Flyers’ complaints on the rise: DGCA issues shape-up diktat to airlines

New Delhi: A large chunk of air travellers have been resenting problems relating to delayed flights and customer services of various airlines, though official data showed substantially less number of complaints in July compared to June.

The number of complaints received by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in July was 581 compared to 900 in June, official data showed.

Almost 30 percent of passenger complaints related to troubles with flight cancellations or delays, while about 25 percent of passengers expressed discontentment over customer services of various airlines, the July data showed.

Govt open to allowing second airport within 150 km of an existing one

New Delhi/Hyderabad:  The Government is keeping an open mind on allowing a second airport to come up within 150 km of an existing one.

The current policy says that no new airport should be allowed within a 150 km radius of an existing airport.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said the rule was “infructuous” right from the beginning. Officials said the rule was brought in after discussions with private players who threw up the idea.

Air India offers Rs 100 fare till August 31 but website leaves consumers frustrated

New Delhi: Even as the state-run carrier celebrated ‘Air India Day’ on Wednesday with a promotional Rs 100 fare offer, its online booking website crashed within minutes of the announcement causing disappointment for the many hopeful passengers eyeing a good deal and the Air India website's service is still unavailable on Thursday.
Air India had announced discounted tickets offer for Rs 100 for a limited period to celebrate its merger with erstwhile Indian Airlines. Under the 'Air India Offer' — a scheme offering tickets for Rs 100 apart from all applicable taxes — tickets are being sold through the airline’s website exclusively for five days from August 27 to 31 for travel between August 27 and September 30 this year.
However, after few hours of the announcement of the offer, customers started facing problem in accessing Air India website with messages such as 'service unavailable' page.

AirAsia offers 3 million promo seats across network

New Delhi: After spicejet, Air India and Indigo airlines, now AirAsia is offering big discounts on air ticket.

The Malaysian no-frills carrier has offered 3 million promo seats across AirAsia network from now till 31 Aug 2014.

Meanwhile, Indian flyers can now travel abroad as cheap as Rs 2,600. Ticket to Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia from Cochin can be booked at Rs 2,600 inclusive of everything.

Air India tops list of passenger complaints, SpiceJet second

New Delhi: Air India tops the list of passenger complaints lodged against Indian airlines in July this year, followed by no-frill carrier SpiceJet, official data shows.

Most air travellers, who have lodged complaints against the airlines, complained of problems relating to delayed flights and their customer services.

While Air India topped the list with the maximum of 213 complaints, it was followed by SpiceJet with 129 and IndiGo with 92. These carriers were followed by GoAir with 81 complaints and Jet Airways 61, the data for July showed.

Govt move to set 35-year age limit for Air India crew to face legal test

Mumbai: The civil aviation ministry's move to cap the upper age limit for Air India cabin crew at 35 years is impractical and fraught with legal complications, airline's crew and lawyers representing them have said.
This is because about 70% of the permanent cabin crew are over 35 years. Also the airline will have to serve a legal notice before making any change in service conditions, they added.
Two weeks ago civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju gave a 26-point agenda to the airline to boost its performance in wake of competition. One of them is keeping age limit of cabin crew young to improve service standards and reduce delays. The minister suggested older crew members could be given ground duties.

Passengers cry foul as Kerala-Dubai airfares skyrocket

Dubai: Airfares to Dubai from the Indian state of Kerala have skyrocketed by more than four times from now until the first few days of September as a result of the end of summer vacations and upcoming Onam festival.

Return airfare from Kozhikode, Kerala, to Dubai has gone up from around Rs19,000 (Dh1,150) a few weeks ago to as much as Rs78,500 (Dh4,790) around Onam (September 9), leading passengers in Kerala scrambling to other airports in India for cheaper options.

Airlines fare hike to Gulf regions resented by Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today expressed strong resentment over the hike in airfare by airlines operating to Gulf regions and said the state's protest would be conveyed to the Union civil aviation ministry.

"The airline companies are creating an artificial demand for tickets by cutting down services and taking advantage of the Onam festival season," he told reporters during the cabinet briefing here.

Captain Gopinath plans new airline

Guwahati: Encouraged by the approach of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Captain Gopinath said that he was going to launch his new venture in airlines very soon. Capt. Gopi was here on Wednesday to launch his air-ambulance services in association with Luan Airways, exclusively for Northeastern states.

