Mumbai airport breaks its own previous record, handles 980 flights a day

Inching closer to 1000 flights mark, the Mumbai airport broke its own record of flights operated in a single day. The airport handled 980 flights per day on January 20, a report by Economic Times read on Sunday.

In early December 2017, the airport recorded 974 flights in a single day and announced it was headed for the one thousandth mark. The domestic and international airports in Mumbai share one common runway.

Hartsfield-Jackson has been the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic since 1998. It handles some 2,500 flights and 275,000 passengers a day.

Plea to bring Purnia on air map soon

Purnia: As the Central government gears up to implement its ambitious 'Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)' scheme, the demand to restore air connectivity from Purnia to other locations in the country has gained momentum. Local people, besides the medical fraternity, members of Purnia Chamber of Commerce and Traders' Association, political leaders etc have not only demanded restoration of air services that was introduced in the recent past, but have also sought the intervention of central and state government to bring Purnia under UDAN Scheme.
UDAN, a project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a strategic module of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), was envisaged by the ministry of civil aviation in 2016, amis at providing regional air connectivity at low cost.

In-flight connectivity: Surfing in the sky

With the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, (Trai) in January giving its nod to in-flight voice and data connectivity, domestic and international fliers within the country’s airspace will soon be able to make calls and browse the internet.

India’s existing laws did not allow access to the internet while aboard an aircraft. 

Several Indian airlines are now expected to follow their global counterparts and offer services like Wi-Fi on flights.

'India remains fastest growing domestic aviation mkt in 2017'

New Delhi: India remained the world's fastest growing domestic aviation market for the third straight year in 2017 as economic and network expansion bolstered the sector, according to global airlines' body IATA.
Globally, Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) -- a measure of passenger volumes -- rose by 7.6 per cent in 2017, registering "above-trend growth" that was ahead of the ten- year average rate of 5.5 per cent.
"The domestic India market posted the fastest full-year growth rate for the third year in a row (17.5 per cent), followed by China (13.3 per cent)," the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a report released last week.

Israel looking at reaching 1 lakh Indian arrivals in 2018

Mumbai: Indian arrivals to Israel for the second consecutive year have reached an all-time high growth of 31% during January to December, 2017, with around 60,000 tourists. This marks a whopping growth of 48% in the last two years, per the statistics released by Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT). Confident of this continuing this upward trend, IMOT is looking at achieving 1 lakh Indian arrivals in 2018. According to Hassan Madah – Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India & Philippines, “Introducing initiatives, including easing of the visa process, and with airlines in India and Israel expressing interest to increase connectivity between the countries, I am confident that this growth will help us achieve 1 lakh Indian arrivals in 2018.”

Airport gets latest surface traffic control system

Ahmedabad: Airport Authority of India (AAI) on Saturday inaugurated an advanced surface traffic control system at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport of the city. The system, which has cost around Rs 17 crore, will enhance safety and efficiency of ground operations related to flights.
"The system will also help in effectively utilizing time slots of flights and thereby maintain time schedule of flights and on time clearance of every flight. The system has the capability to ascertain 15 metre separation between flights at a distance of 1500 metres, thereby increasing aircraft handling capacity," said a statement of the AAI.

Work on Navi Mumbai airport to be completed by end-2019: CIDCO

Thane: The work on the new airport coming up at Navi Mumbai would be completed by the end of 2019, City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) Managing Director Bhushan Gagrani today said. CIDCO is the Special Planning Authority for the airport project.

Gagrani was speaking at the annual meet of the Rotary District 3142 here yesterday.

Incidentally, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, while talking at the annual CAPA (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) summit through a video link on January 31, had said that the Navi Mumbai airport could take four to five years to be operational.

Gagrani termed the Sewri-Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL)as an important project as it would reduce travel time between south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to just about 25 minutes.
To Read the News in Full 04/02/18 PTI/India Today

Vistara eyes Gulf or South East Asia for int'l launch

Vistara will launch its first international routes in the second half of this year, with the maiden destinations being either in the Gulf region or in South East Asia, CEO Leslie Thng said at the beginning of January.

According to Indian legislation, the carrier first needs to have at least twenty aircraft in its fleet to become eligible for international operations. Vistara, which currently operates a total of seventeen A320 and A320neo aircraft, expects to pass this threshold in March 2018. By May this year, the airline plans to expand its fleet to twenty-two Airbus narrow-body jets.

Domestic fliers propel Madurai airport growth

Madurai: The number of passengers handled by the Madurai international airport has doubled in a matter of four years. While the airport has been on the growth trajectory ever since its inception, there has been a phenomenal surge from March last year. Officials say that the growth is fuelled by the domestic sector.
The air traffic data released recently by Airport Authority of India (AAI) shows that 12,82,314 passengers were handled by Madurai airport last year, which is more than double the 6,39,906 passengers who flew in 2013.
As the numbers crossed the one million mark in a calendar year for the first time, the fact that 9,93,912 domestic passengers had used the airport in 2017 stands out. While the feat was achieved by October itself, the airport seems to have narrowly missed achieving the milestone of flying one million domestic passengers alone in a year.

