India’s Vistara chief wants airline rule scrapped
The boss of India’s newest airline Vistara has urged the government to scrap a rule that restricts carriers in the country’s cut-throat aviation sector from expanding their operations abroad. Phee Teik Yeoh, the Singaporean CEO of Vistara, which was launched last year, said that recent reforms were welcome but more needed to be done to help fledgling airlines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a long-awaited shake-up of the rapidly growing market in June, including amending a regulation known as the “5-20 rule”, which had been criticised by industry experts. The new policy stipulates that Indian carriers no longer need to have been in operation for five years before they can fly internationally, as was previously the case. But it insists that domestic airlines must still have 20 planes in their fleet before expanding to destinations overseas. “We are happy to see the 5-20 rule’s partial lift, although we would like to see the complete removal of it in the near future,” Phee said. “It would be the right decision in the right direction and would allow more choices for Indian travellers,” the 47-year-old added. Carriers say scrapping the rule and allowing them to fly overseas is crucial to them turning an early profit while the government wants them to focus on improving India’s domestic network. India’s aviation sector has undergone rapid transformation since a liberalisation drive first began in 2003 but budget airline IndiGo is the only consistently profitable carrier. Vistara, a joint venture between Indian conglomerate Tata and Singapore Airlines, is seeking to capitalise on the Indian government plans to increase domestic ticket sales to 300 million by 2022 by making air travel affordable for the masses. Only 70 million of India’s 1.2 billion citizens flew domestically in 2014-15, according to the Sydney-based Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, making it one of the world’s most under-penetrated markets. Danny Trevathan Jersey
Indian Airlines to fly 20.8% more flights during winter schedule
In an attempt to catch up with the rise in passengers in India, Indian Airlines will fly 20.8% more flights during winter schedule 2016, which begins from October 30, 2016. “Overall increase in flights by 20.8% over Winter 2015. Total departures per week in WS 2016 will be 16,600 as against 13,744 during the same period last year. Scheduled operations will be available to/from 76 airports,” said a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The DGCA approved the schedule today. While the airlines have increased their flight, the number of airports connected by airlines has reduced to 76 from 81 airports last year. Francisco Cervelli Womens Jersey
Boundary wall must for IGI security: DIAL
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has moved the Delhi high court to restrain all interferences in the construction of a boundary wall at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, saying the airfield has been perceived as an “important target” after the Pathankot airbase attack in January this year. In an application, DIAL has said that boundary wall would add “another line of defence” in the security of the airport which falls under the “hypersensitive” airport category DIAL has alleged that construction work of the wall has been stopped due to violent protests by residents of the neighbouring village of Shahbad Mohammadpur, despite the construction being exclusively on airport land. “It is pertinent to mention that the IGI airport falls under the category of hyper-sensitive airport and has been perceived as an important target by terrorist organisations especially after the attack on the air base at Pathankot,” it said. A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal has asked the association, representing the village, and authorities concerned to file their reply to DIAL’s application. The bench has fixed the matter for hearing on October 17. “The boundary wall on the perimeter of the IGI airport is being built exclusively on the airport land and not on land belonging to any other authority or private land,” it said, ad ding, “The wall will also prevent any encroachment on the airport land.” It has sought the court’s direction to restrain anyone from interfering with or obstructing the construction of a boundary wall along the operational wall of the airport. DIAL has also pleaded the HC to restrain anyone from encroaching on the airport land and has sought a direction to the police station concerned to ensure the outerwall’s construction. David Robertson Womens Jersey
Air Costa smells the coffee; gets pan-India license from DGCA
