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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S NOTE

Why India can’t be incredible

ncredible India! My friends who live abroad and my brother and sister who too, are NRIs, have often told me that the Incredible India campaign is one of the finest they have seen in a long time. Also, almost unanimously, they complain, in India what you see is not what you get. And in their opinion, it is not just the lack of variety in accommodation, but the whole experience — from getting into a city to getting off — that puts most people off. If you look at it closely, the infrastructure woes that tourism faces are almost similar to the woes that aviation has encountered. At least, they were at par four years ago. The airports were decrepit, the options for the travelling public were limited, the connectivity was poor and we were looking at how to overcome these issues. More importantly, air travel was viewed cynically as a luxury. It was something that was meant for the rich and the famous, the carpetbaggers, the expense accountwalla, filmstars and sundry tycoons. The one exception was the steel frame (well let’s put it this way, the steel frame is exempted from every rule in this country). And at every turn, air travel was taxed (or cessed, as one pun put it). It was the same with tourism. You have the five stars that are the epitome of luxury — hugely taxed — a smattering of three and four star hotels and for the rest, run down decrepit motels and hotels. So why is it that if aviation is booming, the infrastructure is getting in place, tourism isn’t? After all, isn’t there some connect between the two? One instant argument is that aviation has a single window clearance, barring the differential sales tax on ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) and that it is a complex procedure as far as hotels are concerned. That’s both right and wrong. Yes, aviation is, by and large, single window, but airports like Hyderabad and Bangalore haven’t happened through single windows nor can the new proposed airports in Chennai and Mumbai happen without the active intervention of the state governments. In fact, in the case of Bangalore, it was literally a will-they-or-won’t-they debate with the state government dithering time and time again about earmarking land and the Defence Ministry raising its own set of complications. But the Ministry of Civil Aviation

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

persevered — through the previous government — and really fast-tracked once Praful Patel took over at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan. It has been the same story with the Hyderabad airport. Although, to be fair, their journey was hugely hassle-free. Agreed, but through the process there have been issues, disagreements and controversies. That hasn’t come in the way of putting a world class infrastructure in place for the travelling public. Both at Bangalore and Hyderabad, the new airport is bound to see a huge mushrooming of activity around the complex. Surely, the Tourism Ministry could have coordinated with the state governments and the Civil Aviation Ministry to set up an Incredible India experience at the airport. It could have worked over the years with the state government — that was acquiring and parcelling off the land — to set up hotels/motels and other infrastructure as PPP ventures or pure commercially-driven enterprises. But none of that has happened. So, what you will see are tourists arriving in Bangalore and Hyderabad at gleaming new airports, travelling over bumpy, poor quality roads and checking into hotels with obscenely-priced room rates. Incredible, yes. But not incredible India. Agreed, roads don’t make tourism, but good roads and connectivity surely help tourism. If the Civil Aviation Ministry must take some blame for not pushing hard enough for the city-airport connectivity, the Tourism Ministry must take a larger share of the blame. After all, the Incredible India experience really begins after you land at the airport. And here is what the siyasat at Hyderabad had to say on the issue: Air passengers, all set to fly out of Hyderabad, beware. All roads may lead to Rome in an ideal world but surely, they don’t here. The first phase of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) from Gachibowli to Shamshabad — stretching up to 24 km — is supposed to take you fast to your flight. The ground reality, though, is otherwise. This newspaper (team) which travelled the entire stretch, found to its dismay that not even 50 per cent of the works have been completed. It will be a miracle if the ORR Phase I is completed and the road opened to the public by this year end or by early 2009. So now you know why India is not incredible!

Off the cuff

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To be or not to be?