Low-cost airline Spice Jet promises connectivity between Assam's Lakhimpur, Jorhat

Guwahati: Low-cost airline Spice Jet will soon connect Assam's northern district of Lakhimpur with Jorhat in the south. The airline's Chief Managing Director, Ajay Singh, made the announcement at Advantage Assam-Global Investors Summit'18 in Guwahati on Saturday. The move will, if it comes through, will form part of Centre's UDAN or Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), an initiative taken to make air travel to India's tier 2 and 3 cities affordable and at the same time putting remote regions of the country on country's aviation map.
"For India to grow, it is critical that North East grows. And, Northeast cannot grow without connectivity. Spice Jet connects cities of Guwahati, Silchar and Dibrugarh to other parts of the country. And under UDAN, we will soon be connecting Lakhimpur and Jorhat," Singh said.

Oman Air plans new flights to India

Muscat: National carrier, Oman Air is planning to add more Indian destinations from Muscat.

Acting CEO of Oman Air, Abdul Aziz Al Raisi said, "We want to fly to Ahmedabad, Mangalore and Kolkata if the air services agreement between the Government of Oman and India gets revised," while celebrating the inauguration of Oman Air's new Boeing 737 Max at Muscat International Airport on Sunday.

For the first time since beginning operations, the national carrier will open new routes to Morocco, Turkey, and Russia before the end of the year.

Madurai-Singapore service frequency to be increased

Madurai: With a good patronage for the Madurai-Singapore service operated by the Air India Express, the flight operator has planned to increase its frequency. The flight which was inaugurated on September 15, 2017 is currently being operated four days a week, connecting Delhi-Madurai-Singapore and vice versa.
Airport sources say that green signal has been given to increase in frequency and that the operator is awaiting clearance from the directorate general of civil aviation. Once the clearance is through, the operator has to take it on from there and start the operation.
Sources from the Air India Express said that the patronage was better than expected.

Druk Air To Connect Guwahati To Singapore

Guwahati: The Bhutan government on Friday announced that   Assam’s capital city Guwahati will be connected with Singapore by introducing flights in Thimpu-Guwahati-Singapore sector.

  The Royal Bhutan government already operates a flight via Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport of Guwahati between Bhutan capital Thimpu and Bangkok (Thailand).

The LGBI is the only international airport in the entire Northeast India that has geographical and cultural proximity with Bhutan.

Announcing the decision at the opening of Royal Bhutanese Consulate General office here, Bhutan’s Foreign Minister Damco Dorji said, “It gives me pleasure to announce that Bhutan will be operating flights between Thimpu-Guwahati-Singapore very soon.”

Civil Aviation gets wings

New Delhi: The Budgetary allocation for the Civil Aviation Ministry has been almost tripled to ₹6,602.86 crore for 2018-19, with about 67% of the funds being provisioned for the purchase of two new aircraft for VVIP flights.

A total of ₹4,469.50 crore has been provisioned for “purchase of two new VVIP aircraft for special extra section flight operations,” as per the Budget document.

The government also announced a new initiative — NABH Nirman— under which it proposes to expand airport capacity in the country by more than five times to handle a billion trips a year. “Balance sheet of AAI [Airports Authority of India] shall be leveraged to raise more resources for funding this expansion,” said Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister.

Airports set to move 1 billion passengers a year

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Hours after the Union Finance Minster, Arun Jaitley announced that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will upgrade several airports, its chairman disclosed that the state-owned airport developer plans to spend ₹14,000-₹15,000 crore in the next fiscal for the creation of new airport terminals.

Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India, told BusinessLine that the AAI will expand the capacity of 124 airports through the new investment.

The regional air connectivity scheme ( Udan) will also be expanded to connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads.

While most stakeholders have lauded the government’s move to expand airport capacity, the initiative may come unstuck if metro airports, mostly run by private enterprises, resist the Centre’s move to allot slots for regional airlines.

The Budget proposes to expand the capacity of airports five times to cater to one billion passengers a year (No timeline was mentioned). As of now around 100 million travel by air in the country, of whom only 25-30 million are frequent flyers.

International flyers from Vizag airport have increased by record 35 per cent

Visakhapatnam: The number of international fliers from Vizag airport may break all past records this fiscal with a growth of 35.2 per cent so far compared to the corresponding months of last fiscal. 

According to the latest report of Airport Authority of India (AAI) on traffic flow from April to December, International passengers increased from 71,429 to 96,544.
The international fliers have been hovering around 1 lakh in the last two calendar years in 2015 and 2016.

Airfares aren't cheaper, but airports to get bigger

If you are a frequent flyer, then Budget 2018 has nothing to offer in terms of cheaper airfares. Given that the average fuel price for airlines has increased by 13 percent over the last 12 months, due to the rise in global crude oil prices, a cut in the excise duty on ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) would have meant cheaper airfares. At present the excise duty on ATF is 14 percent, which incidentally was 8 percent before Budget 2016 was presented.