Air India wants Boeing to give more compensation for the grounding of Dreamliners

New Delhi: Perturbed by the recurring glitches in its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, Air India's management has asked Boeing to compensate for the grounding of the aircraft due to these problems and the subsequent loss of revenue because of bad publicity. These compensations would be over and above the demand for initial deliveries not being as fuel-efficient as promised, which is being negotiated.
Air India (AI) asked for this compensation in its meeting with Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president, Boeing India, in the beginning of August. "The faults with Dreamliners are just refusing to die and we are facing a lot of losses due to aircraft on the ground, adverse publicity in media that takes away a lot of our passengers. We have asked Boeing to compensate us for the same," said a senior AI official.

Kingfisher Airlines should be given loan, other documents by Punjab National Bank: High Court

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today said that Punjab National BankBSE -1.70 %, which has served a notice on Kingfisher Airlines alleging that it has willfully defaulted in payment of dues of over Rs 770 crore, should give to the carrier copies of documents relied upon by the bank.
A bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru, which later decided to hear the matter tomorrow again, also said that the ailing airlines can be allowed to be represented by a lawyer in the proceedings to be conducted by the PSU bank against it.

First Hajj flight from India arrives in Saudi Arabia

Jedda: The first Hajj flight from India carrying 235 pilgrims has arrived in Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
Air India flight AI 5001 arrived yesterday at Prince Mohammed International Airport in Madinah from Kolkata.
The pilgrims were received at the Prince Mohammed International Airport by India's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hamid Ali Rao, Consul General of India, Jeddah BS Mubarak and other officials.
From the Saudi side, officials from Ministry of Hajj, General Authority of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority were present.

Boeing, Airbus Vie for $2 Billion Air One Order in India

India’s Air One Aviation Pvt. is seeking $2 billion of jets to take on Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s (SIA) venture in the country, stoking competition in a market where carriers lost almost $10 billion in seven years.

Air One, among six companies that last month got initial approval to start airlines in India, is looking at Airbus Group NV’s (AIR) A320s and Boeing Co.’s (BA) 737s, its director Alok Sharma said in an interview yesterday. At list prices, 20 Boeing 737-900ERs cost $1.98 billion, although airlines typically get discounts.

“You can’t start with one plane and wait for another six months to get the next one,” Sharma said in his office near New Delhi’s airport, adding Air One plans to provide full-service flights from mid-2015. “The launch will be decided by availability of aircraft in a contiguous manner.”

Sharma, undeterred by one of the world’s costliest aviation markets, said he sees growing demand for air travel and reduced capacity because some airlines in India are struggling. Singapore Airlines -- partnering with the Tata Group -- plans to fly its full-service Indian venture Vistara this year. AirAsia (India) Pvt. began operating a low-cost carrier in June.
Read news in full 28/08/14 Bloomberg.com

Kerala Tourism inks MoU with GoAir

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Tourism Thursday inked an MoU with budget air-carrier GoAir, which has agreed to offer exclusive discounted fares to tourists visiting the state.

There was a symbiotic relation between aviation and tourism industries and there was already an agreement with Jet Airways, which brings in tourists to Kerala at discounted rates, Kerala Tourism secretary Suman Billa said here.

"Through this arrangement both parties benefit and we hope more airlines will come forward to have an agreement with us as it's going to be a win-win situation for both," Billa told reporters after the MoU was inked.

JetLite pilots to lose seniority on Jet merger

In an unprecedented move in India’s aviation sector, pilots of JetLite, the no-frills carrier owned by Jet Airways (which will soon cease to exist) have been told that their previous flying experience will not hold any value as and when they are absorbed into the parent airline.
The move has created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty among JetLite pilots regarding their future. Jet Airways’ chief executive-designate Cramer Ball is scheduled to meet with JetLite’s 230 pilots on September 9 and shed further light on the company’s future plans.
Some pilots of the low cost-airline that Jet acquired from the Sahara Group in 2007 told FE on condition of anonymity that they may quit following the meeting, if the management’s explanation doesn’t satisfy them.

India should review airport regulatory model for investment

New Delhi: India's prevailing airport regulatory model has yielded "poor returns" for investors, global airports body Airports Council International (ACI) said today and sought its review to attract investment to develop aviation infrastructure in the country.

Asserting that transparent economic regulatory processes must be put in place in India, ACI Director General Angela Gittens said, "The current regulatory model has yielded poor returns for investors and this could stifle development of India's airports in the long run."

Nepal moves to establish shorter air routes to India

Kathmandu:  The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Wednesday formed a technical working group to discuss a range of airspace issues and create a favourable condition to open new cross-border air routes between Nepal and India.

The group is led by the deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) and includes senior officials of the Tourism Ministry. It will finalize Nepal’s agenda for opening more direct and shorter flight routes between the two countries.

