Kingfisher Has Not Sought Govt Bailout, Says Mallya

Battling financial crisis, Kingfisher Airlines Chairman, Mr Vijay Mallya,said that he has not asked for a bailout from the government but wants the lenders to help with 700-800 crore working capital as short-term needs and interest concessions.

Facing all-round attack from political parties which are opposing any bailout for his airline, Mr Mallya said: “We have not asked for any bailout from government. We have not asked the government to dip into the taxpayers’ money. We have never done it, we will never do it.”

 After announcing the second quarter results, which showed a loss of Rs 468.66 crore, he told a press conference that “we are in dialogue with banks to open Letters of Credit which can help us recover debt and repay our high cost rupee loans.”

“We have not asked for a concession. We have not asked for a hair-cut. Our demands with the banks are mainly two-folds. One is to meet short-term capital needs which have gone up and concession on interest,” he said.

The banks have not told him formally that “we should infuse capital. If there is requirement of recapitalisation or infusion of additional equity, we will consider it.”

Mr Mallya also said he has not sought any restructuring of the loan.

Kingfisher has suffered a loss of Rs 1,027 crore in 2010-11 and has a mounting debt of Rs 7,057.08 crore. Together, the 13-bank consortium now holds 23.4 per cent stake in the airline and has an exposure of over Rs 7,700 crore.

Asked how much working capital would the airlines need, Mr Mallya said: “We require Rs 700-800 crore, which includes both fund and non-fund based. ... We have pursued every opportunity to raise capital.”

Welcoming the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s recent statement that the Government would find ways to solve the aviation industry’s financial troubles, he said: “The Prime Minister is an economist who understands the importance of connectivity.”

About the dues to oil companies, he said the airline has paid two state-owned oil companies — Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum — in full. “We don’t owe them a single paise.”

On the Rs 600-crore worth of unsecured dues to HPCL, the Chairman said the oil firm has been given bank guarantees “and our unsecured credit has now come down to Rs 40 crore only’’.

The chief of the UB Group, which runs Kingfisher, also announced that the company has applied to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for direct import of jet fuel, which would reduce fuel costs drastically. Jet fuel costs are almost 50 per cent of the total operating costs of the airline.

Mr Mallya also said there were varied credit lines with various suppliers and vendors of the airline and refuted reports that certain lessors wanted to take back some of the leased aircraft in the Kingfisher fleet.

Referring to the cancellation of more than 200 flights over the past week, he justified the move saying it was a “commercially prudent” decision.

“We cancelled flights not because we could not afford to. Even today Kingfisher is operating the rest of its schedule ... We could have handled the situation better. But it (flight cancellations) was a commercially prudent decision,” he said.

Debt Crisis at Kingfisher Airlines Makes it Sell Property

Flying at the heights of terrain and making profits out of it is something gorgeous. But at the sametime falling from the peak of success gives an unbearable damage that cannot be recovered soon. The same thing happened with the Kingfisher Airlines which is struggling to recover from its debts fallen on it.

Kingfisher is a valued company, but an airline would need fuel, fleet and finance to run the show. Facing serious financial turbulence, Kingfisher Airlines has sought government help for a bailout even as it continued its flight curtailment spree for the fifth consecutive day on Friday and its stocks plummeted by over 19 percent to an all-time low but recovered slightly later.

The seriousness of the crisis was underlined by the urgent request Kingfisher owner Vijay Mallya made to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi to help Kingfisher in infusion of funds through banks at low interest rates, besides other concessions in line with what Air India was getting.

However, there was no official word immediately on whether any step was being taken on Mallya's request made earlier this week. Some 50 pilots and cabin crew did not turn up for duty by reporting sick as over 40 flights were cancelled across its network today.

 Innumerable passengers across the country cancelled Kingfisher flight tickets to travel by other airlines, though after paying 20-40 percent higher at the last moment. The airline, which had earlier said it would restore its flights after October 19, has now indicated that it would take a few more weeks to normalize the flight schedule, which would go into the peak winter season air traffic.

DGCA has issued the notice under Rule 140(A) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, asking Kingfisher why it had not taken the regulator's prior approval to curtail its flight schedules as required by this rule. It has also sought to know whether the airline had taken any step to facilitate the passengers inconvenienced by the cancellations.

Meanwhile, all the oil PSUs, HPCL, IOC and BPCL, have denied extending credit line to the liquor baron Mallya-owned airline and asked it to pay for lifting jet fuel on a daily basis. The airline has suffered a loss of 1,027 crore in 2010-11 and has a mounting debt of 7057.08 crore.

The board of Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) will consider a proposal to cut debt by more than half by selling property, converting loans from its parent company into equity, and changing the terms under which it leases aircraft. The management of the airline, which has cancelled 200 flights in the past week, leading to fears it is close to bankruptcy, says its plan will result in debt coming down from Rs 6,500 crore to Rs 3,000 crore.

U.S. Carriers Unhappy With American Aid to Air India

Calling Air India "one of the most poorly-run airlines in the world", American carriers have opposed the US Exim Bank's $3.4 billion support to it to buy Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The Air Transport Association (ATA), a trade group representing America's biggest carriers, has shot off a letter to US Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg opposing the decision, saying Air India's financial ill-health should disqualify it from getting American help.

 The US Exim Bank had last month decided to give loan guarantees of $1.3 billion to support Air India's fleet acquisition from Boeing and another $2.1 billion preliminary commitment to support future deliveries of the US aerospace company's planes to the Indian national carrier.

A decision to this effect was taken early October by the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the US.

In its response, Exim Bank's general counsel said the bank stood by its decisions and processes, though it would investigate some of ATA's assertions about its procedures, a report in the Wall Street Journal said.

"Air India's borrowing is backed by a sovereign guarantee of the Indian government and its business plan has been vetted by Exim Bank staff," the report quoted a US government official as saying.

The official said support to foreign buyers of Boeing planes was important since if the US plane maker could not sell airplanes to foreign buyers like Air India, its chief rival Europe's Airbus probably would.

Air India has pending orders for 27 Boeing Dreamliners, the deliveries of which are expected to begin by the end of this year. These are part of the 68-aircraft order placed by the national carrier with the US plane manufacturer.

The Exim Bank support will enable Air India raise finances for acquiring the latest technology aircraft at competitive interest rates compared to commercial financing.

ATA opposed Exim Bank's backing for Boeing sales, partly because US airlines are not eligible to receive it as domestic purchases are not considered exports, the report said.

It quoted ATA's counsel Michael Kellogg as saying that the organisation was unhappy with the US government subsidies to foreign buyers of Boeing jetliners since "the bank's support for foreign airlines injures US carriers."

Kellog said Air India is "generally considered one of the shakiest, riskiest and most poorly-run airlines in the world."

The letter, which focussed on Air India, asked Exim Bank to slash subsidies to all overseas buyers of Boeing jets.

The letter, quoted by the WSJ, states that Air India's "long-running financial losses and widely reported management problems should disqualify it for US support."

ATA also criticised Exim Bank for not being sufficiently open about its decision making.

Billionaire Mallya’s Kingfisher Slumps Most in 3 Years, Seeks India’s Help

Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KAIR), controlled by billionaire Vijay Mallya, slumped in Mumbai after it cut flights and approached India’s government for help as it works to restructure debt and pare losses.

The airline, India’s second-biggest by market share, fell as much as 19 percent, the most in intraday trading since November 2008. It was down 9.7 percent at 19.6 rupees as of 3:04 p.m. United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd., Mallya’s holding company and Bangalore-based Kingfisher’s biggest shareholder, declined as much as 17 percent.

India’s finance ministry may ask banks to help Kingfisher restructure its debt after the carrier sought the government’s assistance, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said in New Delhi today. Kingfisher has scrapped 167 flights since Nov. 8 and some of its lessors plan to reclaim aircraft because of overdue fees, the Economic Times newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information.

“Unless there is an infusion of money at this point, I don’t really see how it’s going to survive,” said Rishikesha Krishnan, a professor of corporate strategy at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, who has written papers about Indian aviation. “That infusion of money has to come from Mallya. I can’t see anybody else who’s going to put money in.”

Prakash Mirpuri, a Kingfisher spokesman, said in a mobile- phone text message that he is on medical leave, and referred calls to Kingfisher’s external public relations agency. Kingfisher Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Aggarwal didn’t answer text messages and four calls to his mobile phone. Mobile phones of Mallya, the carrier’s chairman and managing director, were switched off.
New Planes

Kingfisher has posted losses totaling about 47 billion rupees ($935 million) over the last three years as it added new planes and competed against state-owned Air India Ltd. Earlier this year, it won as much as 12.1 billion rupees of new loans after banks agreed to convert 13 billion rupees of existing debt into preferred shares.