Regional carrier Air Costa, which was facing cash problems recently, said Monday it has received a pan-India license from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Until now the airline operated with a regional license which allowed him to do only regional routes within the country. It couldnt operate to metro cities outside the region it was operating in. “Now we will still do smaller cities but connect them to larger cities, like Tirupati-Delhi/Mumbai,” Vivek Choudhary, CEO of Air Costa told ET. In the official statement, he said the airline’s immediate focus now is adding aircraft and expanding operations. The airline currently covers eight destinations including Vijayawada, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Tirupathi, and Vizag. The airline has been operating for the last three years. It has recently been facing a major cash crunch, forcing it to delay salaries to employees. Before that, it had to ground operations for a day following problems with leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). There were rumours of fund raising which the airline spokesman denied. On Monday Choudhary said there are is no fundraising proposition yet. Air Costa operates with Embraer E190 jets and Chaudhary said the airline will stick to that fleet type for now. Jason Zucker Authentic Jersey
Indian carriers struggle to find talent inside cockpit
Arav Joshi, 26, completed his flying course from New Zealand-based training academy in 2012. After that did not translate into a job, he topped it with a type rating course from a Pune-based facility in 2014. The total expenditure came to around Rs 50 lakhs. He is still without a job. He is part of the 7,000 odd who despite holding a commercial pilots license (CPL) is awaiting a job. Despite available manpower, Indian carriers are finding it difficult to find suitable people as they are hesitant to recruit fresher to man their cockpit. National carrier Air India in July advertised to recruit 415 pilots for manning its Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline has a requirement of more than 500 pilots as it plans to expand its fleet rapidly. But the hiring plan has gone awry with the airline now struggling to find suitable candidates. Other private airlines are looking to expat pilots even though the cost of hiring an expat is significantly higher for an airline. Air Asia India- the joint venture between the Tata Sons and Tony Fernandes-owned Air Asia Bhd is looking to hire at least 30 expat pilots as it looks at fleet expansion following fund infusion from the promoters. Sources, say that despite multiple rounds of roadshows conducted across cities, the airline failed to find enough local pilots. An AirAsia spokesperson declined to comment. Jet Airways, sources say is looking to hire around 30 type-rated foreigners to fly its Boeing 737 planes. Having an expat on board is a financial burden for an airline. “The salaries of the expats are higher, the airline has to provide them accommodation and also bear expense for his journey to his home country,” a pilot with a domestic carrier said. In addition to that there are several safety approvals required which takes around six months. “Effectively during that period, you have to pay them without flying,” the pilot said. “While there are thousands of CPL holders in the country, getting type rated Indian pilots becomes difficult, you have to give them additional training, no airlines want to recruit simple CPL holders and bear that cost,” an executive of a private airline said. Brian Leetch Authentic Jersey
Guruvayoor lagislator calls for airstrip for the temple town
With more VIPs from far and wide visiting the famed Guruvayoor Sree Krishna temple, the temple town is in need of an airstrip, and with various investment options available, this could soon become a reality, according to a local legislator. Speaking to IANS, Guruvayoor legislator K.V. Abdul Khader said a few years ago a team of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials had visited a few places in the area. “Land is a problem here for an airport and it has now dawned that only an airstrip can be a viable proposition. For that, around 15 to 20 acres of land is all that’s required,” said Khader, a three-time CPI-M legislator from Guruvayoor. Over the years, the name and fame of the temple has spread far and it has become one of the most important places of worship for Hindus. Among those who now frequently visit the temple are national leaders as also top political personalities from Sri Lanka. “Today with more and more VIP visits, traffic gets choked as most of them either fly to Kochi airport and then arrive to the temple town by road. A 14 acres’ plot of land belonging to the temple is at present lying unused… This could be ideal for the air strip,” said Khader. Joe Flacco Womens Jersey
Passenger traffic at Mumbai airport increased 30% in 3 years