From the government’s standpoint though nothing needed to be done to spur the growth of air travel in the country. Despite the broader economic headwinds, domestic air passenger traffic has been growing at 18 percent per annum over the last three years. Given this pace of growth, the Modi-led government instead has decided to focus on creating bigger airports across the country.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a new initiative called NABH Nirman for the civil aviation sector. Through this initiative, Jaitley said, “We propose to expand our airport capacity [by] more than five times to handle a billion trips a year.” This capacity addition would be across the 124 airports that are operated by the government entity, Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Non-stop service from Vancouver to India will fly year-round starting in June

Air Canada has announced its seasonal flight from Vancouver to Delhi will now be year-round beginning June 2018. The national carrier will use the 787-9 Dreamliner and travel time each way will be 14 hours.

Surrey’s Sivakumar Chandrasekaran has lived in Canada for the past 12 years and travels to India at least once a year. He said the announcement is one of the best decisions Air Canada has made.


“This flight is useful for emergency trips. If something happens in my homeland, I cannot reach on-time,” Chandrasekaran said. “If it is one or two stops, it takes more than 24 to 48 hours but this flight will help us to reach our homeland in 14 hours or 15 hours.”

Emirates may allow mobile calls in India

New Delhi: Emirates' flyers to, from and over India may soon be allowed to make calls using their mobile phones, apart from offering onboard internet. The Dubai-based mega airline has told TOI it will seek regulatory approvals to allow "customers to connect using Wi-Fi and mobile phones over India very soon."
Emirates' head of customer experience Patrick Brannelly told TOI: "TRAI recommendation to allow in-flight Wi-Fi and mobile services on flights within Indian airspace is good news for our customers. We are confident that our satellite data providers will engage with the Indian authorities to establish regulatory clarity for licensing and operations, to meet necessary requirements, thereby allowing our customers to connect using Wi-Fi and mobile phones over India very soon."
About voice calls, the Emirates website says: "Make calls on your mobile just as you would when you're on the ground.

Airport authority builds new terminal at Guwahati

Guwahati: Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started working on the new integrated terminal building of the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Guwahati.
Its foundation stone was laid on 28 Jan by Civil aviation minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and CM Sarbananda Sonowal.
This step has been taken to facilitate the growth of air infrastructure in North east.

Honeywell welcomes TRAI's decision to permit Wi-Fi in-flights

Hyderabad: Honeywell Aerospace has welcomed the "TRAI's decision to permit
in-flight Wi-Fi on domestic and international flights.

In a statement on Wednesday, Honeywell said it was a groundbreaking step for the aviation market.

According to the International Air Transport Association, India will become the world's third largest commercial aviation market by 2025, with an estimated increase to 278 million annual passengers.

This level of growth will require the Indian aviation market to be proactive in meeting the needs of its growing number of passengers, airlines and flight crews.
To Read the News in Full 31/01/18 UNI

Former Go Air CEO Wolfgang to join IndiGo as Chief Operating Officer

Mumbai: Former Go Air CEO Wolfgang Prock Schauer will join IndiGo as Chief Operating Officer. Prock Schauer had quit Go Air in 2017.
Prock-Schauer will take charge of IndiGo's operational aspects including flight operations, maintenance, engineering and in-flight services. He will also be responsible for the airline's airport services. Prock-Schauer in his new role will report to IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh.
The appointment of Prock Schauer also signals the strengthening of the management team at IndiGo as it begins its next chapter of growth of regional and long-haul operations.
Prior to joining GoAir, Prock-Schauer, an Austrian held the position of CEO and executive director of Air Berlin, a German airline carrying over 32 million passengers annually, with 140 aircraft operations. He also served as CEO of Jet Airways from 2003 to 2009 after which he left to join Lufthansa-owned British Midland in UK.

SpiceJet announces 20 new non-stop flights

Chennai: SpiceJet has announced 20 new non-stop flights on domestic routes -- including Chennai-Mangalore and Guwahati-Chennai routes -- and will add frequency on many routes starting February 11.
The airline is all set to introduce daily direct flights on the Bengaluru-Rajahmundry, Chennai-Mangalore and Guwahati-Chennai routes and a direct flight between Bengaluru-Tirupati which would operate on all days except Tuesdays.
SpiceJet will become the only carrier to operate between Kolkata and Jabalpur and Bengaluru and Puducherry with daily direct flights.

India’s Congested Airports Slowing Down Air Traffic Growth

Congested airports at India’s top cities will hamper air traffic growth in the world’s third-largest aviation market even as carriers add more aircraft to their fleet and fly to smaller cities.

India’s domestic air traffic is expected to grow 18-20 and touch 150 million in the year ending March 2019, according to Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. CAPA reduced the forecast by at least 2 percentage points considering capacity constraints at large airports like Mumbai and Chennai.

The aviation think tank expects domestic traffic to reach 125 million in the year ending March. Airport operators are under-prepared for growth, CAPA India Chief Executive Officer Kapil Kaul said today in Mumbai.

That means most large airports are operating close to full capacity as at least 124 new aircraft would be inducted by March 2019—an increase of 25 percent.

Airlines slash fares to boost summer travel

Chennai: The low fares introduced by airlines to boost travel during lean season after the Republic Day long weekend have come as an advantage for travellers who are planning short getaways during the Good Friday long weekend and summer holidays.
Air fares, which were high for travel during weekends and on days close to the begining of summer holidays in the last week of March and first week of April, have come down because of the discounts currently on offer by airlines.
The four-day sale by SpiceJet starting at 769 was open till midnight on 25 January for a travel period lasting upto December and for destinations like Jammu-Srinagar, Silchar-Guwahati, Dehradun-Delhi, Delhi - Jaipur, Agartala-Guwahati, Coimbatore-Bengaluru, Kochi-Bengaluru and Delhi-Dehradun. Meanwhile, GoAir had fares starting as low as 726 to 3,926 inclusive of taxes for travel till December.

