its capacity fully. It is also the only Indian airport among the big ones not to do so,” said an airline executive, who did not want to be identified. “There are no peak-time slots available at Delhi airport.” During the slot allocation meeting for the winter schedule held in March, airlines had complained about capacity constraints at airports. Travis Sanheim Jersey
India’s airline passenger growth rises 17.71% in April
Indian domestic carriers recorded a passenger growth grew by 17.71% higher than the same period in the previous year, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a report on Thursday. “Passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-April 2017 were 364.13 lakhs as against 309.35 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 17.71%,” DGCA said. The total number of passengers in the month of April alone reached 91.34 lakh. In March the passenger count was 90.46 lakh. There has been an increase in the passenger load factor (PLF) in April, with SpiceJet topping the list at 93.4% PLF. “The passenger load factor in the month of Apr 2017 has shown increasing trend compared to previous month primarily due to beginning of tourist season,” DGCA said. Highest level of cancellation was witnessed by Air Carnival at 58%. In the previous month its cancellation rate was 9.68%. Overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of April was at 0.43%. Majority of the complaints at 1.9 complaints per 10,000 passengers from national carrier – Air India. On Time Performance (OTP) of most of the airlines were in close proximity of each other with Vistara taking the lead at 87.4%. The market share of IndiGo increased in April, taking the lead at 41.4% and Jet Airways coming in second with 15.2% market share. Air India and SpiceJet’s total market share dipped from 13% and 13.2% respectively in March to 12.9% each in April. Reggie Jackson Authentic Jersey
Navi Mumbai airport an executive issue, says Raju
Union Minister of Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Tuesday reiterated the need for another airport in a city that is bursting, referring to Mumbai airports’ inability to fulfill airlines’ requests for slots. When asked about the the approval of Navi Mumbai airport by the State Cabinet, Mr. Raju said it is an executive issue. “Suppose you had an alternative like the Navi Mumbai airport; had a full-fledged, parallel runway, modern structure, then the city would be served better.” The minister said the infrastructure is being developed by some agency fixed by the State. “It is accountable to the State; we, in (the) government of India will do anything to help it happen. That’s what it’s going to be. The quicker we get it, the better.” Mr. Raju was in Mumbai for the inauguration of the Integrated Operational Office Complex Building, which will house the Airport Authority of India, Director General of Civil Aviation, and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The 14,580 sqm. structure in Ville Parle (East) has been constructed at a cost of ?70 crore. A solar plant of 31.5 kWp capacity has been installed on the terrace of the building, with solar lights installed as periphery lights. Apart from housing LED lights and Lux sensors, the building is designed to have maximum natural lighting. Variable Air Volume, an air-conditioning system with an occupancy sensor, and Variable Refrigerant Volume for beyond office hour working have been installed for energy saving. Nellie Fox Authentic Jersey
UDAN May Hit Air Pocket With Mumbai Airport Giving Only Eight Slots
The government’s ambitious UDAN scheme may hit air pocket with the Mumbai airport authorities allocating only eight slots for the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) flights. The Civil Aviation Ministry had sought 20 slots from the Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) for operating flights to unserved and under-served airports from the country’s second busiest aerodrome. MIAL was able to provide only eight slots since it is facing severe slot constraints, a source told Press Trust of India. The airport has been unable to accommodate the request of even scheduled carriers for more flights, the source added. The GVK-Airport Authority of India run Mumbai airport, which has become the world’s busiest airport with a single-runway operations, handled 837 flights a day or one in 65 seconds on an average in fiscal 2017, overtaking London’s Gatwick airport that had 757 flights a day. It handled 45.2 million passengers in the last fiscal, accounting for 18.6 percent of the total air traffic in the country. Chester Rogers Authentic Jersey
Aviation Ministry issues guidelines: Commander should serve 1-year notice period, co-pilots 6 months on resignation
The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday issued strict guidelines over resignation and said commanders should serve notice period of one year and co-pilots a notice period of six months on resignation. The Ministry said that during the notice period, pilot will not refuse to undertake flight duties. The employer will also not deprive pilot of legitimate rights, the ministry added. Earlier this month, the ministry came down heavily on passengers behaving unruly on flight and announced new rules for a no-fly list. The ministry has divided the punishment for unruly behaviour into three categories. The first category is three-month ban, second level is six months ban and third level is ban for two years or more, said Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey. Ezekiel Elliott Authentic Jersey
Need to make Navi Mumbai airport operational soon: Civil Aviation Minister
Infrastructure constraints and congestion of the only functional runway at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) could limit the capacity of the airport to add flights under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju said Tuesday. He stressed the need for making Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) operational at the earliest. Raju was in Mumbai to inaugurate an AAI building at Vile Parle. In an interaction with reporters, he said a city like Mumbai surely needed a second airport. “A lot of airlines have shown interest in operating services under RCS — the flagship scheme of the government to connect under-served airports. Along with 70 airports at present, 33 more airports will be commercially connected under the scheme. Among the new airports to be operational, I am waiting for the quick inauguration of Shirdi airport, which will soon commence operations,” Raju said. While the ministry had asked for 20 slots for operation of flights under the RCS, the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has agreed to part with eight slots. Among them, two slots will be taken by TrueJet airline to connect Mumbai and Nanded, while the rest will be used by SpiceJet connecting Mumbai to Kandla and Porbandar. Mike Green Jersey
