Mobile application for airport users

Kochi:  It is going to put Cochin international airport in your pocket, in a manner of speaking. The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) which is managing the airport is developing a mobile application to provide travel planning tools, terminal information, news, special offers and more – everything you need for an easy journey to and through Cochin airport, in the mobile app store.

The mobile application will be available on all platforms including Android and iPhone.  The user will be able to get live flight updates on demand, book  car parking and taxis, view the latest airport security guide, get mobile-friendly interactive terminal maps, see full shop and restaurant listings and timings, product availability at Cochin Duty-free shop, weather and city guides, airport journey planner and flight timetables for every airline.

Anti-Hijacking Amendment Bill likely to be brought to Parliament soon

Almost 15 years after Kandahar hijack, a bill to award death penalty to hijackers and give the right to security forces to shoot down an aircraft which may be used as a missile is likely to be brought to Parliament soon.
Officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry are in parleys with their counterparts in the Law and Justice Ministry to take forward the much-delayed Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill to amend the 1982 Act which was cleared by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March 2010.
The legislation was then introduced in Rajya Sabha in August 2010 by then Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and referred to the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture which submitted its report in October the same year.

India, US To Work Jointly On Aviation Security Programme

New Delhi: In a first-of-its-kind initiative in aviation security, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to establish an aviation security equipment testing and evaluation programme. The agreement was part of the US-India Strategic Dialogue during the recent visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Three American companies will work with AAI and BCAS to enhance Indian aviation officials’ capacity to effectively test, certify and procure advanced scanning technologies, the USTDA statement, issued late Friday night, said.

Air India targets global aviation market

Birmingham: Air India, a new entrant of the 27-member Star Alliance, has said that it is overhauling its systems to take the country's flag carrier to the next level of global aviation market and meet the challenges arising from the new alliance.

Pankaj Srivastava, director- commercial and a board member of Air India, said the carrier will pull all plugs to utilize the opportunities and face the challenges that arise from the deal with the Star Alliance.

Jet Airways revamps frequent flyer programme

et Airways has restructured its JetPrivilege frequent flyer programme (FFP).

Effective 1 August 2014, a new mileage accrual structure will be implemented, while a new redemption structure will be put in place from 1 September 2014, applicable for all flights on Jet Airways and JetKonnect.

Under the new accrual structure, JetPrivilege members flying 500 miles or less will be awarded a minimum of 500 JPMiles for Jet Airways flights and 375 for JetKonnect flights. For flights of more than 500 miles, JetPrivilege members will continue to get 100% of flown miles for Jet flights and 75% on JetKonnect.

Amid financial woes, Airlines cut fares to garner market

New Delhi: Even as Indian airlines went in for a fourth discount war this year, they have been simultaneously pressing the Government for relief in several areas to bring down their expenditure.

Thanks to the fare discounts, SpiceJet and GoAir increased their market share although IndiGo retained the top position in terms of passengers flown. In terms of load factor, GoAir, SpiceJet and Air India were almost on par as was new entrant AirAsia with about 80 per cent of occupied seats.

Analysts say offering of deep discounts is a ploy to corner market share and the figures show the airlines have been successful in luring travellers even in financially distressed times.

Air India blues: 145 Dreamliner delays by over an hour in 181 days

New Delhi: This is a shocker that Air India was completely unprepared for. From January to June this year, six days a week saw an AI flight to be operated on the Dreamliner getting delayed by at least an hour.

Or simply put, so far this year AI saw only one day a week when all its Boeing 787 flights took off within an hour of their schedule departure time. A flight getting delayed by more than an hour, on several instances, meant that the snag could not be rectified and AI had to arrange for another aircraft to operate the flight.

Sources say the airline found a shocking statistic — 145 flight delays of at least an hour in the first six months (181 days) of this year — while preparing a report on Dreamliner blues for aviation secretary Ashok Lavasa. If delays of less than an hour are counted, this number more than doubles, said a senior official.

Commanders who quit Indian airlines without proper notice for foreign carriers may lose licence

New Delhi: Indian commanders who have joined foreign airlines without giving the mandatory six-month notice before quitting their desi employers could now end up losing their licences. The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) on Friday asked all Indian carriers to give a complete list of such commanders.

"India faces a serious shortage of commanders while we have surplus co-pilots. The country has in all about 1,200-1,500 commanders, of which 277 are expats. We want to phase out all expat pilots. In such a situation, people leaving without giving notice and denying airlines to make alternate arrangements is not acceptable," said a senior DGCA official.