Malaysia Airlines planes 'flying empty' post MH17, MH370 air tragedies

New York: After suffering two major air tragedies, Malaysia Airlines flights seem to be having a tough time getting passengers on board as pictures posted on social websites show near-empty planes and deserted terminals.

Tweets of passengers traveling via Malaysia Airlines flight revealed desolate check-ins lines and deserted airplanes, with some even enjoying the extra space to lounge, New York Post reports.

After CIA, Tamil-speaking 'Lashkar Chief' Threatens Airport Director of Suicide Bombers

Chennai: Last time he was from the CIA. This time he has morphed into the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief. The man who placed a crank call to the Chennai Airport Director on Monday, gave a repeat performance on Wednesday, again at precisely 10 am.

Except this time he identified himself as Akhtar and went on to say that he was the chief of militant outfit Laskhar-e-Taiba.  "The person who received the call recognised his voice as the hoax caller from Monday and so alerted the law enforcement agencies as he transferred the call.

However, even he was surprised to hear a man who claimed to be a terrorist chief speaking in Tamil," said an amused airport source.

After offering tickets for Rs 100, Air India website crashes

Mumbai: In order to celebrate its alliance with Indian Airlines creating National Aviation Company of India Limited, Air India offered its tickets for Rs 100 to passengers. But this resulted in major surge in traffic on the web portal www.airindia.com before the website eventually crashed.

The website went down, with a message on the website that stated 'Service Unavailable'.
The sale of these tickets will start from August 27 and close on August 31, a five-day booking for travel during the period of August 27 to September 30. However, the booking has to be done only through the airline's website, which is not accessible currently.

Is Air India's Rs. 100 ticket only a publicity gimmick?

New Delhi: In a major technical fault, the website of Air India crashed on Wednesday just few minutes after they offered travelers huge discount on tickets. Actually, the company had availed its tickets for just Rs. 100 (excluding taxes) to its customers to celebrate its merger with previous Indian Airlines. The offer was valid for five days from August 27 to 31 for travelling between August 27 and September 30 and the tickets were availed over company’s official website. However, it now just appears to be a gimmick to gain popularity in the aviation industry.

The national carrier had availed discounts to mark August 27 as ‘Air India Day’ when they amalgamated with erstwhile Indian Airlines and became one Air India in 2007.

Aviation battle breaks out in Bangalore

New Delhi: The newest battleground for India's airlines is Bangalore, not Delhi or Mumbai. The country's two busiest airports, which constitute over 35 per cent of all domestic traffic, hardly have any capacity left which is used by low-cost carriers. That's why low-cost carriers are making a beeline to the city often described as India's Silicon Valley. Since there is little differentiation in the market now, the full-service carriers are set to follow them.

DGCA red-flags airlines with 1,500 passenger complaints of very poor service

Reality can be bitter and passengers of domestic airlines in India often face it. True that low air fares have prompted a spurt in domestic fliers. But behind the glitzy photographs of aircrafts and promises of customer satisfaction, it's really a world of unhappy fliers at the airports in Delhi and other major cities. Their awful experiences shred the tall claims made by the domestic airlines into pieces. Across the airlines, from Air India to Spicejet, it's the same story. And the numbers of such experiences are increasing by the day.

Sops likely for airlines flying to smaller towns

New Delhi: In an attempt to improve connectivity to remote areas, the Government plans to introduce a new category of 87 incentive destinations including Warangal, Vellore, Tuticorin and Hassan.

The plan includes offering concessions for operating to and from the incentive destinations.

Airlines will be given sops which include exemption from landing and parking charges, route navigation facilities charges,  passenger service fee, fuel throughput charges and any other charges levied by the Airports Authority of India.

Aiming at cost-cutting, Jet Airways asks JetLite pilots to join its crew

In the service conditions however, the airline said "only flying hours logged on 9W (Jet Airways) aircraft shall be counted for the purpose of pilot movement with 9W for career progression," which means hours clocked on operating JetLite flights will not be counted.

"It is absurd that the flying hours we have put in on a Boeing 737 on JetLite will not be taken into account when we join Jet Airways. This means my junior in Jet will automatically be promoted much before me," he said. A Jet spokesperson said the induction "will open career opportunities not only for a command upgrade but also for exposure to flying international routes and also movement to wide body aircraft".

Air India notice to subsidiary's CEO seeks explanation for Faulty aircraft

New Delhi:  The Air India management on Tuesday issued a show cause notice to the CEO of its engineering subsidiary over the large number of faulty aircraft being grounded in recent days and unusually large delays caused by snags. The notice was issued to AI Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) CEO H R Jaganath after last week saw as many as 10 planes — five Airbus A-320s, three to four Dreamliners and one other aircraft —being grounded on a single day.