The airline isn’t operating 36 percent of flights it has scheduled for the winter season, E.K. Bharat Bhushan, Director General of Civil Aviation, said in New Delhi. The slots at airports that Kingfisher isn’t using will be given to other carriers, he said without elaboration.

Mallya, 55, doubled personal guarantees against the carrier’s debt to 61.7 billion rupees in the year ended March, according to the airline’s annual report. The carrier paid him 508.7 million rupees for loan assurances, said the report, published in September.
Debt Guarantees

United Breweries also more than doubled its debt guarantees to 168.5 billion rupees. The company, which owns 40 percent of Kingfisher, has dropped 71 percent this year.

Kingfisher has about $1.5 billion of debt and a debt-to- asset ratio of 82, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Jet Airways (India) Ltd., the nation’s largest carrier, has a debt- to-asset ratio of 67. SpiceJet Ltd. (SJET), India’s only listed budget carrier, has a ratio of 7.7.

Kingfisher and SpiceJet have tumbled about 70 percent this year, while Jet Airways dropped 65 percent as they struggle to turn surging travel demand into profit. Jet has posted losses for at least four years. The number of domestic passengers in India rose 18.6 percent this year through August to 39.6 million, according to the Director General of Civil Aviation’s website.
Promoting Beer

Mallya formed Kingfisher Airlines in 2005, naming it after the beer UB Group brews under the Kingfisher brand. He handpicked each of the flight attendants and instructed them to treat passengers as “guests in my own home,” according to a video shown on Kingfisher flights.

In 2008, Kingfisher completed a merger with Deccan Aviation Ltd., which operated India’s first low-cost airline, Air Deccan. Kingfisher had a fleet of 66 planes ranging from Avions De Transport Regional turboprops to Airbus SAS A330s as of March 31, according to its annual report.

The carrier has also ordered five Airbus A380 planes, which it expects to start taking delivery from 2016.

Mallya inherited the UB Group from his father in 1983 at the age of 27. He has since built United Breweries into India’s biggest brewer and United Spirits Ltd. acquired brands including Whyte & Mackay.

Mallya had a net worth of $1.1 billion, and was ranked 49th among India’s billionaires, according to Forbes magazine.

Source : Bloomberg.com

India's Kingfisher shares at life low, cancellations continue

India's Kingfisher Airlines shares slumped 18% to a life low on Friday as the airline continued to cancel flights and newspapers reported leasing companies were planning to take planes back and pilots were leaving.
The airline's chief executive officer Sanjay Aggarwal told television channel NDTV Profit 100 pilots had quit over the past months, but said it was part of natural attrition and the current cancellations were not on account of staff shortages.

Kingfisher, India's second-largest private airline, run by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, has struggled to raise cash to operate its cost-intensive business in a highly competitive market place.

It had cancelled scores of flights daily since Sunday in an effort to cut capacity and minimise costs, leaving passengers stranded as the Indian travel season enters the peak period.

"There is no doubt in our mind as a management team or Dr Mallya as a promoter of the airline, or the UB Group, about the credibility or the future of the airline," Aggarwal said.

The Economic Times newspaper reported on Friday that some companies who have lent aircraft to the loss-making airline planned to take them back. It also said the Director General of Civil Aviation had sought an explanation from the airline for the mass cancellation. A Kingfisher spokesman declined to provide immediate comment to Reuters.

Six weeks ago Kingfisher had announced intentions to recast its business model by doing away with its low-cost service Kingfisher Red. It said on Tuesday it has started reorganising its aircraft in an effort to focus on the full-service market and that required some of its flights to be out of service for the next few weeks. Once the reconfiguration is complete the aircraft will be pressed back in service it said.

"No shutdown, only ensuring loss minimisation by a flight rationalisation and enhanced revenue through reconfiguration of aircraft," Chairman Vijay Mallya was quoted by Economic Times as saying on Friday.
At 1:13 pm, Kingfisher shares were down 12.2% at 19.05 rupees, off a low of 17.7 rupees, while the BSE indexwas down 1.28 percent. Shares of UB Holdingswere down 11.75%.

STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE

Kingfisher shares have lost more than 67% of value so far this year. The airline, which started business as a full service carrier in 2005 and listed when it bought out budget airline, Air Deccan in 2008, has never made a profit.

Its auditors noted in the annual report this year that the firm needs extra cash to survive in a challenging market. Kingfisher had aimed to raise $250-$350 million through an issue of global depositary receipts in January but did not follow through on the plan. It also tried to attract private equity investment in 2008 and 2009 but no deal was forthcoming.

Earlier this year, Kingfisher cut its debt through a restructuring by issuing shares to 14 banks, including State Bank of India and ICICI Bank. But its problems continue. Just last week it said it had written to banks for further help by substituting high-cost rupee borrowings with lower cost foreign currency debt and asked them to consider the weakening rupee and high international fuel prices when appraising its working capital requirements.

"The only way out is they sell a stake to a foreign airline company if the government passes the rule anytime soon, which I think they can, given the circumstances of the whole industry," said Sharan Lillaney, analyst at Angel Broking.

India currently allows foreign investment of up to 49% in Indian carriers, but foreign airlines are not allowed to invest directly or indirectly in domestic carriers. But India's industry secretary said last month that the government was likely to approve a plan to allow foreign airlines to buy stakes in Indian carriers.

Source : Dnaindia

Indian Billionaires and Their Private Jets

When air travel is in question, the rich and famous fly in their own private jets. Equipped with luxurious interiors to suit their rich taste, private planes such as Gulfstream, Boeing and Bombardier make the trips of wealthy owners more comfortable and enjoyable.

Billionaires simply are not comfortable flying in a commercial plane carrying ordinary citizens. They need their own aircraft, with private services, items and equipments, usually not allowed in commercial flight.

Here are some Indian billionaires and their private jets.

1. Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, the country's richest man and chairman of Reliance Industries owns a private Boeing Business Jet 2, a 1,004 sq. ft. plane worth 225 crore, with a private bedroom suite and state of the art amenities. His list of personal aircrafts also includes a Falcon 900EX jet and a custom fitted Airbus 319.

The aircraft comes with the additional option of creating personal environment. For example, instead of having a living room-dining room-master bedroom-bathroom layout, the owner can opt for two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

2. Atul Punj

The chairman of the successful Punj Lloyd Group is the owner of a lushly appointed Gulfstream IV that has been changed to suit his tastes, through upgradation and structural improvement in wings, and 30 percent fewer parts.

The aircraft is large enough to hold two beds, has a shower room and a luxury living room. The private jet is worth 170 crore.

3. Anil Ambani

The Global Express is the ultra long range business jet developed by Bombardier Aerospace. Bill Clinton and Steven Spielberg are among the proud owners of such jets. Anil Ambani is the owner of this jet worth 200 crore in India.

Bombardier's 14.73 meter long cabin boasts of a noise and vibration cancellation system, making it easier to hold meetings on board. Customized interior layouts include office, stateroom and a conference-style area. The jet can fly over 5,950 nautical miles.

Anil Ambani also owns a Falcon 7X and a Falcon 2000.

4. Ratan Tata

An avid aviator, Ratan Tata pilots his own fleet of corporate jets that include the Falcon 2000 with its wide cabin, offering a high level of comfort, and is worth 115 crore.

The Falcon made by Dassault, the French aviation major, is run by Taj Air, a company owned by him. Tata likes to fly his private jet himself. He has a Falcon Jet that is no longer used for commercial aviation.

5. Vijay Mallya

Liquor baron and Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya owns the high-end A319-13-ACJ worth 225 crore. He spent another 160 core on retro-fitting and fireproof upholstery. The A319 is one of the smaller members of Airbus' highly successful single-aisle airliner family and can fly to London or the United States with a single refueling halt.

Boasting of plush interiors, it has the capacity to seat 24 people and has 6,000 cubic foot of living space. Apart from the A319, he also owns a Gulfstream, a Hawker and a Boeing 727. The French and Brazilian heads of state also use this model.

6. Lakshmi Mittal

The steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, owner of the world's largest steel company Arcelor Mittal uses his Gulfstream G550 to move around three count

ries in a day. It is worth 200 crore and can reach speeds of 675 miles per hour. This jet is a pleasure to fly for any pilot and can hold eight passengers.

7. Gautam Singhania

Gautam Singhania, chairman of Raymond Group is famous for his passion for expensive toys like supercars, luxury yachts and aircrafts.

He owns a Canadair Challenger 604 business jet worth RS.110 crore. The luxurious interior of the Challenger was designed by Eric Roth. The beige and brown interiors of Singhania's jet features an advanced Collins ProLine IV EFIS avionics system with colour displays and increased fuel tankage.

