AAI to offer space for various projects
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has plans of offering space for medical centres, fuel pump and Aviation Skill Development Centres on city side of the Swami Vivekanand Airport in Raipur as part of its mega development and expansion plans, officials informed. Notably, AAI has also drawn up ambitious plans for creating infrastructure for an international level business and leisure destination on the city side of Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur. The project aims to provide a world-class environment, in which people can work, play and stay while catering to the surge in traffic of corporate travellers and tourists, officials informed. The entire land 80 acres of land earmarked for developing various types of infrastructure may be provided to multiple entities / developers for modular development on 30 year lease or to a single entity under PPP concessional framework for development of the city-side for 30 year lease, they informed. The AAI believes that development of the city side of the airport would make the region an ‘economic hub’ with exceptional connectivity, officials informed. The city side development of the airport also envisages setting up of hotels and convention centers with an ‘Airport Commercial District’ which would also include ‘Airport Business District’, and a host of world-class passenger convenience amenities among others. Nikolay Kulemin Authentic Jersey
AirAsia executives alerted board, Tatas about lapses in business practices
Senior executives of AirAsia India, the Tata joint venture airline that was severely critiqued by ex-Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and which is now conducting an internal investigation, had repeatedly complained to the company board and the Tata group about serious lapses in business practices. But no action was taken by any major stakeholder. Mistry was also directly informed. Two major complaints highlighted to the board and the Tata group were that AirAsia India was being “run” by Malaysian parent AirAsia Bhd, in contravention of FDI rules, and that the Indian venture was being “overcharged” by the Malaysian company. Indian rules allow foreign airlines to own up to 49% in domestic airlines but effective management control must remain with the Indian partner. Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group, and AirAsia Bhd of Malaysia own 49% each in AirAsia India. AirAsia India chairman S Ramadorai and director R Venkataramanan own the remaining 2%. Tony Fernandes, chief of AirAsia group, and Venkatramanan, a former executive assistant to Tata Sons interim chairman Ratan Tata, have been on the board of AirAsia India since inception. Bo Lingam, deputy CEO of AirAsia Bhd, joined the board as a nominee director on March 31, 2016. Ramadorai has been chairing the board since June 11, 2013. PK Ghose, a Tata veteran, replaced ? Bharat Vasani, chief legal counsel of the Tata group, as nominee director on November 24, 2015. The board also consists of Ashok Sinha and Maya Swaminathan Sinha, who joined on August 11, 2016. ET has reviewed nearly 100 pages of company records and email correspondence between executives and directors. Five people familiar with the matter spoke to ET. They did not want to be identified. AirAsia India executives warned board chairman Ramadorai and director Vasani about potential losses, and the way the airline was being run. Some executives had questioned Fernandes about entering into what they termed as costly financial deals with associate companies of AirAsia Bhd. Email correspondence between February 2014 and July 2015 highlights these complaints. All deals mentioned in these exchanges continue to exist. Fernandes, Tata Sons, Ramadorai, Venkatramanan, Vasani, former AirAsia India CEO Mittu Chandilya and ex-CFO of AirAsia India Vijay Gopalan did not respond to emailed questions seeking comment. MISTRY RESPONSE Mistry “promptly reacted” to indications of wrongdoing and “also escalated the matter to the Tata Sons board”, a person close to Mistry told ET. “A thorough investigation was sought. The details of fraudulent transactions were discovered through an audit. It was taken to its logical conclusion and an FIR was filed against the resistance that has been discussed in the media in recent days,” the person said. Gopalan had warned about the breach of FDI law in an email to Ramadorai, copying Chandilya, on February 14, 2015. This mail also highlighted other issues. He had said, for example, that “revenue management has to be real time and handled by persons familiar with the Indian marketplace and its behaviour”, but the entire process is in Kuala Lumpur (the headquarters of AirAsia Bhd). “This is a significant issue from an effective management control perspective also,” he had written. ET had reported on December 17, 2015 (“Dark Clouds over AirAsia India”) that AirAsia India was facing problems related to feuding shareholders, mounting losses, a severe cash crunch and top-level exits. Cofounder Arun Bhatia, then a junior partner who eventually exited the venture, had told ET then that the management control of the airline was in Kuala Lumpur. ISSUE OF OVERCHARGING Other issues brought to Ramadorai’s attention included allegations that the Malaysian parent was overcharging the Indian airline. One mail from the ex-CFO referred to AirAsia Global Shared Services (AGSS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AirAsia Bhd. “We have been