Air India okays cutting number of unions to 5

Mumbai: The top management of Air India has cleared a proposal to rationalise the number of employees’ unions in the company to five from 15, a senior airline official told FE.
The move is expected to bring in efficiencies with respect to addressing human resource-related issues within
the airline and facilitate quicker decision-making.
Under the proposal, Air India will have two unions — first for pilots and second for other workers, such as cabin crew and ticketing staff. Air India Engineering Services (AIESL), a subsidiary of Air India, will be allowed to have two unions and the airline's ground handling unit, Air India Air Transport Services(AIATSL), has been allocated a single union by the management, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

120 Pilots Descend for Hyderabad Aviators’ 8th Annual Meeting

Hyderabad: Being in Hyderabad on August 1 year after year has become a common affair for Capt G Vasant Kumar since 2007. The pilot, who is currently with Korean Air, does not miss a chance to get together with hundreds of Hyderabad-based aviators. As many as 100 other city-based aviators, like Vasant, make it a point to attend the annual meet held in the city.

Hyderabad Aviators on Friday organised its 8th annual meet at KJR Gardens, Secunderabad. As many as  120 pilots working with government and private airlines got together to refresh their memories of the Andhra Pradesh Flying Club.

The meetings started when founder-members of the Hyderabad Aviators Capt SP Anil Kumar and Capt ME Neal and a few others, while travelling in a car, decided to host an annual meeting for aviators on August 1, the day eight airlines joined to form Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC).

SpiceJet's General Manager for Airport Services Rahul Bhatkoti quits

Mumbai: Chennai-based SpiceJet Ltd’s General Manager for Airport Services Rahul Bhatkoti has quit from the post, giving a jolt to the crisis-ridden carrier, sources said, as per a PTI report. “(Rahul) Bhatkoti quit the carrier some time back. However, the reason for his parting ways with the carrier is still not known," sources said.
Bhatkoti had been handling SpiceJet's airport operations for North and East and had been with the carrier since 2005, they said. Before joining the no-frills airline, he had served erstwhile Sahara Airlines and Damania Airways.

TajSATS Delhi adjudged Best Aviation Catering Unit at GMR-IGI Airport Awards 2014

Mumbai: The Delhi unit of TajSATS, the country’s airline catering company, was adjudges as the Best Aviation Catering Unit for the third consecutive year at GMR-IGI Airport Awards 2014 held recently. Sanjeev Gujral, General Manager, TajSATS Delhi unit, received the award for best ‘In-flight Kitchen of the Year’, in recognition of excellence in the aviation catering Industry.

The GMR-IGI Airport Awards are annual awards which have been institutionalised to recognise exemplary achievement, seamless service and inspiring entrepreneurship of business partners from the Airport community. The awards aim to acknowledge partners who have excelled in service standards in paving the way for being amongst the best airports in the world.

Wake Up Call For India Airports

There seems to have been a sudden realization in India’s Civil Aviation Ministry circles that cargo has been ignored for far too long.
     Though the fact might not be accepted by officials in the ministry, proposals for the establishment of cargo facilities that were pending for quite some time have been given the green signal.
     The moves, perhaps, are also linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s thrust on infrastructure.
     One such proposal wants to establish a permanent cargo terminal at Amritsar International Airport.
     The state government of Punjab sent a request to the government-controlled Airports Authority of India (AAI), which operates the Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport at Amritsar, to turn the existing temporary cargo terminal into a permanent one.
     The state also said that the Punjab government would give the land required to enhance the cargo facility.

India, US to Work Together in Aviation Security

In a first such aviation security initiative, India and the US have agreed to establish an equipment testing and evaluation programme as part of their strategic partnership.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) entered into a cooperation agreement with Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to establish an aviation security equipment testing and evaluation programme.

In a release, the USTDA said the proposed programme, the first security initiative under the US-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP), would "help AAI and BCAS develop clear standards, specifications and testing procedures that align with international systems that scan carry-on luggage, checked baggage and airline passengers."

Privileges for MPs at airports will be reviewed: Ashok Gajapathi Raju

New Delhi: : Following outcry against privileges given to MPs at airports, the aviation ministry is going to review the protocol followed for these elected Maharajas of the sky. Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said that "anything can be reviewed anytime".

"I will like to understand what is the extra facility or privilege that an MP gets which a frequent flyer does not. If there is any such thing that they get over and above the treatment given to frequent flyers, that can be reviewed," Raju said.

"The order was issued in 2007, whether rightly or wrongly. I will like to know what extra privileges do elected representatives get (which frequent flyers don't) and why is it given. If MPs do not get any extra so-called privilege, then it is an unnecessary controversy. Like pre-booking of seats is something that any flyer can do now," the senior Andhra politician said.
Read news in full 01/08/14 Economic Times