Apply same rule for all players: Spicejet on OTP system review
With the aviation regulator DGCA reviewing airlines’ on-time performance (OTP) mechanism at four airports, budget carrier SpiceJet today called for applying same rules for all players and making the system more efficient. “If data is challenged, do it in a better way … as long as rules are same for everybody, then there is no problem,” SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said today. His comments came against the backdrop of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) setting up a committee late last year to look into the OTP monitoring system of domestic carriers at four airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru after another budget carrier IndiGo complained that the current system was flawed. OTP is one of the several measures to determine an airline’s operational efficiency. It indicates whether an airline is operating its flights on time or not. “If the system can be made more efficient, please do (review it),” Singh said. Jason Spriggs Jersey
India’s Air Passenger Volumes To Reach 310 Million By FY18
Domestic air passenger volumes (pax) have been consistently increasing and are likely to reach 310 million by financial year 2017-18, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). This will be driven by the aspirations of the middle class to travel in flights and a reduction in price differential between air travel and rail journey, including the recently increased cancellation fees for train tickets. The slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the current decade had minimal impact on pax growth. However, the 2008 global economic crisis and fuel and currency crises in fiscal 2012-13 had a pronounced impact on air traffic growth. The gradual increase in private final consumption expenditure has been buttressing India’s pax growth since early fiscal 2013-14. Ind-Ra’s sensitivity on economic growth also underlines the strong underlying fundamentals and continued growth in pax volumes. Matt Schaub Authentic Jersey
Reduce taxes to support aviation industry
Budget 2017 is expected to be one of the most difficult and watershed budgets in the history of India. There are too many variables, like demonetisation, the mid-year introduction of GST (Goods & Services Tax) and its uncertainty in tax revenues; and most importantly, the expectations of the poll going public and the rest of the country who are expecting the next benefits after enduring the pains of demonetisation. Of course, there’s the advancement of the budget date and the merger with the rail budget. Aviation and travel are enablers of the economy and no longer a rich man’s indulgences. Governments across the world have realised this and are spurring demand in travel. Governments in India have been continuously raising taxes on these sectors and are dampening demand due to rising travel expenditure. The recent six fold increase in service tax on hotels and doubling of service tax on packages is an example of this and we need to move in the opposite direction, especially as travel was affected slightly post demonetization. Alex Delvecchio Authentic Jersey
Kavali airport project hits a road block
In the final stages of commencement of work on the airport being developed at Dagadarthi near Kavali in Nellore district, the project has hit a roadblock. This is because of the government’s preference to go in for a centrally located and commercially viable project, rather than one fraught with viability risks. The priority has now changed to developing an airport nearer the special economic zones (SEZs) and industrial hubs located in the Krishnapatnam and Gudur areas. These places are also easily accessible to industries in Nayudupeta and Tada. Accordingly, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has already instructed the departments concerned and also the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) to take a fresh look at the airport project. Seth Joyner Authentic Jersey
Rise in fuel costs, slide in rupee to hit Indian airlines: report
Aviation in India will be impacted by the rise in fuel costs in the first quarter of 2017. The slide in the value of the rupee will also impact the earnings of all airlines, Martin Consulting said in its ‘Review of Indian aviation in 2017’ report. Passenger traffic The report warns that the increase in global aviation fuel prices could result in “casualties” among Indian airlines. The report points out that the projected rise in global aviation fuel prices is expected to cast a shadow on passenger growth numbers in the near term adding that much of the over 20 per cent growth in domestic passenger carriage is on account of airlines managing to absorb costs to churn out sustainable air fares. “This will be tested in the course of the coming year,” the report says. The report which was released on Sunday adds that demonetisation will add to the negative sentiments affecting GDP growth, access to travel is likely to be impacted and airlines may find it a challenge to sustain growth and yields should airfares increase. Martin Consulting works with airlines in India, South-East Asia, Africa, East Europe and Africa. CAPA warning Interestingly the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) had also warned as early as end-December that the on-going demonetisation drive and the roll out of the Good and Services Tax (GST) sometime in 2017 could impact the growth prospects of the domestic aviation industry in the next fiscal. “The Government’s demonetisation move could impact the growth of the domestic civil aviation market by as much as 3-5 per cent in 2017 though the next fiscal is expected to be the third consecutive year of domestic growth above 20 per cent,” CAPA Aviation Outlook for Fiscal 2018 had estimated. Matt Murray Womens Jersey
Air traffic grows 23%, railways AC travel under 5%
Domestic air traffic is booming but the travel surge seems to have given the railways a miss, especially in the more profitable air-conditioned classes. While air traffic grew 23% to almost 77 million during April-December, the number of passengers travelling in air-conditioned railway coaches, which touched 108 million, grew at less than 5%. As a proportion of number of passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches, air traffic was over 71%, which is a record in recent years. Just a year ago, it was a shade over 60%. As a proportion of AC passenger traffic, domestic air traffic used to hover around the 50% mark until 2014-15. For Indian Railways, passenger traffic is subsidised by freight or cargo with fares, on an average, covering 57% of the cost. Air-conditioned coaches are comparatively less loss-making, although AC three-tier was making profit. A NITI Aayog analysis showed that a couple of years ago, the railways was spending Rs 1.67 for every rupee earned from its passenger business due to its so called social obligation. But a drop in air fares on the back of a fall in global oil prices, together with the