"The problem of snags delaying planes has been worsening. Every day we have some flights being delayed due to snags not being rectified in time or plane being released for flight without the existing fault being rectified. While none of these are safety issues, they delay flight and inconvenience passengers. Given the gravity of the problem, we decided to issue the notice to the head of AIESL," said a senior official. AIESL was among the two subsidiaries carved out of AI, with the other being for ground handling.

Seaplanes to reach Gangapur

Nashik: After Pawana dam in Lonavala, the next stop of the seaplanes taking off from Juhu in Mumbai will be Gangapur dam in Nashik.

The water resources department, Nashik, on Tuesday confirmed that the seaplane services would start in Nashik. "A nine-seater seaplane will land in the backwaters of the Gangapur dam. We are in the process of finalising an agreement with the engineers concerned. On behalf of the water resources department, the Godavari Mahamandal is engaged in the agreement process with the executive engineers," executive engineer of the water resources department Sunil Bafna told TOI.

Airlines need to discuss high taxes on ATF with govt: AirAsia

Chandigarh: Stating that higher taxes on aviation turbine fuel should be brought down to boost the country's aviation sector, no-frill carrier AirAsia India today asked all airlines to have a discussion with the government on this issue.

"All airlines need to have strong discussion with the government together. We are doing a bit and we constantly have discussion on (with the government) on how tax on fuel needs to be waived or dropped down," AirAsia India CEO Mittu Chandilya told reporters here.

Jet-Etihad Airways deal: SC seeks Centre reply on Swamy's plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday sought Centre's response within four weeks on pleas by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking Cabinet note concerning Jet-Etihad Airways deal and copy of the transcript of tapped telephonic conversation of former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in which she had allegedly talked about civil aviation sector.

A bench comprising justices H L Dattu and S A Bobde asked Additional Solicitor General L Nageshwar Rao who accepted the notice on behalf of the Centre to file response on Swamy's application.

AirAsia India flies into loss in first month

AirAsia India has incurred a loss of Rs 26 crore in the first month of its operations, according to the statement by its one of its promoter Air Asia Berhad on the Malaysian stock exchange.

AirAsia Berhad, which has 49% stake in the latest low-cost airline to set shop in India, released the numbers last week as part of its April-June results.

"AirAsia India recorded a net loss of ringgit 13.8 million (quarter ended June 30, 2013: RM nil) in the quarter under review," the airline said in a statement.

ATC staffers work continously for 11 hours, puts life of fliers at risk

The lives of around 64 passengers on board a JetLite aircraft flying from Rajkot to Mumbai was put to risk recently when two air traffic controllers monitoring the flight operations at Rajkot airport were made to work for 11 hours continuously, as the flight was delayed due to a technical snag. Airport authorities, however, blamed manpower shortage for their inability to provide a back-up.

As per the aviation safety regulations set up by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), an air traffic controller cannot be made to work beyond seven hours, as fatigue creeps in after that, which may lead to lapse in judgement on his/her part which could turn catastrophic. A reliever is to be provided once the controller finishes his/her duty hours, the ATC manual says.

SpiceJet management churn still on, 4 senior executives resign

Chennai/Mumbai: The management churn in financially beleagured carrier SpiceJet is still on. In the last two weeks four senior executives at the airline have put in their papers, three sources in the know told ET.

Exits include Anurag Jain senior vice president network planning , Sandeep Verma head of in-flight services, Anshu Tiwari general manager HR and IP Singh chief security officer. Sources said some more exits are likely to follow.

Mumbai-Lonavala air service takes off

Mumbai: Mumbai-Lonavala air service began on Monday. London resident Raj Tanwar, along with his in laws and other relatives, paid Rs 2,999 per head for a 30-minute ride in a nine-seater Cessna 208 amphibian plane to Pawana Dam near Lonavala. The non-scheduled service is being operated by Maritime Energy Heli Air Services (Mehair).

Planes: Two planes — nine-seater Cessna 208 and four-seater Cessna 206. The company plans to offer four-seater plane on charter for Rs 65,000 an hour. The Cessna planes can be flown for passenger service only if there is a visibility of 5 km or more at origin and destination, as per the current Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regulations.

Good news: Air tickets as low as Rs 600

Here is some great news for folks living in Balgalore—AirAsia has announced airline tickets for as low as Rs 600.