3 years of Modi govt: UDAN commendable but little else has changed in aviation
A report card on the three years of Modi government, as far as the civil aviation sector is concerned, must rate it on whether flying became easier and more affordable for the aam aadmi, whether airlines’ cost of operations came down, aviation infrastructure across the country was improved and whether Air India stopped guzzling taxpayers’ money. Well, the government must be patted on its back in launching UDAN, which aims to ease aam aadmi’s air travel woes at subsidised fares while attempting to breathe life into some of India’s vast network of ghost airports. On most of the other counts, though, the government has missed the bus. UDAN: The most talked about, indeed one of the most important achievements of the Modi government, has been the launch of UDAN flights. A regional connectivity scheme was envisaged under the UPA regime as well, with some regional flights launched by individual airlines, but there was no centrally sponsored scheme with targeted subsidy to get the aam aadmi to board an aircraft from India’s hinterland. In UDAN (an acronym for Ude Desh Kaa Aam Naagrik), the Modi government has once again showed its socialist leanings by asking the scheduled airlines and metro passengers to pay up so that the marginalised small towner can fly. Though the big daddies of Indian aviation such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir have protested the levy, UDAN seems to have taken off well in the first phase. The first flight under UDAN from Shimla to Delhi was launched last month with maximum 24 seats on subsidised fare on the Delhi-Shimla leg at a flat price of Rs 2,036. The subsidy amount for this flight is Rs 3,340 per seat. So even though 11 remaining seats on the ATR aircraft being used on Delhi-Shimla leg will be priced much higher than the flat fare for the first 24 seats, it still makes sense for the flyer since the fare is reasonable and cuts travel time etc significantly. This also breathes life back into the moribund Shimla airport. Pat Elflein Authentic Jersey
UDAN may hit air pocket with MIAL, give only 8 slots for RCS flights
The government’s ambitious UDAN scheme may hit air pocket with the Mumbai airport authorities allocating only eight slots for the RCS flights. The Civil Aviation Ministry had sought 20 slots from the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) for operating flights to unserved and under-served airports from the country’s second busiest aerodrome. “Since we have severe slot constraints and are unable to accommodate the request of even scheduled carriers for more flights, we could provide only eight slots for the RCS flights,” a source said. The GVK-AAI run Mumbai airport, which has become the world’s busiest airports with a single-runway operations, handled 837 flights a day or one in 65 seconds on an average in fiscal 2017, taking over London’s Gatwick airport that had 757 flights a day. It handled 45.2 million passengers in the last fiscal, accounting for 18.6 per cent of the total air traffic in the country. “We also have request from the government to provide slot for a flight to Shirdi airport, which is expected to commence operations soon,” the source said adding that the Government is well-aware of the slot crunch at the Mumbai airport. When contacted, MIAL spokesperson was not available for comment. The ‘Ude Desh ka aam Nagrik’ (UDAN) scheme, under which airfares have been kept at Rs 2,500 for a one hour flights, is aimed at making the air travel more affordable and providing air services to the hinterland. In the first round of UDAN bidding, five airlines won bids to operate on 128 routes connecting 70 airports, of which 31 are un-served. Davante Adams Womens Jersey
Business as usual won’t help Air India balance books: Ashok Gajapati Raju
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today said Air India’s books are “bad”, and “business as usual” is not going to help it, but the Government wants the airline to survive. AI is grappling with “legacy” issues, he added. The minister’s remarks came against the backdrop of Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani stating in a Facebook post earlier this week that the massive debt on Air India’s books is the root-cause of all its woes. Lohani termed the over Rs 48,000 crore debt as “insurmountable” and blamed the policies of the erstwhile UPA government for its precarious finances. “Air India is a lovely airline. It has all legacy issues. Its finances are very bad…The books are so bad that the business, as usual, is not going to help it,” Raju told reporters here, after inaugurating Integrated Operational Office Complex building of the AAI, DGCA and the BCAS. “It is a nice airline, and I would like it to survive,” he said, adding that he is “open” to suggestions from any quarters for the airline’s turnaround. “Of course there are people who praise it, there are people who bash it. I am not one of the bashers. But I am also not a blind praiser,” he added. Air India, which is surviving on a Rs 30,000 crore bail-out package spread over 10 years announced by the Manmohan Singh government in 2012, is working on ways to improve its financial position. In the 2015-16, the airline posted an operational profit of Rs 105 crore on account of low fuel prices and increased passenger numbers. Currently, its debt is estimated to be a little over 48,000 crore, with nearly a third of borrowings on account of the aircraft acquisition. A consortium of 19 lenders has extended loans to the national carrier. It is looking to re-jig a debt of Rs 10,000 crore under the scheme for the sustainable restructuring of bad assets floated by the Reserve Bank. Anthony Castonzo Jersey