RV Deshpande wants speedy approvals for second runway
Karnataka industries and infrastructure minister RV Deshpande on Tuesday met Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju and MoS (civil aviation) Jayant Sinha and requested speedy statutory clearances from the Centre for the second runway at the Kempegowda International Airport in view of the airport exceeding its passenger capacity. “The airport has already achieved the passenger traffic projected for 2020,“ Deshpande told reporters on the sidelines of “Make in Karnataka“ conference, here. In calendar 2016, the passenger traffic at the airport grew by 22.5%, recording a passenger traffic of 22.18 million. “The Bengaluru airport is of world class, and the airport regulator, the Airport Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) is studying costs.The second runway proposal is pending clearance at AERA,“ the minister said. Deshpande also held preliminary talks with JSW Group officials on opening up their private airport at Vijayanagar in Ballari district for passenger traffic by allowing regional carriers to use it. This is as per the Centre’s regional aviation policy which includes using private airports for promoting regional air transport, the minister said. The JSW Group will study the suggestion and revert, Deshpande said. The airport will be of great use to people visiting the district which is home to a large number of steel and sponge iron industries. A private airport in minister Jayant Sinha’s home state of Jharkhand is successfully opened up for passenger traffic, he added. The Hubli airport is technically ready to receive airbus aircraft and only regulatory clearances are pending. The airport has extended its runway to enable wide-body aircraft to land. Belgaum airport too will be ready to receive wide-body aircraft in about eight months time, the minister said. The 3000-acre aerospace park near Devanahalli airport, Deshpande said, is getting quality investments, and the government is providing incentives and concessions to investors setting up units at this sprawling park. About 65% of India’s aerospace exports happen out of Karnataka, he added. Mel Blount Womens Jersey
Kempegowda International Airport shut during day, flyers brace for chaos
With flight operations confined to before 10.30 am and after 5 pm, the Kempegowda International Airport has been a picture of chaos for travellers since February 8. While the airport runway is closed during the day, owing to Aero India -which officially opens today and ends on February 18 -the restricted timings for flight operations will continue till April 30 to allow for the remodelling of the airport’s runway . Compounding fliers’ agony is the restriction on private vehicles restriction on private vehicles -during the five-day air show -on using the Ballari Road which till now was the only route to the airport. The traffic police have come up with three alternative routes to the airport, all of which are unfamiliar to most commuters. They have also advised travellers to start early. The saving grace, however, is the initiative by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation to introduce additional feeder bus services from different parts of the city to the airport. What’s more, BMTC buses will have access to the Ballari Road even during the air show and therefore will offer the fastest commute to the airport. KIAL’s press release said that the airport is upgrading its existing runway 0927 with two rapid exit taxiways. The runway can handle 34 air traffic movements (ATM) per hour.The upgrade is expected to increase the capacity to 44 ATMs per hour. A taxiway is a path for an aircraft that connects runways to the terminal. Amrita Mallya, who works in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City , saw her Sunday flight being pushed to Monday . “The airport was extremely crowded. Many people who missed their flights were arguing with the staff, asking them to let to them board,“ she said. Paediatrician Dr Bhaskar Shenoy barely managed to reach a conference in Switzerland after a delay at the Bengaluru airport nearly ended his trip. “We understand that there will be crowding in the morning and evening. So we have augmented taxi and other ancillary services,“ said KIAL’s official spokesperson. A press release from the airport clarified that reporting time will remain standard and not four hours before departure as rumoured. City-based budget carrier AirAsia, which operates 18 departures from the city, reduced it to 14 on account of the runway closure. “A few of our daily flights have been cancelled and rescheduled from February 8-18 on account of the Aero India,“ AirAsia India spokesperson said. BUSES TO AIRPORT BMTC is operating 277 Vayu Vajra buses between 12 midnight and 10 am. A skeletal service of 91 buses will operate between 10am to 5pm during the closure of the runway .Between 5 pm and midnight, as many as 226 buses will be in service to the airport. All these Vayu Vajru services will continue to ferry passengers from the 12 regular pickup points in the city. ALTERNATIVE ROUTES The Ballari Road stretch will be restricted for private vehicles due to the Aero India show at the Yelahanka Air Force base. The traffic police have identified three alternative routes for airport-bound commuters. Vehicles moving from Bengaluru West have to take Goraguntepalya, BEL Circle, Gangamma Circle, Unnikrishnan junction, Doddaballapur Road, Rajanakunte, Sir MVIT Cross and then towards the airport. Vehicles from Bengaluru East can take KR Puram, Hennur Cross, Bagalur, Mylanahalli and Begur to reach the airport. Rodney Hudson Jersey
Centre wants Air India to survive, says Ashok Gajapathi Raju
Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju today said the Centre wants Air India to survive and does not mind who runs it as long as it serves the Indian people. “If it is left like what it is, it is bound to die…. we want Air India to survive, we don’t mind where it is, who runs it. As long as it serves the Indian people and Indian skies, we are happy,” Raju said. He was responding to a question regarding the privatisation of Air India, during a conversation with CNN’s Richard Quest at CNN Asia Business Forum tonight here. Stating that Air India is a “nice” airline and in the last two years it has not added to its losses, Raju said, “….I like that Airline, I like it to survive, I would love it to survive, but I cant commit the tax payers money for eternity.” Responding to a query, what is the time schedule from now to eternity, he said “…some thing has to be done about it, the sooner the better. We would like it to survive whether it is owned by the government…..” Ashok Gajapathi Raju said regional connectivity is among the priorities of the government for civil aviation in India. He also said, “India is a big country, we have about 31-32 airports which are not serviced by airlines. Our priority is to connect the unversed and the under served. Right now we are evaluating them.” Petr Mrazek Authentic Jersey
We don’t do anything at the cost of profitability: SpiceJet CEO
irline has paid back ?2,000 crore; focus was mainly on cutting costs: Ajay Singh Low cost airline, SpiceJet has had a remarkable run during the last two years posting eight consecutive quarters of profits. In an interview with BusinessLine, the airline’s CEO, Ajay Singh on the sidelines of the CNN Asia Business Forum meet, shares the way ahead and the challenges that confront the carrier. Excerpts: Spicejet must be one of the few airlines which has had a successful turnaround. How much of money have you returned to the lessors, oil companies etc. so far? An airline shutting down is a very bad thing not only for the airline but for the sector itself. When we started the process of turning around the airline in 2015, we didn’t want to see a repeat of Kingfisher Airlines. We wanted to pay everyone whom we owed money. So, we decided to resolve these issues head on. We told them that here is the plan; we asked them to believe us. What else could we do anyway? But we were happy they trusted us. We have also shown that we were worthy of that trust. In the last two years, we have paid more or less everyone. We have totally paid back ?2,000 crore. No equity has been raised and no loans have been taken for the revival of the airline. The government provided us with moral support which actually helped us a lot. The turnaround has actually been built on aggressive pricing; rapid expansion leading up to a huge order being placed with Boeing? It was for us to get the costs down. We worked hard to renegotiate contracts, cut out unviable routes and at the same time get more frequencies on certain routes. You might feel the pricing might be aggressive but the actual fact is that the average fares have gone up and so have the yields. Our average fares are probably higher than our nearest competitor. Our ancillary revenues which used to be around 6 per cent is now at 16 per cent. You see, the model has remained the same but earlier it was bleeding and now we have had profits for the last eight quarters. So, a lot of hard work has gone into it to lower costs all around. The debt too has reduced considerably which is about ?500 crore which is payment as usual. You have ordered for around 155 aircraft, GoAir and Indigo have done something similar which all adds up to about 450-500 aircraft on order. But are there are enough parking slots in our airports? We have about 400 aircraft and China has 5,000. There is no question that more people will fly as one rationalises costs. At a macro level there is enough demand. Once you place a large order of aircraft, you bring down engineering costs, cost of fuel, you bring down profitability. Is there a challenge as far as airport infrastructure is concerned? Yes there is. But that is something which the government has to work on. My solution is to strengthen airports in tier two and three cities. The fact is the estimates for growth have gone wrong because when the airports were planned, the crude prices were high and one thought that the growth won’t be so high. Also, the new aircraft are not coming today. Hopefully, the infrastructure will catch up. What happens if the fuel prices go up? They have already doubled over the last one year; from $35 to $55. If they remain range bound, then it should be fine. At these numbers, it is quite sustainable but if they go beyond $70, then the fares will go too to a level, where demand gets impacted. They way we are trying to get around the issue is to buy more aircraft, bring down costs. These are the hedges against cost spikes. Will you at some point of time, phase out Bombardiers? The Bombardier fleet actually makes money. But when we took over, the costs were high. But we have brought it down by around 15 per cent of operating the fleet. We are going to add more capacity and we think this fleet has the potential to fly to smaller airports. We are not looking to get rid of them. With this kind of pace of growth, will it come at the cost of profitability? We don’t do anything at the cost of profitability. We are not looking at market share at all. In fact, this has been one of the problems at SpiceJet earlier. It was running after market share at the cost of profitability. Results are there to see. If the market share goes up, then it is fine but we will remain focused on profitability. Has the issue with the former promoters, the Marans, been solved? The issue is with the arbitrator now. The basic issue was that they had issued some warrants to themselves, when we were not in the picture. They had applied for permission from SEBI and the BSE but it was declined. We said we will issue the warrants subject to the approval from SEBI and the BSE which again was turned down. Anyway, the money that has to be returned has to be done after eight years. Trai Turner Womens Jersey