Kannur International Airport set to take flight; commercial operations may be launched in June

Taking the cake as far as aviation infrastructure in India is concerned, the small state of Kerala would get its fourth international airport once the Kannur International Airport (KIAL) gets operational later this year. Significantly, with a proposed runway of 4000 m, KIAL would be bigger than the Mangaluru airport in Karnataka and the Kozhikode airport in Kerala between which it lies sandwiched. Flight trial operations are going to commence in a few weeks and commercial operations could be launched as early as June, if things go as per plan, KIAL Managing Director P Bala Kiran tells FE. All works at the airport, which has come up on a sprawling 2,092 acres at Mattanur, are expected to be complete by February, 2018, he adds. Kerala’s second greenfield airport to come up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode after the Cochin International Airport, KIAL has multiple stakeholders: the Kerala government (35%), public sector undertakings (25%), Airports Authority of India (10%), and cooperatives, banks and individual shareholders (30%). The development of the airport has been planned in phases on a modular basis, to suit future requirements and minimise initial investment. Phase I was originally estimated to cost Rs 1,892 crore, of which Rs 1,000 crore was the equity capital and Rs 892 crore the debt component. To fund runway extension, the company’s authorised capital was recently increased from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,500 crore.

Indigo to start low-cost flights to Europe from next winter

InterGlobe Aviation's Indigo Airlines is planning to start low-cost flights to major European cities including London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Madrid from New Delhi next winter, reported Business Standard.

The airline has sought regulatory approval to operate flights to London, Paris, Madrid, and Hong Kong from New Delhi with Airbus A330 aircraft.

“The low-cost structure of IndiGo makes it ideal to offer a long-haul service. An airline’s cost is primarily towards fuel burn, aircraft acquisition, and labour — all of which are among the lowest for IndiGo,” a senior IndiGo executive told the paper, adding these air tickets will be priced at least 30 percent lower than the prevalent rate.

To offer low-cost operations, the airlines may go in for dense economy seating with a few premium seats (with more leg space) along with unbundled products like meal, priority boarding, and seat selection for economy passengers.

India World's Third Largest Growing Domestic Aviation Market, Says Economic Survey

New Delhi: With the civil aviation sector witnessing "considerable progress", India has become the world's third largest domestic aviation market in terms of the number of tickets sold, according to the Economic Survey. To connect unserved and under-served airports, the government has come out with regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) and flights on many routes have commenced under this initiative.

"India is the 3rd largest and the fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world in terms of number of domestic tickets sold. In 2016-17, annual growth in domestic passenger departures was 23.5 per cent as compared to 3.3 per cent in the US and 10.7 per cent in China," said the Survey tabled in Parliament today.

During the 2007-08 to 2016-17 period, domestic passenger traffic registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.89 per cent.

RCS-Udan to spur civil aviation sector's growth: Economic Survey

New Delhi: The Economic Survey 2017-18 tabled in Parliament on Monday cited the regional connectivity scheme -- Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik -- (RCS-UDAN) as one of the important initiatives taken to spur the growth of the civil aviation sector.

"This is a first-of-its-kind scheme globally to stimulate regional connectivity through a market based mechanism," the survey said.

"... 27 states, UTs have already signed MoUs with the central government under RCS-UDAN. Many private sector airlines are actively participating under this scheme."

According to the survey presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament, other initiatives like revival of 50 unserved and underserved airports, setting-up of 18 greenfield airports and liberalisation of air services will lift the growth rate of the sector.

Night flights at LGBI from March

Guwahati: The Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International airport will be operational 24x7 from March 25, giving a boost to air travel in the Northeast.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Guruprasad Mahapatra told reporters here on Monday that this was decided keeping in mind the increase in passengers at the airport in the past few years.

"The LGBI airport is now a thriving airport and it witnessed 37.2 per cent growth of passengers in 2016-17. This was much above the national average growth rate of 17 per cent. Guwahati being the hub of the Northeast, it has been decided to make the airport operational 24x7 and upgrade its facilities," Mahapatra said.

City-based AAI regional executive director D.K. Kamra said three airlines have agreed to operate night flights.
To Read the News in Full 30/01/18 Sumir Karmakar/Telegraph

Acumen Aviation looks to India for further growth

Irish aviation-leasing services company Acumen Aviation has seen business grow tenfold since it moved its business from India to Dublin in 2013.

The company is predicting even faster growth in the years to come as it builds on its evolving fleet-management business with the launch of a €1m programme to develop specialised machine-learning and artificial-intelligence-based tools to apply to the aviation market.

"Things that used to take us three days now take us half-a-day," said chief executive Alok Anand, who started the original business in Bangalore, India, before moving its headquarters to Ireland.

"This year, we are focusing on what we believe is our moonshot programme to automate the whole asset-management side of the business, using the latest technologies. Our customers love it, they get real efficiencies and real value out of it."