Airline Pilots Security Alliance (APSA) is an all-volunteer, nonprofit, non-partisan organisation providing expert information and guidance to the public and policymakers to implement sensible, effective aviation security measures for REAL enhancements to safety of airline passengers, crew, and REAL deterrents to terrorism directed towards the commercial aviation sector. Founded in the wake of the 9-11 tragedy, it works in tandem with pilots associations, law enforcement and industry experts. Each year, the Transportation Security Administration spends 5.5 billion tax dollars — the vast majority on the “multi-layered” airline security system. But, breaches of the system have been rampant in nearly every area, often by innocent people who weren’t even trying. Pilots who are former federal agents, police officers, firearms instructors and military pilots have been told they are not qualified. Rules requiring armed pilots to carry weapons in steel cases coupled with scanty support for international flight protection, and lack of leadership or management support, cause 50000 pilots to now avoid the FFDO programme. So, years after 9/11, fewer than 10 per cent of the pilots have been armed against terrorists, in a highly perilous environment where a terrorist has almost 95 per cent chance of successfully passing a weapon through airport screening. Thus the onus is clearly on the respective authorities as it depends solely on them to decide on which system they would wish spending their tax dollars, in addition to opting for a safer system. Experts meanwhile seriously reckon that it is pertinent to decide fast — because if terrorists attack ten commercial airliners tomorrow, despite the $12 billion security system, nine of them will simply be defenseless.

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contents WE HAVE A STAR!

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What will Air India’s invitation to join the 20-member strong Star Alliance Network mean for the international carrier? To ensure a smooth integration, the country’s international carrier and the Alliance along with all its member-carriers will have to work assiduously to usher in a new era for the country’s international passengers.

PERISCOPE NEWS DIGEST

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Does deferring a decision to relax the FDI cap in key areas of aviation industry imply that the government is against its liberalization? CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

With civil aviation on a roll, the ministry has set a target of 500 operational airports in the next 12 years. This would include the redevelopment of little used airports along with creation of Greenfield and only-cargo airports.

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ARTICLES NEWS VIEWS EDITS INTERVIEWS CLIPPINGS TRAVEL & TOURISM PROFILES NEWS DIGEST

INTERVIEW

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Bjorn Naf, President and Chief Executive, Gulf Air, shares his plans for the revival of the Gulf carrier in an exclusive interview with Cruising Heights.

CRUISING HEIGHTS K. SRINIVASAN Editor-in-Chief

TIRTHANKAR GHOSH Managing Editor

R. KRISHNAN

Consulting Editor

BIPIN SHARMA

CARGO

Associate Editor

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AALOK SRIVASTAV Copy Editor

With the clearance of the Nagpur multi-modal hub project, the decks are clear for the growth and development of air cargo. As an aftermath of this progression, the country's air cargo sector can now surely dream of turning India into a truly global hub.

BIRENDRA KUMAR Copy Desk

RUCHI SINHA PRADEEP JHA Layout Artists

BHART BHARDWAJ Art Director

H.C. TIWARI

Co-ordinating Photo Editor

JAYA SINGH Subscription

GLOBETROTTING SPOTLIGHT

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Aviation experts congregate to augment safety norms for the civil aviation sector in a thought provoking and highly interactive seminar.

SNIPPETS

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Jet zips into Muscat, Doha and Kuwait, GoAir records 73 per cent growth, deployment of the state-of-the-art Boeing by Air India for its nonstop Delhi-New York flight. All this and more.

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The antics of a Fijian soldier boomerangs on the Fijian economy. Also, a warning for terrorists from American Airlines, which is gearing up its carriers with the latest laser technology.

BACK PAGE

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Forbes.com’s listing of the world’s most delayed airports indicates that there’s more to it than meets the eyes.

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

RAJIV SINGH

Gen. Manager (Admn.)

RENU MITTAL Executive Director

Editorial & Marketing office: Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd. C-15, Sector 6, Noida 201 301 Telefax: +91-120-4257701-03 All information in CRUISING HEIGHTS is derived from sources we consider reliable. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. Opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract or in interviews are not necessarily shared by us. Material appearing in the magazine cannot be reproduced in whole or in part(s) without prior permission. The publisher assumes no responsibility for material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication, error or failure of advertisement to appear. Owned and published by K. Srinivasan 4C Pocket-IV, Mayur Vihar Phase-I, Delhi 110091 and printed by him at Nutech Photolithographers, B-240, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi 110 020 Vol II No 10 Cover Illustration: Rajeev Kumar

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In the black

PERISCOPE

“

We would be able to post a break-even at the operating level for the quarter ending December. This is excluding the income earned by the way of sale and lease back of aircraft

SIDDANTHA SHARMA, Executive Chairman of SpiceJet, on the company’s financial prospects

Working well

We have found out that the system is working quite well and there has been no drop in the hourly flight movements. It is safe and the correct system. IGI Airport is still handling up to 40 flight movements per hour like earlier. The minimum visibility for landing at the secondary runway is kept at 1600 metres but the ministry is planning to relax it to allow more usage.