GVK wins bid to develop Navi Mumbai international airport
Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the GVK-owned consortium running the Mumbai airport has won the bid for the much-delayed, discussed and debated Rs 16,000 crore airport project coming up in Navi Mumbai. Rival GMR Infrastructure was the only other bidder in the final round. The project is seen as a crucial alternate to the congested airport in the city. The government had initially approved setting up the airport in 2007, but it ran into several environmental and land acquisition problems till the last stages of the final bid. Each stage has been delayed for months, pending clarity and clearances. Weeks before the final bid, three of four shortlisted bidders had written to the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the nodal body for the project, saying they want to opt out citing long-unresolved issues such an incomplete resettlement of families in that area and zero pre-development work as well as various issues with the bid document. Sources in the know said CIDCO has resolved some of the issues. The airport will span an area of 2,867 acres with a terminal building of 5,23,000 square meters and two runways. Kyle Connor Womens Jersey
Pay more to fly! Airfares set to soar on costlier jet fuel
India’s delicately balanced current account wouldn’t be the only major casualty of costlier crude oil: Local travelers now have to pay more to fly within the country as expensive jet fuel propels airlines to raise domestic fares that had tracked global energy prices to plunge to record lows last year. Higher consumer fares in January reflect the persistent rise in aviation-fuel prices, which increased 8% on-month in November at the New Delhi airport, the country’s busiest. After a brief lull in December, prices firmed in January and February, breaching the levels of 2015 when the cycle of declines began. The trend has led carriers to pass additional fuel costs on to consumers, many of whom switched to airlines after the gap between air and upper-class train fares narrowed in 2016. A senior executive at Jet Airways, India’s second-biggest airline by market share, said the airline has recently revived the practice of levying a fuel surcharge — a fare component linked to movements in jet fuel prices — on domestic flights. “We used to charge between Rs 100 and Rs 300 depending on short- and longhaul sectors. Now we charge as much as Rs 700,” he added. Jet-fuel is the biggest cost item for Indian carriers. Prices of petroleum products began rising since last spring after the 2015-16 winter witnessed record lows for crude oil, with global prices breaching $30 a barrel on their way down to levels not seen since the 1980s. However, after a period of consolidation that analysts believed would have put many shaleoil producers out of business, global crude oil prices began firming and have now stabilized around $55 a barrel, a level that some believe would be maintained over the medium term. Airlines had clubbed fuel surcharge with the base fare component in 2015 after an advisory from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country’s aviation regulator. No-frills carrier SpiceJet has separated the two components over the last six months, although the fuel surcharge hasn’t been increased yet, said a spokesperson. Travel company executives said overall fares have increased in January. According to data on Makemytrip, the country’s biggest online travel portal, average fares dropped in November and December but rose in January. Ticket prices for the Delhi-Mumbai sector rose to Rs 4,266 in January, compared with Rs 3,908 the same month last year, Rs 4,914 on the Mumbai-Bangalore sector compared with Rs 4,573 a year earlier, and Rs 4,473 on the Mumbai-Chennai route, compared with Rs 3,784 last January.Rival Cleartrip noticed divergent trends that showed those booking early stood to benefit. Last year, spot-booking fares too had fallen drastically. “An analysis of the last three months of airfare data for the top 20 air travel sectors reveals that the increased cost to airlines, contributed by the fuel prices surge and the rupee’s depreciation, has resulted in a 15% increase in airfares for a booking window of 0-14 days,” said Samyukth Sridharan, president and chief operating officer of Cleartrip. “At the same time, we see that the airlines have been quite aggressive in offering deals to passengers who plan in advance, reflected in a 21% yearon-year drop in fares on an average for travel bookings made over 14 days in advance.” Last year, airlines had offered substantial discounts across sectors and made attractive offers for ticket-buyers who planned their travel in advance, resulting in lower yields. To be sure, the industry’s ability to charge more will depend on the direction in aviationfuel prices and seasonal changes in air-travel demand. “February and March are lean months, and the airlines may not have room to increase so much. But there will be increases subsequently if jet fuel prices continue their climb,” said a senior executive at a budget carrier. Wayne Gretzky Jersey
New airline Zoom to take off on February 15
