As talks for aviation climate deal begin, India holds out
Fast-growing aviation powerhouse India is not ready to join the world’s first climate deal to curb pollution from commercial flights because it fears that talks beginning on Tuesday may not lead to a fair agreement, its civil aviation minister said. The proposed landmark deal, backed by the United States and China, aims to limit rising airline pollution to 2020 levels after it takes effect in 2021, but has been watered down by being made voluntary for the first five years. “(We’ll decide) once the nuts and bolts become clearer,” Ashok Gajapathi Raju told Reuters on the sidelines of an aviation forum. “Until then, our fears are that it is not equitable.” Countries with a high-growth aviation sector want more latitude to produce emissions than developed countries, which are growing more slowly but were responsible for generating the bulk of the industry’s greenhouse gases. If a country is not part of the deal, it will have a ripple effect as all foreign carriers on routes to and from that country – even ones from participating states – would be exempt from having to offset their emissions. The United Nations-led talks run from Sept. 27 to Oct. 7 at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal. Jonathan Bullard Authentic Jersey
Airlines reject demand for additional benefits, perks to MPs
Airline companies IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Go Air and Air India have grounded a demand for giving perks to members of parliament (MPs). These perks include quota of seats on flights, air travel facilities and assistance at airports to board/de-board a plane. On Monday, senior executives of the five airlines attended a meeting called by the Joint Committee on salaries and allowances of members of parliament at the behest of the aviation ministry to discuss “issues” related to these perks, the Economic Times reported. “We are private enterprises. We already pay taxes and should not be burdened with these additional costs,” a senior executive of one of the airline was quoted as saying by the publication. Another airline executive (who attended the meeting) revealed that the MPs were also demanding free meals, creation of special counters at airports and access to lounges. “Everyone is informally being told to agree,” he added. Clay Matthews Authentic Jersey
Airline bars kids from `elite’ seats, draws DGCA ire
If you are flying IndiGo with children under 12 years of age, then the extra leg room seats are out of bounds for you. The low cost carrier has termed seats in rows 1-4 and 11-14 as “quiet zones” and passengers travelling with young children, or unaccompanied minors, cannot pre-book them by paying extra for these premium seats.’ The quiet zone move -adopted by a handful of airlines globally to save their premium flyers from crying children -has left passengers seething as leg space, armrests and seat cushioning are shrinking at an alarming pace across all airlines globally. The concept of premium seating, was introduced so that people can pay more to get access to a slightly better seat in terms of less cramped seats. A senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said: “Won’t premium row passengers be distributed by children crying in rear rows? We will examine this policy of IndiGo.” In a statement, IndiGo said it “endeavors to extend courteous and hassle free experience to all passengers (that includes both leisure and corporate travellers) who wish to fly with the airline. Keeping in mind the comfort of all passengers row number 1to 4 and 11to 14 are allocated as `quiet zone’on IndiGo flights. Creating `quiet zone’ for passengers on board is an international practice, in both full service and low cost airlines and IndiGo’s said policy is in-line with the global practice.” The `quiet zone’ policy is transparently laid on the company website under `conditions of carriage’ section, IndiGo added. But many flyers are upset at this move. Aman Varma, a Karol Bagh-based frequent flyer, who lives in a joint family said: “Now there is no escaping the cattle class when I travel with young children.” This is the first time than an Indian carrier has introduced the concept of quiet zones. C.J. Anderson Jersey
Indian aviation sector takes off in a big way as air traffic rises