Air India to get preference in overseas flying rights

The civil aviation ministry is proposing a freeze on capacity enhancement by private carriers on international routes, a proposal aimed at navigating national carrier Air India out of turbulence. The ministry is finalising Air India's seat projections for the next five years and will allocate flying rights to private carriers only after the state-run carrier's requirements are met.

The government grants flying rights on international routes to private carriers on the basis of bilaterals , or air service agreements with various countries. The ministry's insistence on protecting Air India's interests is hurting domestic private carriers , some of whom have already lost airport slots allotted to them at destinations such as Dubai and Singapore.

"It is not that these slots are lost forever but they will now have to be re-negotiated and Indian carriers might not get a good deal," said a senior industry insider who did not wish to be named. Five Indian carriers , including Air India operates international flights. The ministry's decision has disrupted the winter schedule of Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet that were hoping to start new flights by the end of this month. Domestic carriers have a combined market share of 36%.

Air India is the market leader among domestic carriers with 14% market share followed by Jet. According to an estimate by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), private carriers have asked for 60,000-75 ,000 seats per week from the government while international carriers have sought 2 lakh seats per week. Domestic players feel international carriers are profiting at their expense.

"There is a complete freeze of flying rights for the private carriers because of Air India and the international airlines are benefiting from this as they are sucking up the market share," said a top official at a private airline who did not want to be identified because the airline is awaiting permission for expanding its international operations. For its part, Air India is resting its case with the ministry as an airline that, it claims, is being victimised by growing might of private airlines.

It claims that the government has wronged it by allotting traffic rights for international destinations to private carriers in the first place. "No other country in the world has more than one dominant carrier flying international. The government has to take a call if Air India needs to continue as country's government-owned airline or it wants private airlines to keep on growing at Air India's expense," said a senior official at the airline. Aviation analysts like Kapil Kaul of CAPA sees this as another example of policy paralysis.

"Traffic rights are national assets and cannot be considered as assets of Air India. It would be suicidal to develop bilateral strategy from Air India's position (as it) makes $2 billion of losses per year and has accumulated losses and debt of over $20 billion. Traffic rights need to be aligned to India's larger economic and tourist and trade interest," Kaul said.

The civil aviation ministry has been on the backfoot after the Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG) report blamed it for readily conceding bilaterals to carriers like Emirates, the largest foreign carrier. The ministry, for its part, attributes the delay, to squabbles with the countries it is negotiating with. "There are two steps involved in giving routes to private carriers one we decide how many entitlements we have for which countries and how it should be distributed among different players Right now there are either disputes on the bilaterals issue with the countries where the private carriers want to fly to or we have run out of entitlements.

These countries are in the Middle East like Oman, and Saudi Arabia or those in South East Asia like Singapore. We have just sorted out issues with Sri Lanka," he said. "Private airlines are not protesting giving preference to Air India in international routes as this is not something new. Other countries also give first preference to the national carrier," the ministry official said. Naresh Goyal's private carrier Jet Airways has had to defer its plans to ply new European destinations including Paris.

The carrier earns about 50% of its revenues from its international flights. "In Europe, we have plans for Paris , Frankfurt and Amsterdam. We are seeing where the Gulf carriers are picking the traffic to and from Europe to India. We want to use the airports at Delhi and Mumbai as hubs for traffic to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and South East Asia such as Bangkok, Malaysia and the Philippine. Jet will also look to introduce flights to Shanghai in China ," Goyal had said in June at an international aviation forum.

Similar is the situation with Indi-Go and SpiceJet that are looking to add more flights especially in the Middle East and South East Asia as these routes are suited for narrow body aircraft that are part of their fleets, but the government is not really pulling the strings to make things move for them either.

Carriers such as Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines have successfully expanded in the Indian market often at the expense of local carriers by offering onward connections via their respective hubs to destinations in US and Europe , currently underserved by the local airline.

For the ministry much hinges on the ICAO Air Services Agreement summit slated from October 17-22 in Mumbai to sort out issues so that it is in a position to grant the routes the airlines are asking for, the official added. The CAPA report says international capacity to/from India increased by 6.6% in October 2011 to almost 7,02,000 monthly seats marking growth of 815% from October 2005 levels and an increase of 587% from October 2007.

Source : The Economic Times

Touchdown time for Jet's Saroj Datta

“I am a very emotional person and I found it difficult to leave (my office)…. I found it difficult to say bye-bye to colleagues coming and bidding me farewell,” the outgoing Executive Director and Board member of Jet Airways, Mr Saroj Datta, said as he hung his boots on a five-decade-long career in the aviation industry.

On Thursday, the private sector airline announced that Mr Datta had completed his service tenure with Jet Airways on September 30.
Early days

“I began my career on November 15 or 16, 1962 with Air India. I had no real connection with the aviation industry except that my elder brother was a pilot with Indian Airlines. I had applied to several companies but Air India took me. I spent 24 glorious years with Air India and never thought of joining an international airlines till it became impossible to work there and for personal reasons I left to join Kuwait Airways,” he recalled.
Jet entry

But the honeymoon with Kuwait Airways was a short one. The first wave of liberalisation was beginning to sweep India and Mr Datta, who packed his bags to return home, was grabbed by Mr Naresh Goyal for a new project being undertaken by his General Sales Agent company Jet Air.

That was the beginning of the Jet Airways story. And as they say the rest is history.

“It has been a tremendous experience. If I am young again (I) will repeat this career,” he adds nostalgically. This from a man who survived a murderous attack on him at his Mumbai flat in the 1990s.
Post-retirement

So what does the future hold? “I do not have an offer. And unlike what some may speculate my health is fine. At this age there are some troubles but you will expect that,” he adds.

But it's hard to keep a 75-year-old energetic man quiet. “I will continue to do something…. But probably not be associated with an airline… May be something part time or advisory,” he adds and promises to fly down to Delhi now that he has nothing to do after returning from abroad in early November.

Source : The Hindu Business Line

Fuel supply suspension delays Kingfisher flights

The suspension of supply by the airline’s largest vendor, citing Rs. 130 crore in dues, grounded many of its flights during peak hours, resulting in a loss of revenue and adding to the financial stress of India’s second largest airline by passengers carried

State-run oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) temporarily suspended supply of fuel to Kingfisher Airlines​ Ltd on Thursday for the second time in four months.

The suspension of supply by the airline’s largest vendor, citing Rs. 130 crore in dues, grounded many of its flights during peak hours, resulting in a loss of revenue and adding to the financial stress of India’s second largest airline by passengers carried.

“HPCL has demanded at least Rs. 100 crore immediate payment to clear the dues,” said a person aware of the development. He did not want to be identified, considering the sensitivity of the issue.

Kingfisher said in a late night statement that there was a “temporary disruption of supplies leading to a delay on some flights” due to “a minor issue with one of our ATF (aviation turbine fuel) suppliers”. The airline said regular fuel supply had been restored and that flights would continue normally.

Earlier, a senior HPCL executive confirmed that his company had suspended fuel supply to Kingfisher Airlines “temporarily” and “it will be sorted out in the next few hours as the airline is willing to clear some dues”. The official did not want to be identified. Calls to an HPCL spokesperson did not get any response.

“The fuel supply is expected to resume by midnight. But these delays are an indication of the depth of the financial troubles that Kingfisher Airlines is facing. The airline will lose its credibility if the schedule is disrupted frequently,” said an airline consultant, requesting anonymity.

In mid-July, HPCL had briefly stopped jet fuel supply to Kingfisher Airlines, but resumed it after the airline paid for aviation turbine fuel.

HPCL had put Kingfisher Airlines on cash-and-carry mode as the carrier’s outstanding exceeded the bank guarantee it had furnished against default. Indian Oil Corp. Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd have been supplying fuel to the airline only on cash before flights for several months.

At the Delhi airport, six Kingfisher flights were delayed after 5.30pm, according to an airport official, who declined to be named. “Passengers are sitting inside the terminal. New check-ins have been stopped by the airline,” he said.

Atul Wakankar, an information technology professional, was among at least 200 people stranded at the Mumbai airport on Thursday evening. His Kingfisher flight to Bangalore IT-111 at 6.20pm didn’t take off.

“All the Kingfisher flights are stranded. There are no flights taking off. Nobody is there to tell you the exact situation. First (they were told by the airline) it was weather problem; then it was operational problem; I think it will become another problem in some time,” Wakankar said, describing the chaos at the country’s second busiest airport. “I will wait for some more time and then go back home.”

On Wednesday, Sahara Group chairman Subrata Roy acquired a 42.5% stake in Force India, the Formula One​ team owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya​, for $100 million (Rs. 490 crore). The deal is expected to help Mallya infuse funds into the racing team and leave money to revive other struggling group companies, including Kingfisher Airlines, as the needs of the Formula One team have been met.