AirAsia, the budget carrier in India, is offering promotional air tickets for certain routes. The airline presently operates presently between Bangalore, Kochi and Goa and will operate on northern routes within a month.

The airline is offering the promotional fares for tickets booked, before 31 August, on these routes. The travel time is between October 2014 and October 2015. Check the AirAsia website for more details.

Intelligence Bureau issues warning to airports against Afghan men in leather jackets

New Delhi: Intelligence Bureau (IB) has warned security officials at Indian airports against a new threat, cautioning them to look out for passengers of Afghan-origin wearing leather jackets, which could be modified to carry explosives.

The bureau, last week, asked the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that looks after security in 59 airports across the country to identify such passengers and ensure they are thoroughly frisked before boarding.

GMR Infra finalises plan to develop rest of IGI Airport

Bangalore: GMR Infrastructure has developed a monetisation plan to develop the remaining 184 acres of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in four phases over 10 years. The airport developer's move to unlock value from real estate assets comes nearly five years after its first round of monetisation, which involved awarding development rights over 45 acres to create a hospitality zone.

Can’t ground every 4th air hostess because of age: Air India tells Avation Min Raju

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry wants younger air hostesses to serve on Air India flights because it feels younger girls are quicker, lead to faster aircraft turnaround and ultimately help improve airline's bottomline.
But is it feasible or even practical to ground staff just because of age? A lot of foreign carriers employ older cabin crew - the criterion there is obviously not age, but competence!
Though minister A Gajapathi Raju has not specified the age limit in writing while issuing his 26-point instructions to Air India recently, verbal communication by ministry officials initially said cabin crew over 35 years of age should be put on ground duties.
This was later modified to crew over 45 years. Raju and his officials say players like IndiGo employ younger cabin crew, which is why their aircraft turnaround time is much faster and their on-time performance much better than Air India's.

Indigo to launch daily direct flight between Vizag and Delhi

New Delhi:  IndiGo is to start a direct daily flight between Vizag and Delhi and a third daily flight between Vizag and Hyderabad from October 10.

The decision to start the flights, which will see IndiGo consolidate its position as the largest operator from Vizag with seven daily departures, was announced following a meeting with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Civil Aviation Minister Raju here on Tuesday.

Airport privatization process under review

Ahmedabad:  The much-hyped privatization of six airports in the country is again under review as Airports Authority of India (AAI) is expected to invite fresh bids for the same. The privatization process which was initiated by UPA government last year has gone through various changes and postponement. The previous government had expressed certain reservations in the model concession agreement (MCA).

AAI is set to invite request for quotation (RFQ) again after a fresh MCA is decided upon. "The MCA was prepared in March but it was stalled as previous government wanted some changes in certain clauses. Now with the new government at the helms, we expect the process to be expedited," said a senior AAI official.

According to officials, potential bidders were ready with RFQs but AAI could not go ahead because central government had not approved MCA. "We have had discussions with the civil aviation officials and we are hopeful that the government will soon approve the new agreement and we can accept the new RFQs," added AAI official.
Read news in full25/08/14 Piyush Mishra/Times of India

Winter date for aviation bill

New Delhi: The bill for a civil aviation authority is likely to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament. Sources said civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju was pushing for the introduction of the bill in the upcoming session.

The bill to convert the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into a civil aviation authority (CAA) was supposed to be tabled in the budget session of Parliament.

Ministry officials said the bill had been circulated for comments from ministries.

“We hope to receive the replies soon. We are aiming for the winter session to table the bill,” said a senior aviation ministry official.

SpiceJet offers 'festive season' fares for as low as Rs 1888

New Delhi:  Rolling out yet another limited- period special fares offer, no-frill carrier SpiceJet today announced discounts on one-way all-inclusive fares starting as low as Rs 1,888.

The catch is you will have to book your flight by August 27 and travel between September 25 and January 15, an airline spokesperson said, adding the offer is applicable on all direct, via and onward flights on SpiceJet's domestic network.
There would be "limited inventory under the offer which will be available on first-come-first-served basis and is not applicable on group bookings," he said.

Jet-Set Ready: Vistara, a new airline, is simple yet luxurious

New Delhi: One would barely expect the textile-pushing Abraham and Thakore label to be associated with “luxury” in fashion. But for the discerning customer, for whom the ultimate luxury is the fineness of fabric and the ease of a t-shirt, Abraham and Thakore has an answer. This discerning customer is now a much-talked about and awaited alliance between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, called Vistara. The new full-service airline will be launched in October this year.