mandated to use AGSS for outsourcing aspects of finance and accounting, HR functions, procurement and IT,” Gopalan wrote. He added that the budgeted payment to AGSS for 2015 at Rs 9.5 crore is “significantly higher than what it would have been if we were to in-house the entire operations”. There was also a warning that using Tune Insurance, another associate company of the AirAsia group, would reduce AirAsia India’s earnings by 50%. There was also a dispute over selecting an advertising agency. “We have decided not to go with PHAR, which is an AA (AirAsia) Group Company. This could lead to lesser rates as well,” Gopalan noted. AirAsia India picked a public relations firm, Buzz PR. Fernandes was able to push these deals to AirAsia associate companies thanks to a brand licensing agreement (BLA) between AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia India. BLA exists alongside the shareholders agreement and became a key instrument of control, according to people familiar with the matter. BLA and the shareholders agreement were signed on April 17, 2013. Fernandes signed on behalf of AirAsia India and Lingam on behalf of the Malaysian airline.BLA directed that “The licensee (AirAsia India) shall observe and comply strictly with the following operating requirements which are to be determined in AirAsia’s sole discretion”. This provision was to apply to in-flight services, engineering, finance, flight operations, network planning, sales and distribution, among other matters. “The BLA superseded the shareholders agreement on every aspect of AirAsia India’s operations,” said aperson familiar with the matter. Another person familiar with the matter said knowledge of the BLA was limited to the board and senior executives. “It was not shown to the rest of the organisation. And nobody, not even the board, questioned or debated the financial arrangements.” CLEARING PAYMENTS Another complaint from AirAsia India executives to directors related to authority over clearing payments and expenses. Companies typically assign the responsibility of approving payments over a specified limit to the board and payments related to the day to day expenses to the management. In AirAsia India’s case, day to day approvals on key payments, travel, initial offer letters to employees etc came from Fernandes, said a person familiar with the matter. “This process was followed because the authority of this director (Fernandes) was agreed by the
Pilots may face strict action for failing flight duties
Pilots coming late for duty as well as falsely reporting sick are likely to face strict enforcement action, with the government proposing stringent regulations in this regard. The proposal comes against the backdrop of instances where pilots did not adhere to their assigned flight duties. To deal with such incidents, the civil aviation ministry has proposed new norms under the Aircraft Rules, 1937. As per the proposal, likely to be finalised by the second week of December, pilots who are found to falsely report illness to escape flight duty and those unwilling to follow the dynamic roster, among others, will be considered as acts against public interests liable for enforcement action. In a release today, the ministry said cases often have come to the notice of DGCA where pilots employed with air transport undertakings do not adhere to their assigned flight duties, at times reporting sick. “This has a bearing on flight safety and public interest, leading to last-minute flight delays or cancellation, thereby causing inconvenience and harassment to the passengers,” it noted. Any act on the part of pilots wherein they are found to falsely report illness to escape flight duty, coming late to the aircraft, not undertaking the flight even after reporting for flight duty or unwilling to follow the dynamic roster well within the FDTL would face strict action. FDTL refers to Flight and Duty Time Limitations. Such activities “which result in last-minute flight disruptions and may imperil safety of aircraft operations would be treated as an act against public interest and the pilots would be liable for enforcement action against them”, the ministry said. The proposal in this regard is being put up for public consultation. Kurt Coleman Womens Jersey
West Bengal government accepts Centre’s air connectivity scheme with rider
The West Bengal government today accepted the regional connectivity scheme in civil aviation as proposed by the Centre, but at the same time, threatened to pull out of it if the state had to bear in excess of the 20 per cent share as has been committed by the Centre under the Viability Gap Funding (VGF). “The VGF is to be shared between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the state governments in the 80:20 ratio. We shall pull out of the scheme if the state has to bear in excess of the 20 per cent share as committed by the Centre,” state Transport Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said while briefing reporters on the outcome of a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport with the state government. “The chief minister has discussed several issues relating to our state at the meeting. She has urged the MoCA to restrict the flight fare from un-served and under-served airports to Rs 2,500. The Centre will have to bear 80 per cent, while for the state, it will be a maximum of 20 per cent if the fare exceeds the limit,” Bandyopadhyay said. While the meeting was chaired by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey led the visiting delegation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had proposed a fare of Rs 2,500 per hour of flying, for around 500 kms, under the regional connectivity scheme. The chief minister also urged the MoCA for direct flights from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the city to European destinations, Bandyopadhyay said, adding that the MoCA has assured her to look into the possibilities. The state government believed that four airports in the state — Balurghat, Durgapur, Cooch Behar and Malda — would benefit once the scheme became operational, the Transport Secretary said. The chief minister also urged the MoCA for the revival of Behala Flying Club, he said, adding that Choubey assured her that the Centre would float an expression of interest (EOI) shortly, inviting private agencies for the purpose. The MoCA would also form a three-member committee, comprising the state Transport Secretary, an Airport Authority of India (AAI) official and a Defence Ministry official, to look after the maintenance of Bagdogra airport near Siliguri. It may be noted that the main objective of the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016 was to make regional air connectivity a reality. Von Miller Authentic Jersey
DGCA proposes new rules to enable import of foreign registered aircraft
India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has proposed a new regulation which will enable operators to import foreign registered aircrafts and operate them on foreign registration with Indian crew. “This will also make the aircraft leasing environment user friendly,” the civil aviation ministry said in a statement. Currently, any aircraft that is being brought to India has to be first registered with the DGCA. The rule has been seen as a hurdle in taking planes on lease by airlines at a time when India is pushing for increased regional air connectivity. Exemption from this rule will make it easier for the lessor to take back the aircraft in case of a dispute with the airline operating the aircraft. The move reduces the risk of the lessors’ planes getting stuck in India and hence may encourage them to formulate easier leasing contracts with lower rentals. Last month, the civil aviation ministry had called a meeting of aircraft lessors as part of efforts to ensure availability of aircraft to implement the regional connectivity scheme. Mohamed Sanu Authentic Jersey
Nudge to Centre on airports, terminals
The aviation regulator has requested the Centre to speed up construction of new airport terminals and additional airports near metro cities, voicing concern about an anticipated rise in congestion and lack of infrastructure at major aerodromes. Officials in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said airports in major cities appeared headed towards a “clogged future” amid plans by domestic airlines to acquire more aircraft and increase passenger load next year. The DGCA estimates that scheduled commercial airlines are set to add at least 40 new and leased aircraft by next March and an additional 25 aircraft by end-2017. Indian carriers have also lined up delivery of about 550 planes over the next six years. “Most of the functional airports, particularly in tier I and tier II cities, are operational almost at full capacity. Unless we come up with new terminals and additional airports at these places, things are going to get very difficult,” a DGCA official said. “We have expressed this concern to the civil aviation ministry through a communiqué.” On October 4, the DGCA announced the winter schedule for domestic Indian carriers with at least 21 per cent more flights than last year. The winter schedule starts from October 30 and runs till March 26, 2017. “This has happened because of about 23 per cent rise in domestic traffic this year so far. We expect the trend to continue,” another official said. Marlon Mack Jersey
DGCA seeks details from Jet Airways on cancelled flights
Aviation regulator DGCA has sought from Jet Airways details of the flights it had cancelled and delayed recently after some of its pilots reported sick amid an acute shortage of flight crew, particularly in its narrow body fleet. Jet Airways has also been asked to provide details of the pilots who are “habitual” of reporting sick and disrupting the airline’s schedule, an official said. The Mumbai-headquartered airline, which is already facing paucity of pilots to carry out its operations in a smooth manner, had cancelled 50-odd flights on Tuesday and Wednesday after a section of its pilots did not turn up for duty despite being rostered in protest against the malfunctioning of its new crew rostering management system. “We have asked Jet Airways to provide us details of the flights it cancelled on November 1 and November 2. It has been asked to provide the number of flights it cancelled as well as the number of pilots who reported sick,” a senior DGCA official said today. The airline has also been told to provide details of the pilots who do not turn up for duty and keep passengers waiting inside the aircraft. Jet Airways requires at least 200 more pilots to carry out its operations in a seamless manner, with its Boeing 737 fleet taking the maximum hit due to the inadequate number of flight crew in the airline, sources had said. The full service carrier is second largest airline in terms of number of domestic operations after no-frills IndiGo, operating more than 600 domestic and international flights every day. The airline at present has around 1,200 pilots to operate its fleet of 117 aircraft comprising Boeing 777s, B737s, Airbus A330s and ATRs. Almost two-thirds of its fleet consist of B737s. As part of the winter schedule, which became effective from late last month, Jet Airways would operate 3,010 flights per week while its subsidiary JetLite 507 flights per week. Oscar Klefbom Authentic Jersey