On Thursday, Mint reported that the airline has delayed salary payments for the second consecutive month.

The carrier suffered a loss of Rs. 1,027 crore in the fiscal year ended 31 March, by when it had accumulated Rs. 7,057.08 crore in debt.

Salaries are typically credited to the accounts of its employees on the seventh day of every month. They are yet to be credited this month; last month, they were credited only by the 18th.

Kingfisher Airlines shares rose 11.8% to Rs. 23.25 apiece on Thursday on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while the benchmark Sensex dropped 0.44%. The suspension of fuel supply happened after market hours.

Source : Livemint

Spread your wings for a long-distance flight

Superjet. Source: Sukhoi.org

Indian corporate aviation specialist Aviotech will be the first to order large supplies of Russian Sukhoi Business Jet airliners.

Indian Aviotech and Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, maker of the Superjet airliner, signed a letter of intent on buying 10 SSJ-100 airliners and a call option for another 10 jets, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft press-service reports.     

The deal was signed within the framework of International Aviation & Space Salon MAKS-2011.

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft announced the beginning of Sukhoi Business Jet development on the basis of the regional jet Sukhoi Superjet 100 this June at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget.

According to Aviotech, the decision to buy SBJ airliners was made thanks to their excellent economic and technical characteristics.

There are three SBJ configurations: VIP, Corporate and Government. Aviotech and Sukhoi Civil Aircraft signed an agreement on the supplies of VIP Sukhoi Business Jet airliners.   

Due to installing additional fuel tanks in the baggage-cargo compartment, the range of this jet is going to make almost 8000 kilometers, which will allow for long distance flights.

The companies intend to begin discussing the technical design of the airliners to be supplied.

Source : Indrus.in

Aviareps keen on associating with airports

Germany based company Aviareps, which represents Disneyland and New York & Co in India, plans to represent airports in India. Talking about the company and its plans for India Oliver Kuchler, COO Aviation, Aviareps informed that as part of such an association Aviareps would help the airport with managing traffic flow, promote the airport, liaise and be door openers for different airlines. “We currently work with seven airports internationally helping them develop various development strategy,” he said.

Apart from airports, the company is keen to take on tourism clients as representatives as well as for public relations. “Our public relations division in India will see growth from the airlines sector. Over all we looking at more clients by the end of this year,” said Kuchler. In the aviation sector he further added that they have been representing Jet Airways in 10 different countries and the relationship with them is more than 10 years old. “We are open to associations with other Indian carriers, but do not want to create any conflict of interest in the process,” he clarified. Joseph Fernandes, GM -India, Aviareps India informed that the company is planning to organise a road show in India, talking about the company as well all their clients.

Discussing the importance of India as a market Kuchler said, “You cannot close your eyes to a market like India, this is our next growth area.” The company will develop social media skills for clients. “Technology is advancing fast and we have to keep pace with it. Clients too are looking for fresher ideas,” he added.

Aviareps was set up in 1994 offering various representation, marketing and public relation services as well as services like tax handling, legal advisory, finance administration. “We offer these services as stand alone as well as in conjunction with other parties,” said Kuchler. Avianet is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Aviareps and is a technology company providing solutions to the airlines sector. IPDPM connectivity is by far the most popular service and is used by a lot African carriers. “We are also open to clients in India,” he said. Aviareps is also nominated consolidators by IATA under a triangular agreement for BSPs. Avainet's IBCS allows low cost carriers to be connected to BSPs, this works well for smaller airlines or companies with marginal markets to save up on joining BSP.

Source : Express Travel World

Israel may establish tourist office in India

The tourism minister of Israel, Stas Misezhnikov, on his first official visit to India recently brought a delegation of tourism associations, hotelier, and representatives from Al Kiya to promote bilateral tourism relations. Last year Israel saw 40,000 Indian arrivals, “We hope this growth will continue. Tourism in Israel contributes about three per cent to the GDP but has offered as many as 100,000 new jobs at the same time,” he said. He added that in the future they may consider opening a tourism office in India based in Mumbai. “If we manage to get the set up running soon, we may also consider increasing budgets and scale of promotions in India,” he added.

Encouraged by signs of growth Misezhnikov informed that the national carrier El Al Airlines may look at other cities to increase network airlines and is also considering code share with Jet Airways. “The cities we may consider expanding into include Kolkata, Goa, Kochi. These are places which have a substantial Christian population and will consider coming to Israel for pilgrimage trips,” he said. He also said that he has held extensive talks with the civil aviation minister, “I have discussed India to allow Israel's second official carrier Al Kiya to enter India and in reverse allow another Indian carries into Israel.”

Israel is also looking at promotion film shooting in the country, Misezhnikov plans to promote Israeli films in India as a way to develop connections. There are also plans of developing business based tourism opportunities like MICE, agro tourism. Tour operators in India have started offering variety of packages supporting leisure, agro, adventure and eco-tourism to Israel.

Source : Express Travel World

Tourism Australia racing to secure Indian tourist market

Tourism Australia is announcing a new campaign to target and attract high spending visitors from India - a lucrative market that was damaged by much publicised violent attacks on Indian students in Australia.

Repairing Australia's image problem is just one challenge. Tourism Australia wants to triple the numbers of visitors by 2020.

Andrew McEvoy, Tourism Australia's managing director : We took a view that we should look at India through the eyes of Indians when we market over them. So we've used an MTV Bollywood couple who had their honeymoon in Australia as sort of the front people of our advertising.

So we've done a lot of work to rebuild the image and I think the High Commission has done a great job over there. So we're certainly back on track and there's big opportunities to come.

PETER RYAN: Is it possible to put a dollar figure on Indian tourism over the next several years looking ahead to 2020?

ANDREW MCEVOY: It's worth about $800/$820 million to the Australian economy now. There's probably around 145,000 Indians coming, you know, that's including students and holiday, visiting friends and relatives and business.

We think by 2020 that could almost triple to about $2.4 billion at its best. And it would mean there'd be 400,000 Indians coming to our country and high-yielding visitors, and a mix again of education, holiday, business and visiting friends and relatives.

PETER RYAN: Just on that image issue, advertising and marketing is still seen as a weak spot for Tourism Australia.

And one criticism that your chairman Geoff Dixon is having to counter is that Australia is seen by some as the "dumb blonde" of the world - attractive but shallow and one-dimensional. Is that fair?

ANDREW MCEVOY: I think people like Geoff and I do take offence at that because Australia's reputation and image is outstanding. And one thing that's not broken is probably the appeal of the destination.

The thing we've got to work harder on is, have we got to the right product mix in Australia, are we good enough in terms of quality of service and have we got the access to the products through aviation, cruise shipping and that sort of stuff.

PETER RYAN: You have the voice from Tourism Australia. Then you have others from various state and territory bodies. So you agree that some greater clarity is needed when it comes to that marketing message?

ANDREW MCEVOY: We are a bit inconsistent in the way we market our country offshore. We do often speak with too many voices and there's plenty of people you know representing our interests. And we've just got to get that in a bit more united, a bit more consistent.

PETER RYAN: Australia remains a top global destination for tourists, despite the impact of the high Australian dollar.

But there are criticisms about out-dated properties, poor service and in some cases unexciting shopping. That sounds like quite a to-do list to turn around on the image front.

ANDREW MCEVOY: Look I think as an industry we're pretty good at talking ourselves down. I would argue that the products and experiences in Australia are massively appealing to a global consumer.

Can we improve? Always. But I think that's happening. And I think the Australian industry is growing. You know (inaudible) in capital cities is strong and I think our experience does stack up really, really well.

Court issues notice on AI's aircraft purchase order

The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued a notice to the civil aviation ministry on an NGO's plea seeking a direction to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to inquire into Air India's purchase order for 111 aircraft involving Rs.67,000 crore.

A bench headed by acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri sought the government's response by Nov 23.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) through their counsel Prashant Bhushan.

"The petitioner (CPIL) requests this court to direct the CVC to conduct a thorough inquiry into aircraft acquisition deals of Air India and its loss of market-share by giving up profitable routes and timings, and the role played by the civil aviation ministry. If the CVC finds a prima facie case, it can then get the matter investigated through the CBI as per law," the application said.

Earlier, the high court issued notices to the central government, Air India, the CVC, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the government auditor on the CPIL's petition.

Later, it also asked the CVC and the auditor about action taken by them on the issues raised in the petition.

The NGO, in its fresh application, cited the Comprotller and Auditor General (CAG) report to support its plea that the civil aviation ministry acted in "haste and in mala fide" manner.

The PIL alleged that the ministry through its deliberate and mala fide decisions and actions, drove the Air India and the erstwhile Indian Airlines into heavy losses.