DGCA surprise checks reveal leading airlines violating safety procedures

New Delhi: In April this year, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) put up a presentation on safety standards for airline representatives that revealed some glaring lack of safety procedures by leading carriers.

The presentation, including pictures, were a compilation of about 50 safety issues detected by the aviation regulator during their surprise checks. ET has reviewed the presentation. "There were several instances of safety violation detected by our surveillance teams. We asked them to ensure that these things be taken care of because little things make a difference," said a senior DGCA official, who did not wish to be identified.

Payment default case: Kingfisher moves HC against PNB notice

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines today moved the Delhi High Court against Punjab National Bank's notice alleging the carrier has wilfully defaulted in payment of outstanding dues of over Rs 770 crore.

The PSU bank has also said in the August 21, 2014 notice that if no reply is received within seven days then the airline and its guarantors, United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd (UBHL) and Vijay Mallya would be declared "wilful defaulters".

The matter was mentioned by the airline through senior advocate Rajiv Nayyar before a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul which listed it for hearing tomorrow.

Kingfisher has sought directions to the bank to rescind the notices and also restrain it from taking any action against the airline pursuant to the same.

The petition has also made the Ministry of Finance and the bank as parties in the case.

Central government Standing Counsel Anil Soni and advocate Naginder Benipal will appear for the ministry.
Read news in full26/08/14 PTI/Business Standard

Are operations of Indian airlines safe enough?

A Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) check on the safety procedures followed by the country’s leading aviation companies has revealed glaring lapses, a report in the Economic Times today claims quoting persons privy to the development. According to the report, the aviation regulator found serious violations such as fuel leaking into fuselage and panels of emergency doors missing for aircraft operated by some of the scheduled airlines. The violation of safety regulations was even worse in case of charter flights: some companies were found operating flights without safety equipments such as life jackets or breathing equipments. The report comes on the heels of a spate of recent incidents in which serious questions were raised over whether Indian airlines – many of which of have been bleeding for years – follow recommended safety standards.

We Continue to Believe in Indian Aviation Story: S.L. Narayanan

New Delhi: Kalanithi Maran-controlled SpiceJet expanded its authorized share capital on Thursday, enabling the loss-making airline to raise more funds. The airline, which has been looking for an investor, has also decided to allot as many as 189.1 million warrants convertible into an equivalent number of equity shares, in various tranches, to the promoters of the company and Sun Group. The Maran family has been pumping funds into the airline in small instalments every fiscal according to rules prescribed by the market regulator. While SpiceJet overtook bigger rival Jet Airways (India) Ltd to become the number two airline last week, the airline is still finding it difficult to draw investors. S.L. Narayanan, group chief financial officer at Sun Group, explains the road ahead for SpiceJet. Edited excerpts:

Air India's revival should be on the front burner

It is no state secret that successive Indian governments have conventionally been loathe to taking timely decisions. What makes it ironic from the governance perspective is that no cost is ever put on procrastination or anyone held accountable, even as the nation suffers. The delay, inexplicable or otherwise, has thus become a norm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent diktat to bureaucrats for setting deadlines and insisting on time-bound decision-making can, thus, be described as a significant departure from the past and a major watershed in our governance system.

Families wage citizen campaign to solve MH370 mystery

Kuala Lumpur: Chinese physics student Jimmy Wang had no interest in aviation until March 8, when Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing with his 58-year-old father Wang Lijun aboard.

But Wang, 31, now spends evenings in central China combing through aviation blogs for Boeing 777 technical specs, exchanging what he finds with fellow MH370 next-of-kin.

He is one of hundreds of relatives who -- desperate to learn the fate of their loved ones -- are channelling their grief in a cross-border, social-media-enabled, but so far frustrating citizen campaign to solve aviation`s greatest mystery.

Airlines rework finances, strategies

Mumbai: Incumbent airlines in India are reworking their finances and business strategies to stay fit to deal with intense competition expected from new airlines.

Though AirAsia India has commenced operations two months back, it is yet to unleash its full potential. Another new airline, Vistara, a joint venture of Tatas and Singapore Airlines, is expected to be airborne in October. Besides, six new airlines are waiting for clearances to enter business.

Considering this, incumbent airlines are cleaning up their balance-sheets and acquiring financial muscle apart from controlling costs to deal with the situation.

40 senior pilots quit IndiGo in one year

Mumbai: Low-cost carrier IndiGo, whose market share dropped by a per cent in July to 30.7, has also lost as many as 40 commanders or senior pilots mainly to Gulf carriers in the last one year.

While most of these commanders quit the airline for better prospects, some of them also parted ways due to the work culture, sources in the Gurgaon-based airline told PTI.

