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The blood letting in the Indian aviation industry shows no signs of stopping. After the much publicised sacking of 850 cabin crew early on October 15, Jet Airways announced the retrenchment of another 1,050 staff, which also includes flight crews. News reports indicate that another 1,000 jobs will be cut by the end of this year. That will bring down …

Dr. Vijay Mallya and Mr. Naresh Goyal have just announced an alliance between Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways. They announced only rough contours using very broad strokes. Details are awaited. At this point, no equity investment will be made. The alliance will include synergies in routes, sharing ground handling and infrastructure, cross-selling of seats, code shares, crews, and frequent flier …

The expansion of Kingfisher Airlines’ much publicised and recent launch international operations, appears to be heading for a cutback even before it has really taken off. AviationWeek’s Neelam Mathews reports “Kingfisher Airlines is likely to stop its international operations following the deepening financial crisis that has hit the Indian airline industry”. She also reports that “Expat pilots and crew at …

The deepening economic crises are forcing the hands of the private airlines in India. Manisha Singhal of the Business Standard reports that airlines have sought a bailout of almost $1 billion (Rs. 4,700 Crore) amidst losses expected to reach $2 billion this year. Take a cue from the recent $440 million (Rs. 2,000 Crore) bailout of NACIL, the national airline, …

The Karnataka state government is tripping over itself trying to expedite the High Speed Rail Link (HSRL) to the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), conservatively expected to cost Rs. 5,200 – Rs. 5,700 Crore by completion date, somewhere by 2012. The HSRL project has been put on the fast track, and the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation Limited …

Krupa Vora of TravelBizMonitor reports, of a significant development, which has national implications. Travel agents will continue to receive commissions on the sale of airline tickets till the Calcutta High Court passes judgement in the suit filed by a TAFI member agent in Kolkata. The TAFI member agent (plaintiff) filed a suit in Calcutta High Court early last week against …

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reports that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released international traffic data for Aug-08 that confirmed a continuing downturn. International passenger demand growth slowed to 1.3%, following disappointing growth of 1.9% in July. Passenger load factors fell to 79.2% a sharp drop-off from the 81% recorded during the same period last year as capacity …

I read the following story in the TravelBizMonitor (TBM) with a big pinch of salt. In paragraph two of the TBM article, Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman, Kingfisher Airlines, is quoted as saying he is completely against charging the UDF as part of the ticket. Yet airlines are perfectly at ease over-charging passengers a “transaction fee” to cover the travel agent …

TravelBizMonitor has provided a break-up on the Travel Agent Transaction Fee. As per the decision, travel agents will now charge a Transaction Fee of Rs 350 per ticket on domestic Economy Class, Rs 500 per ticket on domestic Business Class, Rs 2,500 per Economy Class booklet and Rs 3,500 per Business Class booklet. Interestingly, tickets purchased for SAARC, which include …

The air transport cartel is at it, again. In all too familiar theme, we passengers must get ready to pay one more “fee“. Readers will recall that airlines decided to scrap travel agent commissions, in India, effective October 31, 2008. This move by the airlines, created an uproar in the industry and led to strikes and protests. Presently, airlines pay …

Anirban Chowdhury of The Business Standard reports that just four days after it was opened, the third runway at the Delhi airport was closed today after some crucial equipment stopped functioning. Operations were already restricted to daytime use after the runway lights failed over the weekend, rendering the runway unusable at night. According to Air Traffic Controller sources at the …

Two newspaper articles, published in Bangalore today, concerning BIAL, the company promoting Bengaluru International Airport, deeply saddened me, despite proving my claims right. Readers will recall, for the past year, in public and on this blog, I have been claiming that the growth rate of aviation in Bangalore, was beyond the capacity of the new BIAL airport. My article “The …

Rumours and news have it that all is not well at Kingfisher Airlines. The expansion of the much vaunted and recently launched international services have been curtailed or delayed. The planned launch on the Mumbai London route has been indefinitely postponed. To use the 5 Airbus A330-200 aircraft currently in the fleet, 3 of which are parked on the ground, …

After reading the below story in The Mint, I can only shake my head and say …”oh no not again!!!”. Both Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) and Air Force Station (AFS) Yelahanka are vital to Bangalore. AFS Yelahanka is the premier training facility for the Indian Air Force (IAF) transport wing, and home to the internationally renowned AeroIndia show, which brings …

Back in June, I led a high level delegation of industries on a visit of the air cargo facilities run by Menzies Aviation Bobba Group, and Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services at Bengaluru International Airport. (Read that article). We observed that the Indian Customs Authority did not have a full presence at BIAL airport, despite earlier assurances to Industry …

The Times of India reports that air navigation services, could soon be hived off from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). In a move that would bring India in line with much of the world, these services could be free to upgrade, evolve and create another successful world-class corporation like the ONGC. Government plans are understood to be well on …

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reports that the Government of India has approved the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Reseach Organisation’s (ISRO) proposal for the implementation of the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) project for seamless navigation over Indian airspace at an estimated cost of INR 7.74 Billion. Ex-post facto approval has also been given …

Quietly, the team at BIAL, has been fixing the problems, to produce a smooth running and efficient airport. On Saturday, 6-Sep-2008, I had the pleasure of visiting the new Bengaluru International Airport as a guest of BIAL Chief Operating Officer Marcel Hungelbuehler and Chief Commercial Officer Manisha Grover. I thank them for the hospitality and the openness. The BIAL airport …

Pentagon hands tanker tangle to next presidentBy Andrea Shalal-Esa and Jim Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Defence Department has ended for now a $35 billion (19.9 billion pound) transatlantic aerial-refuelling competition, handing a nagging seven-year headache to the next administration and boosting Boeing Co’s (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) hopes to keep Airbus planes out of the Air Force fleet. …

The volatility in aviation turbine fuel (ATR) has triggered GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) to change gear from aero to non-aero operations. Currently, revenues from aero operations contribute to three quarters of us total revenues. The rest comes turn non-aero operations. GHAIL is looking at reversing this ratio to offset the turbulence in global ATF prices. It is trying to …