railways’ experiment with dynamic pricing -which made AC travel more expensive for those booking late -meant that it was more attractive to fly. Faced with financial stress, the transporter ignored the decline in AC traffic and chose an easier option of introducing flexi-pricing for AC classes to reduce losses, over-looking the suggestions that it should actually hold fares, where it was vulnerable to competition. Railways, as of now, controls large market share in suburban travel and long distance non-AC travel, but the state-run transporter succumbed to populist pressures and failed to rationalise fares in air-conditioned segments even as it lost short distance passengers to luxury buses and private vehicles and long-haul to airlines. The transporter was forced to bear the subsidy of around 64% on suburban travel. While this accounts for 54% of passengers, it yielded just 5.7% of passenger revenues in 2015-16. The only long-distance segment in which Indian Railways has a large market share is non-AC classes -sleeper and general, but the fare is highly subsidised. The NITI Aayog analysis showed that compared to bus fares, almost 99% of the fare in general coaches is subsidised, while in the sleeper classes the under-recovery is as much as 60%. So, railways is actually losing a share of the profitable segment. Austin Jackson Authentic Jersey
AI can help save $25 bn for airlines, airports: Study
Airlines and airports can save an estimated USD 25 billion annually from flight disruptions by harnessing artificial intelligence, cognitive computing, predictive analytics and other progressive technical capabilities, says an industry report. According to a report by Sita, a technology services provider to air transport industry, predictive tools using artificial intelligence and cognitive computing are likely to be adopted by half of airlines and airports over the next decade, which can help them save up to USD 25 billion. Predictive technologies can provide passengers with more relevant information about their journey to help them create more seamless and personal experiences, Nigel Pickford, director market insight at Sita said. “Airlines and airports are focusing on technologies that will make them more responsive to issues in their operations. This will enable them to improve their performance and customer services,” Pickford said. Artificial intelligence is developing quickly and airlines and airports are turning to the academic community to help them with predictive tools to tackle disruptions, he said. Richard Rodgers Jersey
Government proposes steep hike in licence fee for private jet operators
Private jet operators may soon have to shell out more for flying licence with the government proposing five-fold increase in the existing fee. The Civil Aviation Ministry has suggested a steep hike in fee to Rs 5 lakh for granting licence for non-scheduled operators. Besides, the fee for submitting application as well as for renewal of licence is proposed to be increased. In this regard, the Ministry has proposed amendments to the Aircraft Rules, 1937. The fee for non-scheduled operator’s permit is proposed to be Rs 5 lakh from existing quantum of Rs 1 lakh. While the application fee is to be raised to Rs 50,000 from current Rs 25,000, the renewal fee is proposed to be hiked to Rs 2,50,000 from just Rs 50,000 now, as per the draft norms. Along with the higher fee, the Ministry would increase the validity of such permits to five years. At present, the licence is valid for two years and the same can be renewed for two more years at a time. Stakeholders would have time till mid February to submit their comments and suggestions on the proposed amendments to the Ministry. Non scheduled operator permit is given to entities such as those operating or owning private jets for personal or commercial use. There are more than 120 non-scheduled operators in the country. Andre Roberson Authentic Jersey
AAI plans a centralised system to ease air traffic
Air traffic congestion and travel times, especially for flights operating from busy airports like Mumbai and Delhi, are expected to drop significantly from April as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is betting big on a centralised platform to help flight operators and airports plan their operations better. According to officials, the Rs 107 crore Centrally-controlled Air Traffic Flow Management (C-ATFM) system integrates data from airlines, airports, air-traffic agencies and the military, to give individual flights a projected wait period at the destination airport, even before it takes off. Once fully implemented, it would reduce the holding time of planes over airports, an AAI spokesperson said. “The new system will be most beneficial for busy sectors like MumbaiDelhi where aircrafts are often unable to land due to congestion and are often forced to hover above airports resulting in delays.” AAI’s own calculation project that adopting the new system will help airlines save as much as Rs 1,680 crore per annum, on account of savings on fuel, while also enhancing passenger safety and reducing the carbon footprint. “It will also display weather details along with static information about airports, air spaces and air routes,” said officials. The system is currently being tested on the congested Mumbai-Delhi airspace and at the Delhi airport. It will be implemented at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata airports, in its first phase which will begin in April. Marcus Cooper Jersey
Government bailed out Air India, not Kingfisher, says Vijay Mallya
The government had bailed out Air India but not Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya said on Saturday. “Government bailed out Air India, but did not bail out KFA. So much for favours,” recalled Mallya in a series of tweets, three days after the market watchdog Sebi barred him from trading in securities with six others. The then UPA government had in April 2014 announced a Rs 30,000-crore bailout package to the loss-making state-run Air India till 2020 by way of capital infusion, hiving off its engineering services and ground handling business. Incidentally, Kingfisher grounded its services across the country in October 2012 after the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended its flying licence. The flamboyant 61-year-old Mallya, however, is reported to be in Britain in exile since he left India on March 2, 2016 after the consortium moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal in February 2016 to expedite the hearing on its recovery petition. The Tribunal on January 19 this year ordered attachment and recovery of Mallya’s properties for defaulting on bank loans by Kingfisher. Allowing a joint petition filed in June 2013 by a consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI), the Tribunal’s Bengaluru bench said properties of Mallya and Kingfisher worth Rs 6,203 crore ($909 million) be recovered from them with 11.5 per cent interest per annum since July 26, 2013 over unpaid loans. Roberto Luongo Jersey