LETTERS TO EDITOR

Civil Aviation Secretary ASHOK CHAWLA on traffic at Delhi airport.

THE COVER STORY Where is my pilot (January ’08) is an eye opener for all as it pinpoints the core issue of acute ‘shortage’ of pilots in civil aviation sector. Besides, it highlights the grave need for deploying more than 1200 pilots every year to cope with the cascading demand. This testing situation should henceforth be considered a boon rather than bane for the real growth and prosperity of the aviation sector. Pramod Garg, New Delhi Rs 60

January 2008

2008 GOOD FOR AIR CARGO

Illustrations: Rajeev Kumar

Merely increasing the number of planes can simply not augment the entire situation as until and unless we enhance and consolidate the core infrastructure at airports in addition to providing ancillary services to the new flying clubs, we can’t really rejoice or feel content. Thus the moral of the story is that the expansion of various sectors should commensurate with their needs and requirements. The modernisation of airports and reduction of training hours by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to handle the burgeoning demands of pilots are key steps for tackling the scarcity of pilots, as mentioned in the cover story, Where is my pilot. Such articles are really very informative and keep the readers abreast with the latest of aviation sector in the country. K. Ghosh, Raipur

This refers to the cargo story (2008 holds promise for a brighter future, January 2008); Albeit the story presents a bright and sunny picture of the Indian cargo industry, it also throws light on various lacunae and the lean patch that the industry has gone through over the years. The story compels people to think that India stands a great chance for emerging as an air cargo giant in the times to come. Kudos to Indian Air Cargo. Nitin Kumar, Cochin

On time The Hawk aircraft manufacturing activities have already commenced and the first aircraft would be delivered to the IAF by March 2008. The remaining aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by May 2010. HAL Managing Director ASHOK K. BAWEJA on the manufacture of indigenous Hawks.

We’ll train ’em We will be starting our pilot training school this year in North India. Besides imparting training for CPL, we will be targeting those who want to go for a PPL as well.

Bird Group Executive Director ANKUR BHATIA on their expansion plans.

Full steam ahead Upgradation and modernisation work will be as per the new growth figures. By 2010, we will upgrade the communication and navigation systems and complete 35 non-metro airports. The modernisation of Chennai and Kolkata will also be completed by then. This will be just phase one of the airport revamp programme. Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman K. RAMALINGAM on the road map ahead.

All correspondence may be addressed to Editor, Cruising Heights, C-15, Sector 6, Noida 201 301 OR mail to newslinepublications@rediffmail.com

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

Waiting to mature The fundamentals of the aviation business are not right to go to the market. The industry is yet to mature. I’m sure the rest of the industry knows better, but before we go to the market, I’d like to be making money. Indigo Chairman RAHUL BHATIA on why he hasn’t gone to the market.

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More airports coming

COLD STATS

Despite all this, air traffic is concentrated at a few key airports: 16 offer international services and a further eight connect domestic sectors. These 24 airports account for a whopping 94 per cent of traffic and the balance is spread over 36 smaller or regional airports. The next decade will see state governments driving the development of airports. For instance, Andhra Pradesh has already issued an RFP (Request For Proposal) for the development of airports in Tadepallegudam, Ramagundam, Kurnool, Ongole, Bobbili, Nellore, Kothagudam, Nizamabad and other places. Karnataka and Maharashtra too, have identified as many as 15 airports for development.

A report by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) points out that the Civil Aviation Ministry has set a target of 500 operational airports in the next 12 years. This will include the on-going redevelopment of currently unused airports or little used airports and development of greenfield and cargo airports. Presently, the country has only 80 fully functional airports equipped to handle scheduled commercial, charter and defence services. There are also 368 landing strips that function as makeshift airports for limited purposes. Of these, 156 belong to the defence or semidefence sectors and various state governments while 63 are owned by the private sector. Virtually every district has some form of air service connectivity: either a full-fledged airport or basic landing and takeoff facility.