"Around 40 commanders have parted ways with the airline over the past one year as most of them got lucrative offers from Gulf carriers," a source said.
Text messages sent to IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh and airline's PR agency for a comment on the issue did not yield any response.

Air India tightens personnel rules

New Delhi: Government-owned and loss-making Air India (AI) has terminated from service 194 cabin crew and 11 pilots over the past year, primarily for unauthorised absence.

It now has 3,400 cabin crew, including 800 hired on contract. A senior executive said, “Improving the performance parameters is priority. It is important to instil a sense of discipline. The airline and its passengers should not suffer due to delays or absenteeism on the part of cockpit and cabin crew.”

Additionally, 11 pilots were removed. “There have been five-six instances where pilots resigned and moved on to work for another airline without serving the mandatory six months notice period.

Jet Airways executives to meet Icra following downgrade

Mumbai: Jet Airways executives will meet credit ratings agency ICRA  on Monday, following Saturday's downgrade of its debt rating to 'D' from 'BB' after the airline failed to meet loan repayment schedule.

According to ICRA's rating scales, "instruments with 'D' rating are in default or are expected to be in default soon." "Indeed Jet has been downgraded to 'D' rating because of cases of defaults. We have been informed of the same by financial institutions and the airline's auditors," said Naresh Takkar, managing director and chief executive officer of the agency. He didn't elaborate on the amount Jet had defaulted on.

Government might take away overseas flying rights of airlines who fail to perform

Concerned over "unsatisfactory performance" of Indian airlines in taking on foreign competition, the government is considering a new strategy to motivate them to perform and take away overseas flying rights of those who fail to do so.
"We have to work out a strategy that will motivate our players to perform. The reality is that Indian players are not able to perform - neither the public nor the private sector (airlines)," Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju told PTI here.
He was replying to questions on the performance of Indian carriers vis-a-vis the bilateral air traffic rights granted to them and foreign carriers to fly to each others' countries.
To a question on the air traffic rights between India and countries like Dubai, Raju said, "Nobody believes that the (air service) agreements were done with any commercial analysis in mind."

What full-service carriers and low-cost airlines are offering to woo & retain frequent flyers

Frequent business travellers are an airline's delight. They pay up to 300% more than the lowest fares offered for advance purchases and over 10 times the average fare for business class seats. In other words, they are the backbone of an industry that struggles to make money.

Most passengers would want nothing more than airlines to be on time and offer a hassle-free, clean service. The expectations of frequent travellers are markedly higher. Even on flights of two hours or more, they wouldn't mind paying a premium for extra legroom, the comfort of an airport lounge, accumulation of air miles and tasty food. A decent in-flight entertainment is a must.
Due to the absence of low-cost aviation infrastructure in India, the traditional boundaries between full-service carriers and low-cost airlines have blurred. Lowcost, or budget, carriers have been offering improved services for better yields and full-service carriers have been reducing add-on services along with fares to retain market share.

Airlines is not based on the story of Kingfisher, says producer Nikhil J Alva

Tulip Joshi and VJ Yudhishthir’s Airlines was initially rumoured to be based on the debacle of Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines. When we got in touch the Miditech’s co-founder Nikhil J Alva, he had a totally different story to tell.

He said, “I think we have a very unique story. Strangely over the last six months there has been a huge number of incidents in the airline industry. Maybe, since we are doing this show, everywhere we look, we find something related to aviation stories. So certainly there are enough stories to work around and base on. We have not done anything regarding the Kingfisher Airlines.”

Delhi International Airport Private Limited faces alleged service tax evasion charge

New Delhi: : The Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL) has come under the scanner of central revenue department officials for allegedly evading service tax of about Rs 60 crore.

It is alleged that DIAL, operator of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), evaded service tax on the licences fee and development charges collected by it from private entities who are developing five star hotels under the Delhi aerocity project, official sources said.

A case of alleged service tax evasion against DIAL has been registered by the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) here and the amount of alleged service tax evasion is about Rs 60 crore, the sources said.

SpiceJet Offers Fares From Rs 1,888 in Festive Season Offer

Budget carrier has come out with yet another discount offer. Under the festive season offer, SpiceJet is offering all-in fares from Rs 1,888.

This limited-period offer is valid on booking till August 27, 2014 (inclusive) and travel between September, 25, 2014 and January, 15, 2015 (both dates inclusive).

This sale offer is valid for bookings made on SpiceJet's domestic network.