Cabinet likely to decide on Pawan Hans strategic stake sale in December
The Union Cabinet is expected to take a final decision on the disinvestment of Pawan Hans Helicopter Ltd in December. Set up in 1986, PHHL is the largest helicopter operator in the country with a fleet of over 40. Later this week the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the nodal Ministry under which PHHL comes, will move a note for inter-ministerial comments on the state-owned helicopter company’s disinvestment. The comments are expected within a week. Three weeks after receiving the comments, the Civil Aviation Ministry hopes to approach the Union Cabinet, a senior Ministry official said. ONGC and the government are the major shareholders in Pawan Hans. PHHL was one of the over two dozen government entities for which the Union Cabinet gave “in principle” approval for strategic sale and divesting management control late last week. But for PHLL’s divestment to go through, the Finance Ministry has to waive off a ?480-crore outstanding against the company. The amount includes ?120 crore that the government provided PHLL and the balance ?360 crore is the interest on this amount. With the Finance Ministry indicating its willingness to “waive of the dues” PHHL’s divestment looks set. Officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry declined to say when the disinvestment will take place and how much stake the government will divest, pointing out that it was the Finance Ministry’s responsibility to carry out the divestment. The current rules permit 100 per cent foreign investment in the operations of helicopters and sea planes. When asked about the divestment of PHHL, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Civil Aviation Minister pointed out that while the helicopters with PHHL were “work horses” the organisation had not really grown since its inception. Malik Jefferson Jersey
India’s Fast-Growing Aviation Market Spurs Boom In Private Charter Jet Startups
India’s domestic aviation sector became the world’s fastest-growing aviation market last year, growing at a rate of over 20.3%, according to a report by KPMG. This sector is the ninth largest in the world and, according to a passenger forecast issued by The International Air Transport Association (IATA), it is stated to become the third largest aviation market by displacing the one in UK by the year 2026. The forecast predicts that the Asia-Pacific region will be a source of more than half the new passengers over the next 20 years. As part of this sector’s growth story, the private jet market in India is also experiencing a revival in fortunes. After the economic downturn of 2009-10, this comeback, however, is gradual as there have been constraints that make India a tough market to survive for the private jets’ owners. Infrastructural challenges and high cost of operations associated with owning an aircraft add to the woes of the owners. When you own a plane, there are fixed costs on the aircraft, pilot, maintenance and other miscellaneous aspects. Unless you clock around 800 to 900 hours of flying time a year — 90 hours a month — owning a jet is not practical. The other challenging issue in India is in the form of its regulatory policies. You can either own the jet under private ownership or you can include it in the company books by taking a non-scheduled operators permit. But under a non-schHowever sensing an opportunity in this industry, a slew of startups such as BookMyCharters, JetSetGo and JetSmart have taken flight by offering more choices in the private jet market. These startups are registering demands from not only major Tier-I cities like Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad, but also smaller Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), Belagavi (Karnataka) and Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) to name a few. Sachit Wadhwa, co-founder of BookMyCharters says, “Today, the charter market is only at seven locations, including the four metros. The idea is to take it to the next level, where people beyond metros are also looking at this application.” However sensing an opportunity in this industry, a slew of startups such as BookMyCharters, JetSetGo and JetSmart have taken flight by offering more choices in the private jet market. These startups are registering demands from not only major Tier-I cities like Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad, but also smaller Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), Belagavi (Karnataka) and Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) to name a few. Sachit Wadhwa, co-founder of BookMyCharters says, “Today, the charter market is only at seven locations, including the four metros. The idea is to take it to the next level, where people beyond metros are also looking at this application.” Out of the three startups mentioned above, BookMyCharters enables instant bookings. On the other hand, customers of JetSetGo can view aircraft types and get price estimates of the flights it aggregates. JetSmart aggregates planes, but bookings can only