"The government went in for a huge fleet expansion programme in which purchase orders for 111 aircraft were given. This unnecessary expansion was made without any proper study and without any transparency. The purchase orders of the aircraft were given costing a whopping Rs.67,000 crore," it said.

The NGO said even parliamentary committees, in their reports, had recommended a probe into entire fleet expansion programme way back in 2010 but no action was taken.

"Foreign airlines were given unrestricted entry into India and major routes were given to them without taking any reciprocal benefits for Air India. Despite warning that these actions would result in heavy loss of market share to our national carrier, the civil aviation ministry continued with its unprecedented reckless actions. This was done when the ministry had forced Air India to purchase a large number of planes," said the petition.

Source : Sme Times

Emirates upgrades Pakistan network with additional services to Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar

Emirates has unveiled major expansion plans for Pakistan with the launch of additional flights to Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar.

Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore and Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad will both be served by non-stop flights seven times a week from October 31 2011 and November 2 2011 respectively, while Peshawar International Airport will be served by three weekly flights from November 5 2011.

“The additional flights to Pakistan emphasize Emirates’ long-term commitment to the country. Since the launch of the airline with our inaugural flight to Karachi, Pakistan has held special significance for Emirates,” said Majid Al Mualla, Emirates senior vice president, commercial operations - West Asia & Indian Ocean.

“Services from the four gateways will offer Pakistani travellers and businesses/exporters increased connectivity with the UAE and onwards with the rest of the world through our global network.

“These additional flights to the northern sector of the country were made possible by the strong support and efforts of the Government of Pakistan which reflect the trust they have placed in the airline. The launch of additional services will create greater socio-economic opportunities for Pakistan and Dubai as increased passenger flow will help flourish additional businesses,” continued Al Mualla.

“The evolving market structure, improved accessibility, rise in remittances and rising consumer spending due to the expanding population are reshaping the aviation sector in Pakistan and Emirates is keen to continue to strengthen its presence in the country.”

The non-oil trade between Pakistan and Dubai crossed US$2.5 billion in 2010 and has witnessed a steep increase in the past few years backed by higher demand for Pakistani products such as textiles, food items, rice, cement, etc. The new services of Emirates will provide Pakistani exporters with greater export capacity to the UAE and strengthen the country’s export potential via the airline’s global connections.

The services will be operated by Boeing 777 and Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

The launch of new services will allow Emirates to fly 45 times a week to Pakistani cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar.

Source : Arabian Aerospace

World’s first low carbon fuel to be developed in India

British carrier Virgin Atlantic on Tuesday announced a strategic tieup with energy firm LanzaTech to develop in India a low carbon aviation fuel from steel that, the airline claims, will have just "half the carbon footprint of the standard fossil fuel alternative".

According to Virgin Atlantic, the "breakthrough aviation fuel technology" will see waste gases from industrial steel production being captured, fermented and chemically converted using Swedish Biofuels technology for use as a jet fuel.

India, which is among the world's largest steel producers, will be one of the first countries where the fuel will be produced as Lanzatech and partners develop facilities there and with three years and Virgin Atlantic hopes to fly Delhi to London Heathrow on the new fuel sometime in 2014.

The "revolutionary fuel production" will enable airlines to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint by reusing gases that would otherwise have been emitted directly into the atmosphere and promote sustainable industrial growth, as the process enables manufacturing plants to recycle their waste carbon emissions, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said.

Virgin President Richard Branson has termed the partnership with LanzaTech a breakthrough in aviation fuel technology and a major step toward radically reducing our carbon footprint. The technology is currently being piloted in New Zealand and following successful implementation, a wider roll-out could include operations in the UK and the rest of the world.

LanzaTech estimates the process can apply to 65 % of the world's steel mills, allowing the fuel to be rolled out for worldwide commercial use. The energy company believes this process can also apply to metals processing and chemical industries, growing its potential considerably further. Jet fuel constitutes a major part of airlines' operations costs.

Promoters say that with oil running out, it is important that new fuel solutions are sustainable. The steel industry has the potential to deliver over 15 billion gallons of jet fuel annually, they say, terming the new technology scalable, sustainable and commercially viable at a cost comparable to conventional jet fuel. The development will take the airline well beyond its pledge of a 30% carbon reduction per passenger km by 2020, they add.

The next generation technology overcomes the complex land use issues associated with some earlier generation biofuels and detailed analysis suggests the fuel will produce around a 50% saving in life cycle carbon emissions, maintains LanzaTech.

Airline CO2 emissions

International aviation emissions account for 2% to 3% of all global greenhouse gas discharges. This year around 650 million tonnes of global manmade CO2 is estimated to have been emitted while carrying 2.8 billion passengers and 46 mt of cargo. By 2050 the industry aspires to carry 16 billion passengers and 400 mt of cargo, resulting in some 320 mt of CO2 emissions.

The EU has already proposed an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a carbon emissions tax, on airlines flying in its skies from January 2012, much to the chagrin of India, China and other countries, including the US. Airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and manufacturers are committed to improving fuel efficiency by 1.5% annually to 2020, capping net carbon emissions from 2020 with carbon neutral growth and cutting net emissions in half by 2050, compared to 2005.

HC to hear plea for inquiry into deal to buy 111 aircraft

The Delhi High Court is likely to hear tomorrow a fresh plea of an NGO seeking a direction to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to inquire into alleged purchase orders of 111 aircraft costing a whopping Rs 67,000 crore to Air India.

A bench headed by acting Chief Justice A K Sikri would consider the fresh application filed by Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL).

"The petitioner (CPIL) requests this court to direct the CVC to conduct a thorough inquiry into aircraft acquisition deals of Air India and its loss of market-share by giving up profitable routes an timings, and the role played by the Civil Aviation Ministry. If the CVC finds a prima facie case, it can then get the matter investigated through the CBI as per law," the application said.

Earlier, the high court had issued notices to Centre, Air India, CVC, CBI and CAG on CPIL's petition.

Later, it had also asked CVC and the CAG about action taken by them on the issues raised in the petition.

The NGO, in its fresh application, cited the CAG report to buttress its plea that the Civil Aviation Ministry acted in "haste and in mala fide" manner.

The PIL alleged that the Ministry of Civil Aviation "through its deliberate and mala fide decisions and actions", drove the Air India and Indian Airlines into heavy losses.

"The government went in for a huge fleet expansion program in which purchase orders for 111 aircraft were given. This unnecessary expansion was made without any proper study and without any transparency. The purchase orders of the aircrafts were given costing a whopping Rs 67,000 crore," it said.

Source : Moneycontrol.com

Can Nandan turn Air India​ around?

Air India’s chiefs all have a singular ambition when they take charge—turn the carrier into a viable business.

Small steps: Nandan expects a reworked winter flight schedule to lead to a saving of at least Rs 220 crore.

Small steps: Nandan expects a reworked winter flight schedule to lead to a saving of at least Rs. 220 crore.

So too with Rohit Nandan, who took over as chairman and managing director of the state-run airline in August. Not the easiest of tasks, given that it has about Rs. 42,570 crore of debt, is expected to make a loss of about Rs. 7,000 crore this financial year and is battling for passengers at home and abroad amid a slowing economy. The recent history of Air India is replete with leaders who have failed in their bid to turn it around. Will Nandan’s fate be any different?

“I certainly don’t have a magic wand...but I am doing all basic things to attain operational efficiency and financial freedom,” Nandan, 54, said in an interview. “I have met at least 200 employees in the last few weeks and they are fairly positive about the airline.”

The Indian Administrative Service officer is reworking the winter schedule, reconfiguring aircraft, outsourcing non-core functions and meeting employees every week to boost morale.

Predecessor Arvind Jadhav, too, sought to achieve this through meetings and a series of letters explaining his vision for the airline that has at least Rs. 22,000 crore in accumulated losses. But he had to leave after alienating both employees and the government.

The government’s propensity to put bureaucrats in charge of the airline adds to the scepticism in some quarters.

“You need a qualified turnaround specialist to revive Air India,” said Hormuz P. Mama, an independent aerospace analyst. “You need rigorous cost-cutting measures to save Air India. With this bloated workforce (30,000 workers), it is difficult to turn around Air India.”

Cutting expenses may not be enough.

“Even if the airline were to succeed in lowering its costs, it would not be enough because its unit revenue is not likely to increase, given the uncompetitive brand and products,” said Nawal Taneja, professor emeritus at the department of aviation in Ohio State University. “Think about the fact that the Star Alliance members chose not to accept it in the alliance. That pretty much tells the story.”

Star Alliance recently suspended Air India’s entry, saying that the airline had not met some conditions.

Nandan is retiring old planes, swapping high-cost loans with cheaper ones, setting up cells to monitor plane schedules, enhancing ancillary revenue by insisting on excess baggage charges and negotiating hard with food and information technology vendors for lower rates.