Govt mulls new strategy to boost performance of domestic airlines

New Delhi: Concerned over “unsatisfactory performance” of Indian airlines in taking on foreign competition, the Government is considering a new strategy to motivate them to perform and take away the overseas flying rights of those who fail to do so.
“We have to work out a strategy that will motivate our players to perform. The reality is that Indian players are not able to perform — neither the public nor the private sector (airlines),” Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju told PTI here.
He was replying to questions on the performance of Indian carriers vis-a-vis the bilateral air traffic rights granted to them and foreign carriers to fly to each others’ countries.

Two Air India unions seek CBI probe into airline's losses

Mumbai: Taking their fight against the airline's management to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's door, two Air India unions have sought a CBI probe into the state-run carrier's losses and bringing those responsible to book.

In a letter to the Prime Minister last week, two Air India unions -- All India Service Engineering Association and Air India Employees' Union -- have also alleged "trampling" of employees' rights by a "dictatorial" management in the name of the Turnaround Plan (TAP).

As SpiceJet drags feet on info, DGCA audit of airlines to miss deadline

New Delhi: The financial and engineering audit of domestic airlines being conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will get delayed, with low-cost carrier SpiceJet yet to furnish complete information, a top official at the aviation regulator told FE.

To assess the operational health of airlines reeling under accumulated losses of almost Rs 50,000 crore, the DGCA had first asked all carriers to submit detailed financial data for the 2013-14 fiscal by mid-June. Later, in July, it again asked for additional inputs. This information is expected to primarily help in assessing the safety preparedness of the airlines, and understand whether the recent trend of aggressive price discounts is sustainable.

The Indian Government Is Crushing The Dreams Of Airline Startups

The airline business is cutthroat in virtually every market in the world, but it is especially difficult for start-up airlines in India. Fuel prices and fickle passengers aside, start-up airlines in the country must contend with a truly suffocating piece of government regulation that hinders their growth.
Although Indian tech start-ups seem to be doing well, start-ups in most other sectors generally face an uphill battle against protectionist policies and a highly corrupt government.

As flying goes, India's domestic routes are crowded with too many airlines competing for too few routes that can sustain a profit. As a result, no Indian airline actually makes substantial profit from domestic flying.

SpiceJet under lens for alleged I-T breaches

Hyderabad: Low-cost airline SpiceJet is under the scanner of the income tax (I-T) department for suspected violations of TDS (tax deducted at source) and non-distribution of Form-16 to its employees, a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) official said on Friday.

“Action is to recover the tax, then penal interest and some penalty will be there," CBDT Chairman K V Chowdary told reporters here.

He was responding to queries on reports of non-disbursement of Form-16 by the Kalanithi Maran-controlled loss-making carrier.

Chowdary declined to reveal the due from the airline to the I-T department.

Sudhir Raheja to temporarily serve as Chairman of AAI

Mumbai: Sudhir Raheja, a board member of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), has from today taken over as its Chairman, after the government, for the second time this year, granted temporary charge to an executive to head the country’s largest airport owner, Tarun Shukla reported for Mint.

The government has been struggling to fill the post since abruptly terminating then Chairman, V P Agarwal’s extension six months ago. Alok Sinha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, who was then given temporary charge, will be returning to his state cadre Uttar Pradesh today.

Struggling SpiceJet Hit By Pilot Exodus

New Delhi:  Loss-making budget carrier SpiceJet, whose auditors have raised red-flags over the company's 'going concern' status, is now seeing an exodus of pilots. Over 60 pilots have quit and are serving the mandatory six-month notice period, sources told HT.

A majority of those who have quit are likely to join a rival low-cost carrier, which unlike SpiceJet, has an-Airbus fleet, the sources added.

"Pilots are leaving in droves. There is too much uncertainty in the airline," said an airline executive, who did not wish to be identified.

Maran to pump Rs 200cr into SpiceJet via warrants

New Delhi:  Paving the way for fund infusion, low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet has increased its authorized share capital from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,500 crore. The negative net worth LCC has also got board approval to "allot up to 18.9 crore warrants convertible into equivalent number of equity shares, in various tranches, to the promoters of the company, on preferential basis".

Before this board-approved move, promoter Kalanithi Maran had hit the threshold limit of 53% holding in the company and he could not have infused more funds. With the enhancement of authorized share capital and decision to issue warrants, the Maran family — which has so far put in about Rs 1,400 crore into SpiceJet — will now be able to pump in another Rs 200 crore in tranches as convertible debentures.

The LCC desperately needs money to stay afloat as it faces statutory tax issues and is yet to give Form 16 of last fiscal to its employees.
Read news in full 23/08/14 Times of India