In the last three years, the number of flight arrivals and departures at Mumbai airport went up by 35,500 even as the fast-growing airport saw a 30% increase in passenger volumes, taking the number of passengers handled in 2015-16 to 4.15 crore. In the 2013-14 fiscal, the airport handled 2.18 crore domestic and 1.03 crore international passengers, with a total of 3.2 crore passengers, according to data released on Saturday by Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) in its sustainability report 2016. Three years later, the number of domestic passengers had gone up to 3 crore, while international passenger traffic was 1.16 crore. “Indian aviation is set for transformational growth. Foreseeing this scenario, MIAL has taken sustained efforts to expand and modernize airport infrastructure,” said the report. Among major modernization projects undertaken are refurbishment of domestic passenger terminals 1A and 1B, upgradation of runways and allied airside infrastructure, expansion of additional apron areas and parking bays on the airside, construction of new airline support facilities like aircraft run-up bays, maintenance hangars, and ground support equipment storage, expansion, upgradation and construction of new taxiways and rapid exit taxiways. Development apart, the airport addressed environmental concerns too. In the recently held Paris Conference of the Parties (COP), India committed to reduce its carbon emissions intensity by 33-35% by 2030, from its 2005 levels. MIAL has planned a 25% reduction in carbon emissions from direct fuel consumption and indirect energy purchase by 2020, the report said. The total green house gas emissions during 2014-15 and 2015-16 were 109,516 tCO e (tonnes of carbon equivalent) and 109,006 tCO e respectively. Shilique Calhoun Jersey
Puducherry government inks MoU with civil aviation ministry, AAI
The Puducherry government has signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding with the Union aviation ministry and Airports authority of India (AAI) to resume regular flights connecting the Union territory to other destinations under the regional connectivity service. The Puducherry government extended concessions to make flying affordable. The government proposes to connect Puducherry with cities lying within a distance of 500km by air. The cost of airfare will be around 2,500, which is certainly affordable, said a release. “The move is expected to give a big boost not only to the tourist inflow but also to industrial investments. The process to operationalise flights is likely to be completed and operations may be started by January, 2017,” said the release. Geoff Cameron Authentic Jersey
Carriers stay away from India’s first private greenfield airport
The road to India’s first private greenfield airport now wears a desolate look, with three unmanned check-posts and overgrown bushes and shrubs lining the road leading to its entrance. The police have barricaded vehicle entry into the immediate connecting lane in the arrival and departure sections as no vehicles can be seen plying near it. In line with the closed booking counters, Buggie – a prepaid taxi start-up that started an airport counter has also closed shops. Only an Oriental Bank of Commerce ATM, just outside the airport can be seen in an operational state. The security guard manning the ATM says it is now used by the airport’s employees only to withdraw cash or avail other services. “Previously, passengers used to withdraw money but now it is used by the few airport staff only,” the guard says. The land adjoining to the airport is now used by the localities to graze cattle. Ten years after this airport, christened Kazi Nazrul Islam airport (KNIA), was first conceived on the fringes of West Bengal’s steel city, Durgapur, the project is yet to see full-scale scheduled flights operating out of the airport after state-owned carrier Air India pulled out citing operational issues last year. Back in May last year, Air India commenced regular flight schedules with a 48-seater ATR aircraft between Kolkata and Durgapur that got upgraded to a 122-seater Airbus 319 (with an extended route – Kolkata-Durgapur-New Delhi) in December 2015. However, after six months of operations, the carrier discontinued the flight. Trevor Siemian Jersey
Tirupati Airport Awarded “Best Tourist Friendly Airport” under the category for “State Annual Excellence Awards “
Airports Authority of India’s Tirupati Airport has been awarded as “Best Tourist Friendly Airport” under the category for “State Annual Excellence Awards for the year 2015-16” by Andhra Pradesh Tourism. The award was presented on the eve of World Tourism Day by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri Nara Chandra Babu Naidu at Bhawani Islands, Vijayawada. The State Annual Tourism Excellence Awards under various segments of Travel and Tourism Industry are awarded by Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh for maintaining excellent Customer friendly relations with tourists and passengers, coinciding with World Tourism Day Celebrations. Mike Reilly Womens Jersey