Air India has also returned 22 leased planes and grounded 25 old ones to cut fuel consumption.

It is also exploring ways for efficient use of commercial space in its headquarters at Nariman Point, the Mumbai business district.

“Air India needs to focus on fundamental issues of discipline, productivity and financial restructuring,” said Narayan K. Seshadri, chairman and chief executive officer, Halcyon Resources and Management Pvt. Ltd. “The growth is there as one could see carriers like IndiGo and SpiceJet are growing in double digits.”

Seshadri is known for turning around private companies.

Jadhav’s tenure saw an ambitious bid to rope in operational expertise from overseas and the private sector. But none of the four hired from the private sector in key positions lasted long.

Nandan doesn’t have any dramatic solutions in mind as of now. His plan is to stick with the basics while awaiting the 27 October group of ministers meeting that is expected to decide on the carrier’s latest turnaround plan, including equity infusion, financial restructuring and an order for 27 of Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner planes.

Nandan expects the winter flight schedule to lead to a saving of at least Rs. 220 crore as the airline reworks the frequency and timing of flights as well as routes.

“If we can’t make profit, we want to cut down losses. We have set up another committee to find out the possibilities of reconfiguring planes that will yield better returns and cut costs,” Nandan said.

Rival carriers Jet Airways​ (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd have similar plans.

The objective is to reduce the interest burden and increase operational efficiencies across the network.

Apart from an open house every Wednesday at which employees are encouraged to express their views, the chairman plans to resume paying productivity-linked incentives, or PLIs, something Air India was forced to stop in July. PLIs can account for as much as 30-50% of the money that employees get.

Air India executives say efforts by Nandan (and Jadhav before him) have started showing results, citing a decline in operational losses to Rs. 266 crore in August from Rs. 507 crore in April.

The carrier has also managed to pay the July instalment of bank dues. It will need to make the next payment by October to avoid turning into a defaulter. A loan turns bad if a borrower cannot service it for three months, another reason why the meeting of the group of ministers later this month is critical for the airline’s survival.

Out of the Rs. 5,000 crore bailout by the government currently under way, Air India got Rs. 800 crore in 2009-10, Rs. 1,200 crore in 2010-11 and an ad hoc equity infusion of Rs. 710 crore in the current fiscal. The cabinet committee on economic affairs has approved another equity infusion of Rs. 1,200 crore.

Besides the current bailout plan, about three months ago, Air India had sought an immediate equity infusion of Rs. 6,600 crore and a total of Rs. 42,920 crore financing support by 2021, including guarantees and soft loans among others.

The airline expects to save Rs. 1,000 crore in interest costs if the financial restructuring plan is approved.

So far, Air India has refinanced a high-cost $1.15 billion loan from IDBI Bank Ltd​ with a new loan from ICICI Bank Ltd, and a $475 million loan from Standard Chartered Plc with a Citibank NA loan, saving about Rs. 300 crore annually.

Another executive said passenger revenue for Air India was up 4% to Rs. 5,000 crore in April-August 2011.

It has targeted Rs. 1,200 crore additional passenger revenue in the current fiscal and Rs. 1,000 crore additional cargo revenue. Air India’s passenger revenue stood at Rs. 11,000 crore in fiscal 2011 and cargo revenue at Rs. 900 crore.

Good start?

“Air India is off to a good start in improving operational performance,” said Srisu Subrahmanyam, co-founder, Orchard Group Llc, a Chicago-based consulting firm that specializes in execution and business improvement.

“Aligning incentives with operational performance is a good way of ensuring that the employees are interested in customer-friendly initiatives,” said Subrahmanyam, who used to work with United Air Lines Inc. “It has been used effectively in the US, where similar strained employee-management relationships exist. Improving customer experience and service is a necessary prerequisite, but Air India is a long way from winning back customers and still further away from survival.”

Nandan is aware of this, which is why he has chosen customer experience as the first issue to address.

“The new chairman is closely monitoring the on-time performance of the carrier both for domestic and international flights. The next major thrust for him is cost control and revenue enhancement measures,” said the second executive cited in the story.

Jadhav did manage to lower the airline’s losss to Rs. 5,552.44 crore in fiscal 2011 from Rs. 6,994 crore in the year before. The trend is unlikely to persist with a pilot’s strike early this year shaving at least Rs. 200 crore off revenue.

Source : Live Mint

IndiGo commences Muscat-Mumbai flights

Indian low-fares carrier IndiGo operated its maiden flight to Muscat yesterday. At a ceremony held at Muscat International Airport to mark the occasion, Shaikh Said bin Ali al Mashali, Under-Secretary for Civil Aviation Affairs, Ministry of Transport and Communications, welcomed IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh and other officials.

According to an official of Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC), Muscat is the
fourth international destination on the IndiGo’s growing international network. The budget airline will be operating four weekly flights between Muscat and Mumbai with an Airbus A320 with a full economy class configuration of 180 seats. Flight 6E 081 will arrive Muscat at 22:45 every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays, while Flight 6E 082 will depart Muscat at 00:05 on every Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays. The airline is offering a special return fare of RO 88 on this route.

IndiGo has a fleet of 44 new Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline offers 265 daily flights connecting with 26 domestic destinations in India and four international destinations.

Commenting on the launch of the inaugural flight, Aditya Ghosh said: “We wish to thank our customers for their enduring trust and support and we are extremely excited about the Muscat launch. Oman is a key market for us and the large Indian population which is based here can experience our product offering. IndiGo is committed towards providing affordable fares to the growing market of frequent travellers in Oman.”

Source : Oman Observer

Blue skies brought out the best in Baldy

Sqn Ldr (Retd) Baldev Singh, Baldy to his friends, will be missed by all those who love the high-adrenalin art of steering metallic birds across blue skies.

Baldy's swagger in flying overalls only reflected his confidence at the throttle. Though he had test flown 55 various aircraft for over 6,000 hours, he was essentially a fighter who grew from being a combat pilot to a test pilot steering India's ambitious aircraft prototype programmes with consummate ease.

He excelled in flying aircraft in combat situations as much as in evaluating flight control laws, which are essentially software algorithms that translate the pilot's manoeuvres into commands to the prototype's control surfaces to achieve desired responses.

A student of St Joseph's European School and later St Joseph's College, Baldy graduated from National Defence Academy in 1972 and was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in 1973.

After flying Hunters, MiG-21s and MiG-23s, he became a qualified flight instructor in 1983. He was sent to the Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, to provide instructional flying on Kiran aircraft. After finishing an experimental test pilot course in 1984, he returned to Bangalore on deputation to HAL in 1986. Three years later, he retired from IAF and finally joined HAL.
A year later, Baldy was sent to Aeronautical Development Agency for flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft project. He evaluated the flight control laws of the LCA on a real-time simulator at BAE Wharton in the UK. He also evaluated the flight control laws on F-16, Lear Jet and NT-33 in the US.

A diploma holder in Aviation Flight Safety from the Naval Post Graduate College, Monterey Bay, California, US, Baldy has extensively test flown five prototype programmes. He has also commandeered the first flights of HANSA aircraft, the turboprop plane suited for clubs and hobby flying and Intermediate Jet Trainer, the proposed stage II trainer for IAF.

After years of service as executive director (flight operations) and chief test pilot (fixed wing), Baldy was on August 16 this year made director (corporate planning & marketing) of HAL. That Baldy ended his life in less than two months of his new desk job, only indicates how much he loved flying.

Source : Times Of India

HAL Director and Chief Test Pilot Baldev Singh found dead

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chief Test Pilot and Director (Corporate Planning and Marketing) Squadron Leader (Rtd) Baldev Singh was found dead in Bangalore on Tuesday. His was body found at tourist spot Nandi Hills at 11 am.

The reasons behind his death are still not known, but police said Singh has allegedly committed suicide.

Sqn Ldr (Retd) Baldev Singh, Director (Corporate Planning & Marketing) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, hanged himself from a tree using his turban at "Bramhagiri Betta", part of the picturesque Nandi hills, a favourite tourist spot near here, police sources said.

The sources said Singh (58), wearing a HAL uniform, had left behind the driver of his official car near the international airport and then went to Nandi Hills.

Nandi Hills is a popular tourist destination on the outskirts of Bangalore city.

Singh, survived by wife and two sons, had retired from Indian Air Force in 1989 and joined HAL. He had earlier served as Executive Director (Flight Operations) and the Chief Test Pilot (Fixed Wing) at HAL Bangalore Complex.

He was also involved in the development of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas by the HAL.

Highly experienced in various facets of aviation, he had a total Flight Test experience of over 6,000 hours on 55 different types of aircraft. He was a Qualified Flying Instructor and held a diploma in Aviation Flight Safety from the Naval Post Graduate College, Monterey Bay, California, US.