The aviation scenario in India is going through an impressive boom and is experiencing unprecedented growth. In fact, the growth in the past 10 years has eclipsed that in the past 50 years. Over the course of the past decade, domestic airport traffic has jumped from 51 million passengers to 169 million passengers, while international airport traffic has gone up from 22 million passengers to 55 million passengers. Interestingly, the number of domestic airport traffic in the past 10 years is about three times that of the domestic airport traffic in the past 50 years. Reflecting this growth, IndiGo Airlines was the fastest growing over the past year and had an increase of 28% in seat capacity. With a 40% market share, IndiGo continues to dominate and may well touch the 50% mark soon. India’s international traffic also has the potential to double in size in the next five years. This growth will be subject to the opening up of bilateral air services. Bilaterals remain a key issue in geo-political relations for India, specifically with Qatar, UAE, Turkey, Malaysia and Hong Kong. At present, India has more than 430 aircraft in service, and 783 on order. Apart from this, an additional 250-300 orders remain in the pipeline from SpiceJet and Vistara. This ratio of orders to in-service aircraft are the highest out of all major markets around the world. However, to back up this growth, there needs to be adequate infrastructure. Despite the seemingly happy state of the sector, there are a few factors that may cause it to stumble soon. The reduction in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices has trickled down to the consumer as airlines are reducing ticket prices. This has resulted in a high footfall. In fact, the increase in traffic in the past 18 months has been largely due to a decrease in fuel costs. To keep up with the burgeoning traffic, a capacity crisis is very likely if 50 airports are not constructed in the country over the next decade. More investment in airports and airspace capacity is needed. Increased traffic without the required infrastructure can result in poor passenger experience and service levels. At present, most of the top 10 airlines are achieving year round load factors of 90% or higher, indicating constrained capacity. Consistent traffic growth of 20% for 3-5 years will consume scarce capacity without significant productivity improvements at both AAI (Airports Authority of India) and PPP (Public Private Partnership) airports. Traffic is expected to grow by about 20% during the financial years of 2017, 2018. During the next 18-24 months, airlines in India are expected to add 100 more aircraft. Airlines must remain aware of these constraints and plan their expansion accordingly. In 2004-2008, the profitless growth in the aviation industry was a big blow. The growth during that period was exposed after a fuel price spike. Since the aviation sector is a much bigger animal now, a blow such as that will result in a greater fall this time around. Mitchell Stephens Jersey
Global help for Mangalagiri airport
The Cabinet decision to develop airport at Mangalagiri in an extent of 5,000 acres is a move to attract investors across the globe to take part in the development of new state capital Amaravati. On the same lines, it has decided to develop the runway at Visakhapatnam airport. “As part of increasing air connectivity from all major cities in the state to international destinations, the state government has initiated these steps,” industry experts said. While welcoming the Cabinet’s decision to go for an MoU with the Airports Authority of India and the Union Government to develop infrastructure in civil aviation sector and also to increase regional connectivity, industry experts forecast the likelihood of air traffic from Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam increasing by 200 per cent in the coming two decades. “Keeping in view proximity to South East Asian nations and countries like Singapore and Australia, the government is strategically taking these steps,” they said. In fact, the government has directed the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) to start scouting for land for the proposed new international airport. The plan to have a separate international airport within the capital city area comes at a time when it is trying hard to get international tag for Gannavaram airport, 25 km away from the capital city. It is learnt the government is planning to locate the new airport somewhere near Tadikonda, about 20 km from the riverbank in Amaravati. Last year, municipal administration minister P. Narayana had said urban planners were taking up a study with the assistance of aviation experts to find a suitable location. Dave Schultz Jersey
‘Partial’ take-off for airport handover – GLOBAL BIDS TO RUN 2
The Airports Authority of India is set to outsource the running of two airports in a “cautious” take-off on a phased privatisation scheme the earlier government had conceived before the Narendra Modi regime put it on hold. Sources said the AAI, the civil aviation ministry’s arm that operates airports, would see how the “partial privatisation” – that involves operations and management – works with Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports before extending the plan. AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said global bids from private players for running the two airports would be invited in November. “We will first see how the plan goes in the case of these two airports, and then decide about other airports,” Mohapatra said. The UPA government had handed over Delhi and Mumbai airports to private companies on a public-private-partnership model about a decade back. It had then allowed private operators to build new airports in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin and shut down the old airports there. The UPA had also proposed handing over the airports in Calcutta, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur on a PPP model#for an infrastructure upgrade. But the AAI employees’ union had opposed the proposal amid concerns that the earlier transfers of airport ownership had resulted in human resource related issues. After the change of guard in 2014, the aviation ministry had indicated that it was scrapping the UPA plan to privatise airports one by one. AAI insiders, however, said the government had now revised its stand following airport-linked financial losses year after year. “But we are being cautious. Instead of asking private companies to build and modernise airports, we are only offering to hand over operations and maintenance,” an AAI official said, adding the modalities were being discussed with the finance ministry. According to the aviation ministry’s annual report, over 100 airports, including those in most state capitals, had incurred cumulative losses of around Rs 1,225 crore during 2015-16, and only eight airports had earned profits. Jordan Clarkson Authentic Jersey
High-flyer: The maharaja who pioneered Indian aviation
As the Indian Air Force (IAF) gets ready to celebrate 84 years of its foundation on October 8, the Jodhpur Flying Club (JFC), set up in 1931 by the then ruler of Jodhpur Maharaja Umaid Singh at a small airfield near his palace, is completing 85 years of its glorious history. An avid flyer who was bestowed the title of air vice-marshal, it was Singh’s relentless efforts that made JFC Air Force Station the gateway to Far East by 1938, with three international airlines – Air France, KLM and Imperial Airways – frequenting the desert capital regularly. According to the director of Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Karni Singh Jasol, the aviation history was made possible by Umaid Singh who was keen to put Jodhpur on the global flying map. “He first built a landing strip here in 1924 and then formed the JFC with Geoffrey Goodwin of Johannesburg, South Africa, who became the first instructor at the flying club. The first two aircraft to be purchased were T-ABX and VT-ABY (bought from Delhi Flying Club for Rs 10,896 each),” he said. JFC was the first institution to induct the Tiger Moth aircraft in 1932, the year the IAF was established. This vintage aircraft has been fully restored by an aircraft restoration company in UK and was showcased at IAF’s ‘Iron Fist-2013’ exhibition at Pokhran. According to a defence spokesperson, the De Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth is a two-seat, single-bay biplane powered by a 145hp Gypsy Major four-cylinder inverted air-cooled engine. It was the primary trainer for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the World War II, and continued in the service of IAF from 1940. It was later replaced as a trainer by the HT-2. Though, the JFC started humbly with two Tiger Moths, it progressed rapidly by 1938 and was at the forefront of civil aviation in India. Shaquille O’Neal Authentic Jersey
Developer for Bhogapuram airport near Vizag likely by January ’17
The AP government is pinning hopes on finalising the developer for the Bhogapuram International Airport by January 2017. The land acquisition for the project is expected to be completed by the Vizianagaram district administration by December this year. According to senior officials, the technical bids from developers are expected to be opened during the last week of September and as of now, eight firms have expressed interest in participating in the tender process for construction of the Greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram, which is around 60 km north of Vizag. According to project details, the airport is to be developed on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis with the first phase costing Rs 2718 crore and a terminal capacity to handle around 6.3 mppa (million passengers per annum). The second phase is expected to be developed at a cost of Rs 1798 crore with a terminal capacity of around 18 mppa. “We expect the land acquisition for the project to be completed at the maximum by the end of this year. We have already held the pre-bid meeting and we have received a very good response,” a senior AP government official said. He said, “Our target is to kick off the project by January 2017. There are about 8 firms including all leading players like GMR, GVK, Airports Authority of India, Tata Group and Essel Infrastructure among others showing interest in the project.” According to revenue department sources in Vizianagaram district, the project requires around 2800 acres for the overall development of the airport project. “Out of the 2800 acres, around 1600 acres is Patta land. Already, farmers owning about 900 acres have consented to provide the land for the project and the process of issuing compensation is being carried out. We have been able to do this within one year’s time,” a revenue department official said. He also said, “The remaining farmers have also agree to handover the lands for the project and we expect the land acquisition at the most by December this year.” Incidentally, in 2015-16, the existing Vizag Airport had handled around 18.04 lakh international and domestic passengers registering a growth of 64.1 per cent over 2014-15. During the same period, international air passenger traffic touched 1.21 lakh passengers with a growth of 102.7 per cent and domestic air passenger traffic touched 16.83 lakh passengers with a growth of 61.9 per cent. Tim Horton Womens Jersey