Those customers are some of the biggest aviation-leasing giants in the world, many of them based in Ireland, who own an increasing proportion of the planes used by airlines around the world.

Seaplanes can boost tourism in a big way: Spicejet CEO

Bullish on the growth prospects for seaplanes in India, leading airline Spicejet's CEO Ajay Singh has said this new mode of transport can boost the country's tourism sector in a big way as they can convert any pond into an airport and can make any river a runway.
Stating that SpiceJet was the first in the country to bring in this concept on a pilot basis, Singh said the use of seaplane by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Gujarat elections has given it a further push.
"We can see a lot of interests from several states and the prime minister using a sea plane has given it a further push.

Trivandrum, Jaipur, Patna and Bagdogra airports to get enhanced CISF security

New Delhi: Considering an increase in passengers and flight services at Trivandrum, Jaipur, Patna and Bagdogra airports, the Centre has decided to enhance security by deploying more CISF personnel at these airports.

Confirming the development, a senior CISF official told The New Indian Express, “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had written to us for augmentation of CISF strength at these airports because there was a significant increase in passenger and flights traffic. The Centre has issued an order sanctioning deployment of additional CISF personnel at these airports.” Though the official did not disclose the exact number, sources said around 100-300 additional personnel will be deployed at these airports.

Bathinda to get air connectivity to Jammu under UDAN 2

Bathinda: With Bathinda set to get the second air route to Jammu under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS), the devotees going towards Jammu and Kashmir for religious tourism have become a happy lot. Bathinda is the only city in Punjab having been selected under the 'Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN 2) scheme for second tier cities. So far, Bathinda has air connectivity to Delhi only.
The Bathinda airport, after hanging fire for over two years, started operations in December 2016, just ahead of the assembly elections. It was then that thrice-weekly flight to Delhi was started.

2 airlines will fly to Vellore, Thanjavur

Chennai:  Travellers will soon be able to fly from Chennai to Vellore and Thanjavur on 70-80 seater planes as two airlines have bagged rights to start services on the routes under phase 2 of regional connectivity scheme, Udan. Union minister of civil aviation Ashok Gajapati Raju awarded the routes to the airlines which won bids at a function held in New Delhi on Wednesday.
SpiceJet will start services on the Chennai-Thanjavur route, while Turbo Aviation will operate from Vellore to the city.

Direct flight from Udaipur to Jaisalmer soon

Udaipur will soon be connected with a direct flight to Jaisalmer under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as UDAN. Indigo has won the bid for Hindon-Jaisalamer-Udaipur in the second round of bidding under the scheme.

UDAN (ude des ka aam nagrik) is a Government scheme to facilitate affordable regional connectivity by air. Aviation ministry recently awarded 325 routes under the scheme with participation from Jet Airways, Indigo, SpiceJet and Alliance Air.

Indigo won 20 sectors including Hindon-Jaisalamer-Udaipur. Similarly SpiceJet was awarded 20 sectors.
To Read the News in Full 26/01/18 Udaipur Times

AirAsia India flew 4.4 million passengers in 2017

Bengaluru: Budget passenger carrier AirAsia India flew 4.44 million passengers during the calendar year 2017, 81 per cent more passengers than during 2016, the company said on Friday. “AirAsia India carried 4.44 million passengers from January to December 2017, recording an average load factor (measure of airline’s capacity utilisation) of 87 per cent for the year,” the company said in a statement announcing the quarterly results of AirAsia Berhad. Headquartered in Bengaluru, AirAsia India is a joint venture between Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia Berhad and Tata Sons.

TN cities to get connected by air in UDAN scheme

Chennai: The government has awarded 90 routes to airlines as well as helicopter operators, enhancing air connectivity to 73 new airports and helipads in tier 2 and tier 3 cities to operate flight and chopper services to destinations like Kargil, Darbhanga, Pakyong (Gangtok), Cooch Behar, Jorhat and Almora.

Subsequently, airfare on these routes for one hour journey of 500 km on a fixed-wing aircraft flight or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter would be capped at Rs 2,500.

“Udan-II has addressed the problem of (air connectivity in the) difficult areas (which are) basically areas with hilly tracks, where road connectivity is low or probably has no train connectivity,” Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said. ” We will connect 29 unserved airports, 13 underserved airports to 36 served airports and 31 helipads. This is the first time that helicopter (services) are coming under Udan.”

Udan-2 service from Hubballi Airport to give boost to industry, tourism

Industrial and tourism activities in North Karnataka are set to get a much-needed boost in the days to come, as Hubbali is set to get air connectivity to Ahmedabad, Goa, Pune, Chennai, Kannur and Hindan air base in the next couple of months.
After Hubbali airport was developed up to international standards, hopes were riding high among people to see more industrial activities in the region. Now, it has got wings with the central government announcing the Udan 2 service from Hubbali airport.
In the next two-three months, people of North Karnataka can travel by air to various destinations at an affordable cost, by utilizing seats under the Udan quota. Flights will be operated to Ahmedabad, Cochin, Goa and Kannur by Indigo airlines; to Hindan air base by Ghodawat air lines and Spicejet; Alliance Air and Indigo will operate flights to Chennai from Hubballi. This apart, Koppal, a backward district, will also be connected to capital cities in the country via air.

Soon, MNC restaurant at Bhopal airport for quality food

Bhopal: Now, passengers at Bhopal airport are all set to get delicious cuisines of international standard. A quality food outlet is likely to come up in the next two months as part of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) scheme of master concessionaire.
A team of architect and the Kanpur-based food company officials visited the airport recently to check what kind of outlets could be set up at the airport. At present, the airport has a small outlet constructed on 28 sqm area. This will be extended to 149sqm under the master concessionaire concept.
The director of Bhopal airport Flt Lft Akashdeep Mathur said the airport currently has a handful of vendors which bid separately to set up food stalls and retail outlets.

‘First flight from Jewar likely by December 2021’

The first flight from the second airport in the National Capital Region at Jewar could take off as early as December 2021, Civil aviation secretary R N Choubey said on Wednesday. Choubey, along with senior officials of Airports Authority of India, visited the site of the upcoming airport on Tuesday to assess the progress of the project.

The proposed international airport at Jewar is considered to relieve the congested Indira Gandhi International Airport here, which is inching towards full capacity in terms of passengers it can handle. Currently, the airport handles 60 million passengers every year. In 2017, Delhi airport handled an average of 1,350 flights every day in 2017.

“Yesterday, we spent five hours over there. You will be surprised, land is the most difficult item to get, but the people of that area want to give their land for this because it will lead to a boom in that area.

You can soon fly to Kargil! Here’s how

The snowy peaks of Kargil will now just be a flight away thanks to the Regional Connectivity Scheme (or RCS) that aims to make air travel accessible to the masses. As part of the scheme, popularly known as UDAN (or Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), the Ministry of Civil Aviation awarded as many as 325 routes to 15 airlines and helicopter services. Thanks to the scheme, you can soon book cheap flights to Kargil.

This is the second phase of UDAN, which covers distant towns such as Darbhanga in Bihar, Pakyong in Sikkim, Cooch Behar in West Bengal, Jorhat in Assam and Almora in Uttarakhand to larger cities. These are among the 73 unserved or undeserved airports and helipads located across 19 states that will be connected to the 36 existing ones.

Udan: Flights to link Solapur with Bangalore and Hyderabad

Mumbai: Solapur airport will soon be connected to Bangalore and Hyderabad airports under phase-II of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). While SpiceJet will connect the airport to Bangalore, Alliance Air would connect it to Hyderabad.

On Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Raju announced that the airports would be connected under phase-II of the RCS. While Solapur was included in Phase-I of the scheme, officials said an operational hurdle
delayed starting of flights on the route.

“There is a chimney coming in the flight path at the airport. We are still in talks with the company to demolish the chimney as early as possible,” Valsa Nair, the secretary, civil aviation said. “We see tremendous potential in the routes that we have been awarded and look forward to beginning operations very soon,” said Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet.
To Read the News in Full 25/01/18 Indian Express

IndiGo, Jet Airways shine in second round of regional air connectivity scheme

The results of second round of bidding under regional connectivity flights UDAN scheme that seeks to connect unserved areas of the country were announced on Wednesday by the Union Minister for Civil Aviation Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju.  Jet Airways and IndiGo have won rights to operate UDAN flights. Reportedly, IndiGo has won 20 and Jet Airways has bagged four routes. Pawan Hans will also operate helicopter services under UDAN scheme. The union minister informed that second bidding round of UDAN scheme will connect 43 airports and helipads in the government’s priority sector i.e. north east and the hill states. The states with maximum number of airports and helipads which will see activation under UDAN 2 scheme include Uttarakhand (15), Uttar Pradesh (9), Arunachal Pradesh (8) and Himachal Pradesh (6) and Assam and Manipur (5 each). The round two of regional connectivity scheme  will connect 43 new airports and helipads and add 29 lakh seats annually.

Bengal Govt speeds up process for setting up regional airports

Kolkata: The West Bengal Government has expedited the process of developing airports in Malda, Purulia and Balurghat.

The State Public Works Department (PWD) is carrying out the developmental work.

It is learnt that a completely new airport in Malda, on the existing one spread across 114 acres of land, will come up at a projected cost of Rs 13 crore.

Among other infrastructural facilities, an administrative building and an all-new air traffic control (ATC) will be set up.
The development of the other regional airports will cost a similar amount.
To Read the News in Full 25/01/18 UNI

UDAN II to link 43 airports: Aviation Minister

New Delhi: Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju today said the UDAN Phase 2 has dealt with difficult issues. Speaking at a press conference to announce the second round of winners under the regional air connectivity scheme, he said: UDAN 2 will connect 43 airports and helipads in our priority sector, the North-East and the hill states.

Minister of State Jayant Sinha said 4-5 cities were seeing explosion in flights under Udan II. These include Hubli and Kopal in Karnataka. UDAN I and II is expected to cost the government over Rs. 800 crore annually.

UDAN-II will see ‘explosion in air connectivity’: Sinha

New Delhi:  After the second round of bidding, more airlines are going to become a part of the government’s regional air connectivity (RCS) scheme.

IndiGo, Jet Airways and Zoom Air have won the right to operate flights under the UDAN scheme in the second round. They join Alliance Air and SpiceJet both of whom have won the right to operate more flights under UDAN II.

Jayant Sinha, Minister for State for Civil Aviation, announced that four to five cities around the country including Koppal and Hubballi in Karnataka will see an “explosion in air connectivity”.

Turbo Aviation has won the right to operate flights from Baldota/Koppal to Bengaluru, Goa and Hyderabad while IndiGo has won the right to fly from Baldota/Koppal to Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kochi.

Air India to launch non-stop Amritsar-Birmingham flights twice a week

New Delhi: Flyers between Amritsar and Birmingham all no longer have to transit through Delhi. Air India is starting non-stop flights Birmingham from Amritsar twice a week from February 20, using its Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
"The new flight will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The flight will leave Amritsar at 1.55 pm hrs and reach Birmingham at 5.15 pm (all local timings).

Domestic flights carried 117 million in India last year

India’s aviation sector achieved a new milestone in 2017 with the number of domestic flyers topping 100 million.

All up, 117 million flew within the country last year, up 17% from 99 million in 2016, Times of India reported.

Market leader IndiGo continued its dominance with a 39.6% market share followed by Jet Airways (17.8%), Air India (13.3%) and SpiceJet (13.2%).

Wi-Fi on flights may be too pricey for most passengers

While much has been made of India allowing Wi-Fi on flights, the service will probably be out of the reach of the average passenger, as it is likely to cost 20-30 per cent of the fare, or Rs500 for 30 minutes, to use in-flight data connectivity.

Airlines are considering options to introduce the facility after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India issued an order permitting in-flight voice and data connectivity.

The move may help airlines add value to their international business class travellers but may not be an option for low-cost carriers or for short domestic flights, as the charges levied by service providers for slots on satellites are expensive. Airlines have to pay service providers like Inmarsat and others a hefty sum to activate in-flight net connectivity.

An airline official told The Times of India that Trai’s order permitting in-flight net connection would be an advantage for flights that traverse the peninsula on intercontinental routes. These flights will no longer have to switch off the Wi-Fi when in Indian airspace.

Domestic air traffic up by 17.69 percent in December

Domestic air traffic registered a growth of over 17 percent in December last year as compared the same month the previous year, a government data stated.

Domestic airlines carried 11.24 million passengers in December 2017 as compared to 9.55 million compared to the year-ago period, registering a growth of 17.69 percent.

According to the monthly traffic data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the passenger load factor (PLF), which is a measure of number of seats occupied in a plane, was the highest for SpiceJet with 95.6 percent of its seats being sold.

GoAir was at the second spot with 92 percent of seats occupied, followed by IndiGo (90.8 percent), Jet Airways (88.5 percent), Vistara (87.7 percent) and Air India (81.8 percent).

Domestic air passenger traffic records 18% growth in Dec

New Delhi: Domestic airlines flew 1.12 crore passengers in December last year, registering a growth of 17.69 per cent over the 95.52 lakh passengers flown during the same period the previous year.

The latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows that IndiGo remained the market leader, having flown 44.30 lakh passengers in December 2017 while Jet Airways took the second spot with 16.37 lakh passengers. Air India managed to edge out SpiceJet from the third spot by flying 14.72 lakh passengers against 14.27 lakh passengers flown by the Gurugram-headquartered low-cost SpiceJet. Among the other airlines, GoAir carried 10.80 lakh passengers, AirAsia (4.93 lakh) and Vistara (4.13 lakh).

Passengers give big thumb-up to Customs, other facilities at Mangaluru airport

Mangaluru: The customer service at Mangaluru International Airport was at the receiving end a few years ago, especially after the introduction and strict implementation of the 'export certificate' declaration rule. One may recall, passengers from the Gulf who arrived at Mangaluru airport were uncomfortable about facing the customs officials as they were hardly aware about limits on duty-free items allowed at the airport. Daijiworld.com had carried a series of articles on this issue based on the experieince and concerns of NRIs who travelled once a year or once in two years. 'Harassment' was the common word used by many passengers, and to add to the troubles, many prefered to travel via Mumbai or Bengaluru.

Tasmac to open premium outlet at airport domestic terminal

Travellers landing at Chennai airport will soon be able to pick up a liquor bottle as they exit from the domestic terminalwhere Tasmac is planning to open its elite shops at the arrival terminal .
There is also a move to have similar shops at Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore airports. The move comes after liquor outlets at Mumbai and Delhi airports were found to be popular among travellers.
Sources said Tasmac officials held discussions with Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials regarding the space and the fee that needs to be paid for setting up the facility.
A senior official of AAI said the outlet was being planned as it would primarily facilitate arriving passengers who were new to the city .

Smog pollution: Over 66% of flights cancelled in December due to bad weather

A total of 66.8% of flights were cancelled in December, reason being bad weather.

The month of December began with some unpredictable weather patterns. Storm and rain were witnessed along the west coast of India on account of Cyclone Ockhi.

India also witnessed a rise in the smog pollution during the month of December. This may have led to higher flight cancellations during the month, a report by DGCA pointed out on Tuesday.

In the midst of tourist and festive season domestic airlines carried 1.12 crore passengers.

Jet Airways marks 10 years of operations in Gulf

Muscat: Jet Airways, India’s premier, full service international airline, on Monday completed ten years of operations to the Gulf region. The airline connects ten destinations in the Gulf with nine metros and emerging cities in India.

The first Jet Airways flight 9W 592 landed in Bahrain in 2008, marking an important milestone for the airline, as it was the first privately owned Indian carrier to provide direct air connectivity between the Gulf region and India.

SpiceJet flight to Sikkim

Calcutta: Low-cost airline SpiceJet has been granted permission to fly to Pakyong in Sikkim from Calcutta under the civil aviation ministry's regional connectivity scheme. Flights can start once the airport is cleared for operations.

"We have been selected to operate on the Calcutta-Pakyong-Guwahati and Delhi-Pakyong routes," a SpiceJet official said on Monday.

For in-flight Wi-Fi, airlines likely to charge 30% of fare

Chennai: Travellers could soon be able to post a selfie on social media while on board a plane, but may have to shell out at least 20-30% of the fare to avail of in-flight data connectivity.
Airlines are considering options to introduce the facility following a Trai order permitting in-flight voice and data connectivity+ . The move may help airlines add value to services for business class travellers on domestic and international routes. It may not be an option for low-cost carriers.
Officials said the charges for in-flight net connectivity would range from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for thirty minutes to an hour, according to international standards and taking into account the charges levied by service providers for slots on satellites. Airlines have to pay service providers like Inmarsat and others a hefty sum to activate inflight net connectivity.

Taking the world under their wings

It was not just Dubai-based Emirates Airlines that was keenly awaiting the arrival of its 98th Airbus A380 test flight on October 9 last year – those with the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in the city were hoping that the aircraft would reach sooner as they were awaiting the 1,020 tarpaulins and ropes that the aircraft was carrying.

These goods, which are among the 10 most-needed immediate humanitarian aid items, were meant to create temporary shelters for 500 displaced families in crisis-hit areas.
This was not just a one-off goodwill or delivery flight – since 2013, 125 tonnes of goods have been transported as humanitarian aid as. part of a cooperation between Emirates Airlines and Airbus Foundation to utilise A380 Emirates deliveries for transporting humanitarian aid to UNHRD.

Airbus organised the first goodwill flight in November 2008, with an A330, for Avianca, and the aircraft manufacturer organised its first relief flight using an Airbus-owned test aircraft in November 2009, with an A380, to Dubai Humanitarian City.

Domestic air traffic up by 17.69 percent in December

Domestic air traffic registered a growth of over 17 percent in December last year as compared the same month the previous year, a government data stated.

Domestic airlines carried 11.24 million passengers in December 2017 as compared to 9.55 million compared to the year-ago period, registering a growth of 17.69 percent.

According to the monthly traffic data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the passenger load factor (PLF), which is a measure of number of seats occupied in a plane, was the highest for SpiceJet with 95.6 percent of its seats being sold.

GoAir was at the second spot with 92 percent of seats occupied, followed by IndiGo (90.8 percent), Jet Airways (88.5 percent), Vistara (87.7 percent) and Air India (81.8 percent).

Domestic air passenger traffic records 18% growth in Dec

New Delhi: Domestic airlines flew 1.12 crore passengers in December last year, registering a growth of 17.69 per cent over the 95.52 lakh passengers flown during the same period the previous year.

The latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows that IndiGo remained the market leader, having flown 44.30 lakh passengers in December 2017 while Jet Airways took the second spot with 16.37 lakh passengers. Air India managed to edge out SpiceJet from the third spot by flying 14.72 lakh passengers against 14.27 lakh passengers flown by the Gurugram-headquartered low-cost SpiceJet. Among the other airlines, GoAir carried 10.80 lakh passengers, AirAsia (4.93 lakh) and Vistara (4.13 lakh).

Air Deccan: Back in the skies

On December 23, 2017, Captain Gorur R Iyengar Gopinath re-entered India’s commercial aviation market, a decade after he had exited from it. With the launch of three flights from Mumbai—to Nashik, Pune and Jalgaon—Gopinath, fondly known as Captain or Gopi, and his airline entity Air Deccan, which made budget air travel in India a reality back in 2003, were back in the game.

Budget airlines or low-cost carriers (LCCs), which charge for traditional services such as food and seat allocation and offer low fares, function on a different revenue model as compared to traditional airlines. In 2003, when Gopinath had launched Air Deccan, there were only four airlines—Jet Airways, Air Sahara (which was bought by the former), Air India and Indian Airlines (the latter two have merged since then)—and all were, and continue to be, traditional full-service airlines. Today, LCCs command a 65 percent share of India’s domestic air passenger traffic.

Smog pollution: Over 66% of flights cancelled in December due to bad weather

A total of 66.8% of flights were cancelled in December, reason being bad weather.

The month of December began with some unpredictable weather patterns. Storm and rain were witnessed along the west coast of India on account of Cyclone Ockhi.

India also witnessed a rise in the smog pollution during the month of December. This may have led to higher flight cancellations during the month, a report by DGCA pointed out on Tuesday.

In the midst of tourist and festive season domestic airlines carried 1.12 crore passengers.