He had graduated from the National Defence Academy in December 1972 and was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in June next year as a fighter pilot.

After doing operational flying on Hunter, Mig-21 and Mig-23 aircraft, he qualified as a Flight Instructor in July 1983, and was posted to Air Force Academy at Hyderabad for Instructional Flying Duties on the Kiran Aircraft.

He was involved with the LCA Programme from 1990 onwards and was deputed to the Aeronautical Development Agency for this purpose. On the LCA programme, he worked extensively on the development and flight testing of the flight control laws of the Light Combat aircraft.

Air India Financing Of Boeing 787 Nears

India’s federal government likely will allow cash-strapped Air India to acquire 27 Boeing 787s and three Boeing 777-300ERs after the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) decided to provide $1.3 billion in loan guarantees supporting Boeing commercial aircraft sales to the state-run carrier. A panel of federal ministers, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is slated to meet Oct. 22 to decide on the 787 purchase. Recently, India’s governmental auditing agency criticized the carrier’s fleet acquisition process, which took an “unduly long time” and contributed to the airline’s massive debt liability. The Air India board on Sept. 15 left the final purchase decision to the government. But with the U.S. Ex-Im Bank’s decision, the panel of ministers will decide on the financial feasibility of the 787 purchase, a senior government official says. “The government will ensure that Air India has the financial capability to pay for the aircraft on its own and not depend on it financially in the future,” the official adds. Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said recently the carrier will not increase its debt burden by making the purchase. Ex-Im Bank said in a statement after its board meeting on Sept. 30, “In addition to these final commitments, the board also approved a $2.1 billion preliminary commitment to support future deliveries of Boeing aircraft to Air India. Upon approval of the conversion of the preliminary commitment into a final commitment, the transactions in total will support the export of 30 Boeing aircraft to the state-owned, national flag carrier of India.” Air India spokesman K. Swaminathan tells Aviation Week, “There is a turnaround plan pending with the government with regard to the size of fleet of Air India. The Group of Ministers will be meeting end of this month to discuss the purchase and loan before finalizing it.” The latest estimate projects delivery of Air India’s first 787 in December. Ajay Lele, research fellow at the New Delhi-based Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, says, “The problems of Air India are known and need to be solved in a proactive manner by ways of pumping money and more investment in infrastructure to earn profits. An airline cannot run on an age-old fleet.” The Indian government has injected a total of 25 billion rupees ($500 million) into the carrier in the past two fiscal years and has promised another 12 billion rupees through March 2012. The 787s are part of a total of 111 aircraft ordered by Air India and then-Indian Airlines from Boeing and Airbus. Air India ordered 68 from Boeing in December 2005, and Indian Airlines ordered 43 from Airbus in February 2006. Air India and Indian Airlines merged in 2007 to form Air India Ltd.

Source : Aviation Week

Pvt airlines seek Centre’s nod for raising fares

Hit by mounting losses and high debts, private airlines have asked the government to allow them to raise fares. Representatives of private airlines have met senior government officials in the finance and civil aviation ministries in the last few days to present details about the precarious state of their balance sheets, a government source said on the condition of anonymity.

Private airlines also sought a level-playing field arguing how state-owned Air India enjoys many advantages as it can dig into the government's coffers to fund its way out of a crisis, an option not available to its peers, according to a report by Saubhadra Chatterji in Hindustan Times.

The fare monitoring cell of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is currently analysing the spike in air fares during the festive season after most airlines reported an average 10 per cent hike. Airlines maintained that high passenger traffic have filled up the low-fare buckets, leaving only costlier options available for later bookings.

"It is estimated that Indian carriers lost Rs 3,525 crore by selling seats at levels 15 per cent below cost," read an informal note presented by private airlines to the finance ministry. “During the first half of the current fiscal year (April-September 2011), domestic airlines incurred a loss of Rs 2,900 crore, If this trend continues, the full-year loss will be well over Rs 4,700 crore for the industry." the note read.

Source : Travel Biz Monitor

Rise +9.3% in passenger traffic for Air France-KLM in September

Traffic progressed by 9.3% for capacity up by 7.5%, leading to an improvement in load factor of 1.5 points to 85.2%. Capacity grew by only 5.2% taking into account the impact of the air traffic control strikes of September 2010, cabin configuration changes on some B777s, and the progressive take-over of capacities operated by Martinair. The number of passengers stood at 6.86 millions, up by 8.4%. Unit revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) excluding currency was slightly up on September 2010.

However, given the volatility of recent months and based on currently available indicators, activity in October could be less dynamic.

- On the Americas network, traffic rose 12.2% for capacity up by 10.8%. The load factor gained 1.1 points to 90.6%.
- The Asia network remained dynamic. Traffic (+9.7%) kept pace with the rise in capacity (+9.4%), leading to a load factor of 88.8% (+0.3 points). Traffic to Japan returned to the level of September 2010, but unit revenue remained below pre-crisis.
- The Africa and Middle East network saw traffic rise by 2.9% for capacity down by 1.3%. The load factor gained 3.4 points to 82.9%. Traffic to/from Ivory Coast recovered strongly, but less so on Egyptian routes.
- On the Caribbean and Indian Ocean network, traffic was up by 6.4% for capacity up by 4.7%. The load factor gained 1.2 points to 76.6%.
- The European network saw the cancellation of 1,300 flights in September 2010, leading to a favorable comparison basis. Traffic progressed by 9.5% for capacity up by 7.3%. The load factor gained 1.6 points to 78.2%

Recent developments

- The Air France-KLM group presented its Winter 2011 schedule (November 2011-March 2012). The rise in capacity is planned at 3.4% including a mechanical 0.7% rise linked to the 29 days in February next year. Long haul capacity is planned to rise by 1.9% excluding calendar effect, mainly targeted at Latin America and Asia. The rise in capacity on medium-haul of 6.2% is linked to the launch of the Marseilles base (which offers 13 new destinations of which ten international), as well as the reorganization of the Amsterdam hub banks in Summer 2011. Excluding the launch of the Marseille base and the calendar effect, the underlying medium-haul rise is limited to 1.7%. The group also announced that it will limit the rise in long-haul capacity for the Summer and Winter 2012 seasons to 3.0%.
- Air France-KLM announced an order for 110 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, of which 50 firm orders and 60 options. This order is mainly aimed at replacing aircraft nearing end of life. First deliveries will take place in 2016, and will be spread over a period of some ten years.
- Air France-KLM was confirmed as member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World and European indices and leader in the aviation sector for the seventh consecutive year. In addition, it was recognized for the third year running as super-sector leader in the broader “Travel and Leisure” sector.
- China Airlines officially joined the SkyTeam Alliance on 28th September 2011, becoming its 15th member.

Source : Travel Daily News

Report calls for strict freeze on Emirates' India expansion

India’s national auditor accuses 'foreign airlines (predominantly Emirates)' of funneling traffic

Dubai’s Emirates airline and other Middle East carriers should be forced to freeze their expansion plans to routes in India and the country’s Ministry of Civil Aviation should look at options for rollback of existing routes granted to foreign airlines, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has said in a report.

In a scathing report on the country’s aviation sector filed to India’s Parliament, by the CAG, the national auditor, said Air India, the national carrier, was “in a crisis situation”, with even the “salary payments and ATF obligations becoming difficult.” It blamed the Indian government’s open sky policy, which also included bilateral agreements with other countries, to favour private and foreign airlines at the expense of its loss-making national carrier.

“The massive expansion of bilateral entitlements in respect of several countries (notably in the Gulf, South East Asia and Europe) has facilitated several foreign airlines (predominantly Emirates) in tapping the vast Indian market and funneling such traffic over their hubs (e.g., Dubai) to various destinations in the USA, UK, Europe and elsewhere, through what is termed as sixth freedom traffic,” the report accuses.

According to the report, the sixth freedom – the right to fly from a foreign country to another foreign country while stopping in one’s own country – has gained considerable importance. “For example, the sixth freedom traffic of Emirates involves flying passengers from India through Dubai (its home state) to UK/ USA. Many international airlines especially those operating from city states/ small states (e.g. Emirates/ Dubai; Qatar Airways/ Qatar; Cathay Pacific/ Hong Kong; Singapore Airlines/ Singapore) derive a large portion of their passenger traffic revenues from sixth freedom traffic,” the CAG said.

Nearly one-third of the 32 million international passengers travelling to/from India in 2009/10 travelled on international carriers, leveraging sixth freedom rights, with only a third of current weekly seats and available seat kilometres (ASKs) deployed international from India being operated by Indian carriers.

In the CAG report, it was noted the percentage of sixth freedom carriage in 2009/10 of total passengers carried was as high as 59 per cent for Emirates, 78 per cent for Qatar Airlines, 87 per cent for Lufthansa, 49 per cent for Singapore Airlines and 61 per cent for British Airways. These five carriers together hold a 23.4 per cent capacity (ASKs) share of international services to/from India.