The government’s regional connectivity push seems to have finally struck the right note, with Zoom Air, India’s newest airline, launching its inaugural flight on the Delhi-Durgapur route on Sunday morning. The move makes Zoom Air the tenth national carrier in the country. The airline, which will start daily scheduled operations on the Delhi-Kolkata-Durgapur sector from February 15, is marketing itself as a premium commuter airline with on-board snacks and beverage service. The airline has started operations with a Bombardier CRJ 200 aircraft and will get the second aircraft on February 26. “As of now, we do not plan to exceed the five aircraft number. We are also not planning to compete with established players by connecting tier 1cities.Even if we connect two tier 1 cities like Delhi and Mumbai, it will be via Surat,“ Koustav M Dhar, chief executive officer of Zoom Air, told ET. “We are going to be India’s first national carrier with a regional fleet,“ he said. He added that the second and third aircraft will be used to connect destinations such as Amritsar, Surat and Mumbai and Jabalpur, Kolkata, Shillong and Aizwal. Dhar also stated that they are in talks with airlines for code share flights. “A codeshare arrangement gives us surety of passengers. We are in talks with four international and two domestic airline operators to operate code share flights for them. I cannot name them now because I am not allowed to,“ Dhar said. Brad Richards Jersey
Navi Mumbai International Airport: No penalty for bidders
The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) is leaving no stone unturned to attract bidders for the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) project. Now, the nodal agency for NMIA has assured bidders that no penalty will be imposed if the project gets delayed due to issues related to rehabilitation of project-affected persons (PAPs). After three extensions, the final date of submitting financial bids is February 13. Cidco had to extend the deadline thrice as it received only one bid. The deadline for submission of financial bids was first extended in November 2016 for two months. In 2017, the bidding got two more extensions on January 9 and January 25. Since both the central and state governments are showing interest in the project, the deadline for completion of the first phase remains December 2019. Bidders are apprehensive that they may have to pay a penalty if the project is not completed on time. Warren Moon Womens Jersey
Ranchi: CM assures support to improve air connectivity in state
All five Divisions in Jharkhand will soon get connected through air routes. Chief Minister Raghubar Das said that the State Government was ready to provide all support to the Government of India to get five divisions connected through air routes. Das, during his inaugural speech of the newly constructed Cargo Complex at Birsa Munda Airport here on Friday, was reacting to the request made by Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha. “I support the proposal made by the Union Minister of State and request him to start the work in all the five divisions as it is you who has to show the pace,” said the Chief Minister. The work of the construction and up-gradation of airports in all the five divisions will be started soon in the next 2-3 months. Sinha, seeking support of the State Government, had requested Das to connect all the five divisions in Jharkhand through air routes which will bring pace in the business. He also assured all support from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and said that all necessary funds will be released in this regard. Now, the ball was in the State Government’s court, he added. “From April 1, four more flights of Air Asia will take off from Ranchi, including a morning flight to Delhi and an evening flight from Delhi to Ranchi enabling passengers to return same day from Delhi,” said Sinha. In addition to that, Hyderabad and Chennai will also be connected soon from Ranchi, he said. Sinha further said that the new Cargo Complex was an achievement for Jharkhand through which any product could be made available to any part of the country as around 25-30 tonnes of cargo is transported everyday out of which the major part is of on-line products. Teemu Pulkkinen Womens Jersey
Pune International airport project to get DPR consultant soon
The Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) will select a consultant to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the Pune international airport project by this week. MADC vice chairman-cum-managing director Vishwas M Patil confirmed as much in reply to a text message. As per officials, the state government is just waiting for the completion of the municipal elections. “The consultant will tell us the exact cost of the whole project. Once the consultant is finalized, work will start immediately. The DPR should be ready in 4-5 months,” Patil told TOI. The DPR, once ready, will be sent to the state government for approval. With the model code of conduct being enforced for the elections, the district administration had put on hold announcement of a compensation package for the landowners in Purandar taluka. “The delay gives the authorities more time to study the package and carry out more surveys if necessary,” a district official said, adding that the package should be announced in the first week of March. “The exercise talking to landowners will be started again. Simultaneously, the administration will initiate the process of land acquisition. There will be some teething issues, but the project will not be affected,” the official said. Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey