India's domestic air traffic rose 16% in August: IATA

New Delhi: India's domestic air traffic surged almost 16 per cent in August despite "substantial volatility" in the overall growth rate and weak economic conditions, global airlines' body IATA said today.
Global passenger traffic results for August showed "a strengthening of the healthy demand trend of the last few months", with total revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) rising 6.8 per cent compared to August last year.
Increase in capacity, or the number of airplane seats made available, was lagging compared to the year-ago period, pushing the load factor to a record high of 83.4 per cent, set in July 2011, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its latest analysis.
"Indian domestic traffic surged 15.7 per cent in August compared to a year ago. There has been substantial volatility in growth rates in recent months but year-to-date growth of 2.8 per cent confirms that demand has been weak overall, consistent with weakening economic conditions," it said.
Read news in full 03/10/13 PTI/Economic Times

Fly over to Rameswaram soon

Chennai: Soon, one can expect a 20-seater or a 40-seater passenger aircraft to land in a civilian airport in Kanyakumari or Rameswaram, if one goes by civil aviation ministry’s proposal to connect smaller towns with larger ones in the country. According to ministry sources, Rameswaram and Kanyakumari have huge tourism potential, but lack of air connectivity is hampering their growth.
“I have been to Madurai several times. But I have not found the time to travel four hours to visit Rameswaram temple,” said banking professional Viswanathan Iyer, who hails from Baroda. Madurai is the nearest airport to Rameswaram and it is 170 km away. Similarly, people from Kanyakumari are forced to tr­avel 100 km to take flights from Thiruvananthapuram airport. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman V.P. Agrawal said the duty of the ministry was to identify potential airports across the country, whereas, it was only the state government that had to apply for new airports.
Read news in full 03/10/13 S Sujatha/Deccan Chronicle

Belgium sees plenty of promise in Indian economy

Brussels: Indian business may have their reasons to despair about the state of the Indian economy, but the view from the 'capital of Europe' is decidedly different.Princess Astrid , the sister of present King Philippe, a strong supporter of India, is leading a large 350-strong business delegation to India next month, as Belgium remains upbeat about the potential and prospects of the Indian economy, say Indian officials.
It will be the second such big business delegation to India from Belgium - the headquarters of the 28-member European Commission and standing strategically at the crossroad of Western Europe - in three years.

Minor hoax caller nabbed in Mumbai

Mumbai: A 14 year old boy from Kolkotta who gave hoax call to the Jet airways control room informing that a bomb has been placed on the Delhi-London flight was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch on Thursday.
The accused who is a 8th standard student of a English medium school in Kolkotta was arrested after the Mumbai crime branch traced his mobile location to Kolkotta. His name has been withheld as he is a minor.
Accused who has been booked under various IPC sections of providing false information and whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumor or report, information technology (IT) and under Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation act was produced before the Juvenile justice board and was remanded to their custody.
Read News in full 03/10/13 Ahmed Ali/Times of India

Swiss company looks for 40 Dornier multi-utility aircraft from India

New Delhi: In a sign of the growing confidence in India's aircraft manufacturing capabilities, Swiss-German RUAG Aviation is looking to purchase around 40 of the modernized version of the Dornier 228 multi-utility planes from state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
According to Thomas K Schilliger, vice president (Commercial Programmes) at RUAG Aviation, the acquisition will be dependent upon new technology insertions into the aircraft's manufacturing, for which his company would offer all possible assistance to its Indian partner.
HAL is already making the Dornier 228 under licence from RUAG, but the aircraft being made by HAL is of old, 1980s technologies.
The European requirement is for the new Dornier 228 NG (Next Generation), which has more powerful engines, five-blade composite propellers, contemporary glass cockpit and other gadgets for safety and both fuel and operational efficiency.

Airfares skyrocket for Indian travellers

Kolkata: Both international and domestic airfares have spiked over the last three weeks due to rising fuel costs and the depreciation of the rupee.
Sharat Dhall, president of Yatra.com, commented: “There are multiple factors at play in this significant increase in airfares, ranging 15-25 per cent, across sectors.
“The effect of the depreciating rupee, the hike in aviation turbine fuel prices and significant pre-bookings via promotions have all led to a sudden rise in airfares this time.”
Prices on popular routes such as Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai and Colombo have seen a marked increase of 40 per cent on average for Indian carriers serving these destinations.
Manoj Saraf, managing director of Gainwell Travel & Leisure, commented: “Coupled with the low exchange value of the Indian rupee, which renders all prices quoted in US dollars more expensive, an average hike of 18 per cent in overseas sector fares was seen in the last six weeks.
Read news in full 01/10/13 Shekhar Niyogi/TTG Asia

Airlines fill record number of seats, traffic soars: IATA

World airline traffic expanded by 6.8 percent in August, enabling the industry to match an all-time record of 83.4 percent of seats filled, the International Air Transport Association said on Wednesday.
"August was a positive month for passenger travel," IATA chief Tony Tyler said in a statement, pointing out that the overall passenger load factor, or percentage of seats filled, matched a record set in July 2011.
Passenger demand that month was up 6.8 percent year-on-year, with strong growth across all markets, but especially in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.
"The solid performance was also supported by a stabilisation of emerging market weakness and renewed confidence in Europe and North America," Tyler pointed out. Traffic on international routes was up 7.5 percent in August while demand for domestic travel was up 5.6 percent.
Read news in full 02/10/13 AFP/Economic Times

Jet-Etihad deal gets Sebi green signal; no open offer required

New Delhi: Jet Airways' proposed sale of a 24 per cent stake to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has got Sebi's go-ahead after both carriers revised their deal to comply with conditions set by the markets regulator.
After studying the revised deal structure, Sebi was of the opinion that the Rs 2,058 crore transaction would not trigger a mandatory open offer for purchase of shares from public shareholders and Etihad would not be considered a promoter entity in Jet Airways.
However, Sebi has left it to the government to take a final call on the revised Commercial Cooperation Agreement ( CCA) proposed by Jet and Etihad Airways, sources said.
Read news in full 01/10/13 PTI/Economic Times

Women have better flight etiquette: Survey

Mumbai: Women have better flight etiquette compared to their male counterparts and are considerate while on board, says a report by travel comparison site Skyscanner.
During a survey conducted among 1,000 Indian travellers, a majority of them admitted to reclining their seats on short and long haul flights.
It revealed that women are less likely to recline their seats on short or long haul flights and when they did, 69 per cent of women said they would recline it at night as compared to 61 per cent of men.
Also, it found that 66 per cent women said they are less likely to recline their seats if the person behind is noticeably pregnant in contrast to 56 per cent men travellers.
Similarly, 58 per cent of women said they will not recline their seats if the person behind is elderly or frail in contrast to 49 per cent of men.
Read news in full 01/10/13 PTI/Financial Express

Privatisation plan: Anxious airport staff meet Mulayam Singh Yadav

Lucknow: Employees of Amausi airport on Tuesday sought intervention of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the matter related to privatisation of Amausi airport for which technical bids are scheduled to open on October 28. Around five companies are reported to have shown interest in taking over the Lucknow airport. Interestingly, a state act of 1947 bars taking over of Lucknow airport by any private party for commercial purpose and this is what the employees cited in the meeting with Mulayam.

Jet Airways may place large aircraft order at upcoming Dubai Airshow

New Delhi: Jet Airways may be gearing up to place a large aircraft order at the upcoming Dubai Airshow, if not sooner. Sources told Firstpost  the airline is awaiting final clearances to the equity deal with Etihad Airways before it orders more aircraft and the initial order could well be for 50 aircraft. Sources said the airline currently has about 70 Boeing 737 aircraft of which most are leased and only six to seven are owned by the airline. Typically, these lease agreements are for five to seven years so the 50-plane order Jet is expected to place soon would largely be for replacing the existing fleet as planes begin to come to the end of their lease terms.
Read news in full 02/10/13 Sindhu Bhattacharya/First Post

Jeddah airport officials deport Haj pilgrim for 'passport forgery'

Mumbai: A Haj pilgrim from Maharashtra was deported from Jeddah airport because of an overwriting on the expiry date of his passport that the Saudi immigration officials deemed "a case of forgery". Though Nagpur's Regional Passport Office said the passport holder was not at fault as the overwriting was done by a clerk who interred the information, the pilgrim is likely to miss this year's Haj.
Haj will be performed in the second week of this month. Parbhani resident Shaikh Shaukat Ali (42) and his mother Sahebun Nisa Begum (76) boarded a flight to Jeddah from Aurangabad on September 29. Though immigration officers at Aurangabad airport cleared him, officers at Jeddah airport detained him, saying his passport was forged. Since Ali's passport had been issued in 1997 for 20 years, its validity ended in 2017. But the clerk overwrote the date of expiry, making it appear as if 2007 had been changed to 2017. Though Ali's mother's passport was valid, she too had to return with her son as she has to be accompanied by a male family member during Haj.
Read news in full 02/10/13 Mohammed Wajihuddin/Times of India

Director arrested for flying actor on fake passport, visa

Mumbai:  Bollywood filmmaker Partho Ghosh (63) has been arrested for procuring a forged passport and a fake visa for an actor for a film shoot abroad.
In July, the Sahar police arrested a bit actor, Yamini Mistry (32), from Ahmedabad after immigration officials informed them that Mistry had flown to Canada on a forged passport and fake visa in October 2012.
"She told us Ghosh had offered her and 18 others roles in a movie that was to be shot in Toronto," said senior inspector Ravindra Patil of the Sahar police station.
An Ahmedabad-based agent, Raju, and an assistant director, Farhan Siddiqui, will be arrested for aiding Ghosh, an officer said. The police gathered evidence against Ghosh for one and a half months before picking him up on September 27 from his Goregaon office, the officer said.
Read News in full 02/10/13 V Narayan/Times of India

Modi visit fallout: BJP fined for playing dhol at airport

Mumbai:  The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Mumbai unit has been fined Rs 5,000 for playing musical instruments without permission outside the domestic airport here following its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's arrival on Monday.
Police said the BJP had informed them about the gathering of party workers but had not taken permission to play dhol.
They have booked the BJP's local unit representative, Dinesh Jagtap, for violating rules under Section 33 (R) of the Maharashtra Police Act (earlier Bombay Police Act).
BJP leaders alleged police action revealed the Congress, which is in power in Maharashtra, was "unnerved by the outpouring of public support for Modi".
Read News in full 02/10/13 Vijay V Singh/Times of India

Kerala gold scam: Accounts of 3 NRIs frozen

Investigation into the gold smuggling racket from Gulf countries to India through Kochi’s Nedumbassy International Airport has been intensified after two female passengers from a Gulf airport were arrested by Customs officials.
On Sunday, the Kochi unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation decided to freeze the bank accounts of four Gulf-based Indians, allegedly involved in the gold smuggling racket that saw nearly 58 kgs of gold smuggled through the Nedumbasserry International Airport in the last two months.
A senior Customs Officer has been suspended for facilitating gold smuggling nine other officials have been transferred.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started an investigation into the gold smuggling racket allegedly with the connivance of senior officials and politicians in the state of Kerala. The bank accounts of TKF, a Gulf-based NRI (Non-Resident Indian) who is the main accused and two females who carried gold biscuits and a Customs officer, are frozen as part of the investigation into the alleged links with the hawala racket.
Read News in full 02/10/13 VM Sathish/Emirates 24|7