IndiGo opts for bigger single-aisle planes for overseas expansion
IndiGo is for the first time opting for bigger aircraft in the single-aisle segment, as it steps up overseas expansion plans. India’s biggest airline by market share has tweaked part of its aircraft order, converting 20 Airbus A320Neo planes to A321Neos, said two people in the know. In IndiGo’s single-class configuration, the A321 will have a sitting capacity of over 230, compared to the A320’s 180. The airline has a total of 422 planes on order. After the tweak, 402 of them will be A320s and the rest A321s. The A321s will start coming in from 2019, said one of the executives. He added the conversion was a clause in the initial plane purchase contract between IndiGo and Airbus. There’s also a possibility that IndiGo may opt for the A321LR (Long Range) planes, touted as the longest range single aisle jetliner in the world. The shift to bigger planes highlights IndiGo’s bigger plans for overseas operations. The airline currently flies to five neighbouring overseas destinations: Kathmandu, Dubai, Singapore, Muscat and Bangkok. India is ahead of the world in terms of domestic air travel demand growth, say figures from the International Air Transport Association. But experts have said that at the breakneck speed in which capacity is slated to be added by airlines in the next few years,supply will outstrip demand. Also, with the government relaxing rules to fly international—domestic airlines now need 20 planes in their fleet, compared to the earlier requirement of 20 planes and 5 years of local operations—airline such as Go Air and Vistara have been drawing ambitious plans to fly international. The Indian government has also opened up talks for enhanching bilateral air traffic rights—airlines of two countries deploy equal number of seats/flights in the air route—which means foreign carriers too will increase capacity to India. Under all such cases, IndiGo needs to step on its international expansion plans. This A321 has a stretched fuselage with an overall length of 44.51 metres, along with an extended operating range of up to 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 kilometers) while carrying a maximum passenger payload, according to the Airbus website. The A321LR will be able to do 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometers). D.J. Swearinger Authentic Jersey
Groundwork for Rs 16,500-crore Navi Mumbai airport to take off next month
Work on construction of the Navi Mumbai international airport (NMIA) is set to start next month, almost two decades after a second international airport for Mumbai was proposed. The state government wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to perform the bhoomi pujan for the Rs 16,500 crore project in the last week of October. According to sources, Cidco, the nodal authority, has made a proposal to this effect and the Devendra Fadnavis government is trying to ensure Modi’s presence for the inauguration of the project that has been bedevilled by various issues — from villagers’ protests over compensation to a plethora of clearances. In mid-October, work will start on mobilizing resources, men, material and machinery for the cutting of the Ulwe hill and diversion of the Ulwe river. But the actual infrastructure work will start only after the bhoomi puja, a Cidco official said. The hill cutting and river diversion will be a major part of the Rs 4500-5000 crore first phase of the airport development by a strategic partner — the financial bid for strategic partner is in the final stages. The other work that will be part of the first phase is the construction of the runways, terminal building, ATC and hangars. The infrastructure work will be videographed and archived, officials said. The stage II of forest clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) paving the way for the airport development work in the core areas is expected soon. The story of the dream project traces way back to 1997 when the civil aviation ministry constituted a committee to examine various sites for a second international airport for Mumbai. In May 2009, the MoEF issued notification for amending the CRZ notification of 1991 permitting greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai in CRZ areas, subject to environmental safeguards. Doug Baldwin Jersey