be made on flights returning empty. These private jet charter firms are similar to that of online travel aggregators such as MakeMyTrip and Yatra that allow users to compare prices and schedules before booking tickets. Users can also select aircraft types and add amenities. One of the impacts of these startups has been on the availability of greater number of charter planes. BookMyCharters lists 40 aircrafts on 22,000 routes at 149 locations in India. A recent search for a Mumbai-Delhi flight on JetSetGo threw up 90 planes of varied sizes and price range. JetSetGo gives individuals access to 75 private jets and helicopters in India with the ease of booking the flight online. An updated version of its mobile app is also being designed to meet the demands of affluent customers. “If you didn’t own a private jet, you ended up calling 10 operators, 30 brokers and everyone was misleading you,” says Kanika Tekriwal, founder of JetSetGo. For India’s moneyed, chartering a private jet is now a breeze compared to a few years ago when the market was fragmented, opaque in its dealings and dominated by brokers and middlemen. Taking advantage of private jets that return without passengers, JetSetGo sells tickets at highly discounted fares. If one had to charter the same aircraft from Kolkata to New Delhi, it would cost double the amount. In some instances, the discount could be as high as 80%. These startups offer fares that are significantly cheaper than those quoted by brokers. Those who can afford private planes earlier relied on brokers who typically represented three to four private plane operators, most of whom don’t own more than one or two aircrafts. Negotiations among operators, brokers and customers on price and availability would eventually drag on for more than a few days. Other than the type of services, one can also differentiate amongst these startups based on models of aircrafts. For instance, the fleet of aircraft that BookMyCharters offers ranges from the small Pilatus PC 1247, with a single turboprop engine to the Dassault Falcon 2000 twin-engine business jet. Delhi-based JetSetGo has a program called JetSteals that provides travelers seats on private jets for domestic trips, with prices ranging from $69 to $674. According to this deal, the price for individual seats on a lower range private jet model like a Beechcraft 200 would be $69, mid range private jets like the Hawker would be approximately $300 and for the higher range models like the Falcon or the Challenger, the price range could go up to $674. Typically, private jets that most Indian startups use — Gulfstream, Bombardier Global Express or Dassault Falcon — can only do six- to seven-hour journeys. Globally, the challenger series from Bombardier and Dassault Falcons dominate the skies for short-haul flights, while Gulfstream rules the long range. Operating as Uber of the skies is not a task for the faint-hearted, as most of these startups connect owners of private jets to potential customers via an online platform – they do get impacted by decisions of
Jet Airways facing acute shortage of pilots?
Naresh Goyal-owned Jet Airways is facing acute shortage of pilots amid the airline increasing its capacity in the fast growing domestic market, according to sources. A number of Jet Airways flights have got delayed in the recent past as the airline has failed to provide pilots due to paucity of the flight crew, they said. The Mumbai-headquartered full service carrier is second largest airline in terms of number of domestic operations after no-frills IndiGo. As part of the winter schedule, which is effective from late last month, Jet Airways plans to operate 3,010 flights per week while its subsidiary JetLite 507 flights per week. “Jet Airways is facing shortage of pilots for quite some time now. While the airline has been increasing the number of flights in its both winter and summer schedules each year, the number of pilots is not increasing in the same ratio, leading to shortage of flight crew,” a source said. Jet Airways requires at least 200 more pilots to carry out its operations in a seamless manner, the source said, adding “shortage is more in narrow body, Boeing 737 fleet.” The airline currently has around 1,200 pilots to operate its fleet of 102 aircraft comprising Boeing 777s, B737s, Airbus A330s and ATRs. Almost two-thirds of its fleet consists of B737s. Response to queries sent to Jet Airways in this regard was awaited. Significantly, as many as 18 per cent of Jet Airways flights from four metro airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru — failed to either arrive or depart on time in September. A major chunk of its flights are from its two hubs – Mumbai and New Delhi. Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan had hit out at the airline after his flight to Chennai from Mumbai last week was allegedly delayed due to non-availability of flight crew. “Flying to Chennai. Baggage, check. Board flight on time, check. Seat belt fastened, check. Only thing we need now are our pilots!!…Well done Jet Airways!!! Entire plane boarded without any pilots on board. Still waiting and hoping…,” he had said in a series of tweets over the nearly none-and-half- hour delay of his flight. For the last almost two years, India has been the fastest growing air traffic market in the world. In September, the domestic air passenger traffic registered a robust growth of about 23 per cent as compared the same period last year. Mika Zibanejad Womens Jersey