Carriers such as Emirates, Lufthansa, British Airways, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines have successfully expanded in the Indian market, often at the expense of local carriers, and offering onward connections via their respective hubs to destinations in US and Europe, currently underserved by the local airlines.

The CAG report further added that the “the entitlements exchanged are vastly the in excess of ‘genuine’ flying requirements between the two countries and implicitly allow ‘mega-airlines’ with the giant hubs to exploit sixth freedom traffic.”

The report illustrates its allegations with statistics on the Dubai sector. “As an illustrative case of the liberalization of bilateral entitlements, the sequence of events relating to the Dubai sector, covering the period from May 2007 to March 2010, (when the seat capacity was increased from 18,400 seats/ week to 54,200 seats/ week and points of call in India were increased from 10 to 14), clearly demonstrates the one-sided nature of benefits to Emirates/ Dubai (through enhancement of entitlements and additional points of call in India),” it said.

“This evoked the repeated protests from Air India on the lack of reciprocity and the funnelling of sixth freedom traffic by Emirates through Dubai from interior locations in India. Even change of gauge facility at Dubai International Airport, which would at least have provided an opportunity for Indian carriers to funnel traffic in smaller capacity aircraft from interior Indian locations and take them onward to UK/ USA/ Europe and other destinations in larger capacity aircraft was not adequately pursued, nor linked to grant of additional benefit,” it alleged.

“Repeated requests from AIL resulted in vague commitments from UAE Authorities for such facility, not at Dubai Airport but at the upcoming Jebel Ali Airport (an impractical option for AIL and other Indian carriers) and that too with distant timeframes between 2012 and 2018! Clearly, while Dubai actively protected the commercial interests of its airlines, MoCA [India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation] failed to obtain appropriate quid pro quo while granting concessions,” the report alleged.

Emirates, the largest international airline operating to/from India, holds around a 40 per cent capacity share on India-UAE services, 23 per cent of capacity on Middle East-India services and an approximate 10 per cent capacity (seats) share of total international air traffic from India, according to Innovata data, only slightly behind the 14.1 per cent for Air India and the 11.3 per cent at Jet Airways, India’s two largest international operators.

In India, Emirates had a total of 104,258 seats for the week Oct 3-Oct 9, 2011, behind local airlines Air India (140,585) and Jet Airways (112,912) but ahead of other international airlines including Qatar Airways (37,103), Air Arabia (33,696), Thai Airways (31,425) and Lufthansa (30,030).

Among the corrective measures suggested by the CAG, whose report is non- binding, is imposing strict freeze on Emirates’ and other mega-carriers’ India expansion plans as well as rollbacks of landing rights where possible.

“Most of the liberalised entitlements for bilateral rights granted to foreign airlines (especially in Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar and other Gulf/ SE Asian countries) has been utilised for sixth freedom traffic and not for genuine traffic to the other country. AI and other private Indian airlines are handicapped by the lack of adequate hub facilities and other factors (e.g. lack of agreement for change in gauge at Dubai Airport) from competing effectively with other predominantly sixth freedom carriers (e.g. Emirates),” the report contends.

“Till India has its own effective and efficient hubs and AI/ other Indian carriers are able to exploit them effectively (say within 3 to 5 years), entitlements for airlines/ountries predominantly dependent on sixth freedom traffic (notably Dubai, Bahrain and other Gulf countries in the first instance) should be strictly frozen by MoCA,” the report advised.

“Options for rollback of excess entitlement granted beyond genuine traffic requirements may also be explored by MoCA,” it added.

Source : Emirates247.com

No system to track helicopters flying at low altitude

Choppers can fly unmonitored in Indian airspace if pilots choose not to alert the air traffic control (ATC). The incident on Saturday, when a Global Vectra Helicorp Ltd (GVHL) helicopter landed at Ratnagiri without notifying anyone and triggering an air alert, has exposed the deficiency in monitoring flights, which fly at a low altitude.

While most countries, like the US, the UK and even Australia use automatic dependent system broadcast (ADSB) to monitor all aircraft flying at low altitudes, Indian aviation authorities haven't woken up to the security threat despite a suggestion from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Officials said that most helicopters flying between 500 feet and 700 feet would not show up on the radar at Mumbai airport. " The ATC tower can detect aircraft flying above a certain level depending upon the obstacles in each direction," a senior airport official said.

He added, "Hence, when it comes to helicopter operations, controllers have to rely on information given by the pilot. There is no way to monitor the aircraft at that level." Hence, when the GVHL aircraft pilot chose to land in Ratnagiri, no one knew of the deviation he had taken. In India, 99% of helicopters do not show up on the radar and can fly unmonitored, if the pilot chooses to do so.

"The pilot was supposed to relay the information to the closest control tower. If no tower was accessible, he should have notified the change in his position as soon as he came in touch with the tower," an ATC official saidCaptain Mohan Ranganathan, an air safety expert, said, "Airports must have an automatic system for tracking helicopters. It is easy for helicopters to land anywhere and pick up or drop people or material. This can be dangerous if unmonitored."

Source : Times Of India

Business jet deliveries forecast to rise in 2012.

A leading business aviation forecast predicts business jet deliveries will increase in 2012, but won't return to pre-recession levels until the end of the decade.

This year marks the bottom of a down cycle that began in late 2008, when the recession hit the general aviation industry, the outlook said.

Near term, demand will be tempered by the continued slow economic recovery.

But after 2012, the industry appears positioned to begin another expansion, although at a moderate pace.

Honeywell Aerospace's just-released forecast predicts sales and deliveries of 10,000 business jets worth $230 billion over the 10-year period from 2011 through 2021.

Half of the deliveries — 5,000 — are projected for the five years from 2012 to 2016.

"Overall, I think it's a solid outlook," said Rob Wilson, president of Honeywell Aerospace's business aviation and general aviation unit.

Honeywell, a components and systems manufacturer, released its 20th annual outlook at a meeting Saturday evening at the Palms hotel in Las Vegas before the start of the National Business Aviation Association meeting and convention. The show opens Monday and runs through Wednesday.

Honeywell surveyed more than 1,500 corporate flight departments around the world to compile its forecast.

The forecast predicts business jetmakers will deliver 600 to 650 planes this year — an 11 to 18 percent decline from the 732 delivered in 2010.

Next year, deliveries should total about 700, the outlook said.

But it will take until the end of the decade before deliveries are expected to return to pre-recession levels, Wilson said.

"It's going to take us that long to dig out," Wilson said.

Meanwhile, new orders have risen at most business jet manufacturers since the downturn began, while cancellations have dropped precipitously. Still, the recently improved order rates face economic pressures.

In all, planemakers are expected to take orders for more than 500 business jets this year for future delivery.

Thirty percent of the flight departments Honeywell surveyed said they planned to replace or add to their fleets in the next five years. Eighty percent of the buying is expected in 2013 or beyond as operators remain cautious about the economy.

A top reason for the desire to buy is the need for more range.

"They want to go farther," Wilson said. "They want to buy a plane that enables them to do that better."

A pipeline of new aircraft models from manufacturers remains important for longer-term growth.

And large business jets, which generally weigh more than 40,000 pounds and can carry more than 12 passengers, are faring better when it comes to demand. By value, 60 percent of the demand in the next decade will be in large-cabin jets, it said.

By aircraft class, 31 percent of the units delivered are expected to be large-cabin jets, 34 percent medium-cabin jets and 35 percent small-cabin jets.

The mix shifted somewhat in favor of the smaller models from previous years. That's good for Wichita, where manufacturers build small, medium and super mid-size business jets.

With buying delayed a few years, the industry must invest in technologies and products so that jet owners can upgrade their aircraft, Wilson said. For that reason, Honeywell has invested in cabin management systems, engine upgrades and cockpit enhancements.

"That's why we continue to focus on that area," Wilson said.

The down economy has eroded backlogs at many business jet manufacturers.

But while backlogs are about 30 percent lower overall than pre-recession levels, they're more solid.

"I think the industry is focused more on making sure we have solid backing on a lot of these orders," Wilson said.

The trend is toward cash sales instead of financed ones, he said.

Some of that is the result of a combination of companies holding onto cash and a tight credit environment, Wilson said.

Cash purchases of new and used business jets are up 73 percent from before the recession, he said.

Honeywell's outlook also found:

* Significant international demand with 45 percent of the shipments outside North America, with a continuing global shift in demand.

* The world's highest percentage of purchase plans expected from Brazil, Russia, India and China.

* An increase in the number of planned purchases from Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

* Flat buying expectations from North American customers.

Source : Kansas.com