LOOKING GLASS I want an international airport at Greater Noida!

An airport at Jhajjar in Haryana is a must ...

Why not an airport in Himachal?

Left to me, I would like airports at Nariman Point in Mumbai and Chanakyapuri in New Delhi.

... and what about a bus service to the airports? Jet chat He (Wolfgang Prock-Schauer) is not going. Even if he leaves, we have 10 CEOs wanting to join. If a bus hits Naresh Goyal, there are others to take over. My challenge is looking for the best management, preferably Indians. Vijay Mallya is my good friend. I do not know whether he considers me as a good friend or not. It could be a one-way traffic. For me, Kingfisher Airlines would be the last thing to worry (about). Infrastructure is a challenge. I have to look for alternative arrangements. That is why I went to Brussels. We are also looking at hubs in South-East Asia, like Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Jet Airways Chairman NARESH GOYAL on Proch-Schauer, Mallaya and a new hub

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

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OFF THE RECORD

Ashok Chawla

Anup Shrivastava

S. Chadrasekhar

Raghu Menon

Anita khurana

Deepak Brara

Narayanan Vaghul

O Air India Building

V. Thulasidas

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

ne question undeniably boggling everyone’s mind is the candidature for the office of the next Chairman and Managing Director of Air India? As far as speculations go, it could be the present incumbent, V. Thulasidas, on the verge of retirement, who might get another extension, or the Joint MD Vishwapati Trivedi or may be one of the dozen odd names, short listed by the three member sub committees (PESB Chairman, Secretary (Personnel) and Secretary (Civil Aviation)? Well it’s time alone that shall decide the final contender! Meanwhile, the sub committee and the search committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary K. Chandrasekhar are discussing the names threadbare. It isn’t really such a

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KING AND THE

KINGMAKERS! tough question considering that four of the names on the shortlist are AI’s directors—Trivedi, director personnel Anup Srivastava, director finance S. Chandrasekhar and SBU head Amod Sharma. The only full time director who hasn’t applied for the job is Anita Khurana. It comes as no surprise that Raghu Menon and Ranjan Chatterjee are already out of the final reckoning. Albeit both had applied, however considering the seniority factor of the duo, it made no sense for them to pursue the job. Frankly speaking, in view of Raghu’s vast experience in the Civil Aviation Ministry, he should have logically got the job several years’ back when they were inducting a fresh face. Hailing from Tripura, Thulasidas was completely new to the aviation business three years ago when Raghu was still a JS. However, now that he is on the verge of taking over as a Secretary himself, the job is clearly below his status. Ditto holds true for Ranjan, the Meghalaya CS who was JS in the ministry, Acting Chairman of AAI

briefly and in Pawan Hans for a years in the business and is thus fit while. Again he too, is far senior for for appointment to the coveted the chore. assignment. Then who really stands a chance? While all this is very well on Amongst the other short listed paper, the hard facts of life are difnames, those figuring prominently in ferent. In this case, the next CMD discussions are K. Jairaj, principal will really be someone who will have secretary to the government of Kar- the approval of Civil Aviation nataka; joint secretary (economic affairs), Arvind Mayram; and principal secretary to the government of Andhra Pradesh S.N. Mohanty. All three of them apart from being exceptionally fine officers have an incredibly sterling record besides enjoying the backing of heavyweight politicians from across the wide spectrum. Both Thulasidas and Trivedi have a formidable bunch of supporters who are batting it out for them. In Thulasidas’s case especially, it is still to be seen if the government consents to offer him a fresh contract post after his superannuation. As a recap, the government had turned down all such similar requests in the recent past. However, if his backers in the corridors of power are to be believed, they confidently deem that affairs in AI are quite different. Since the merger has happened only recently, there is turbulence thus implying that someone has to really see it through. Trivedi’s supporters, meanwhile vouch that he is the best and the instant replacement primarily since he has spent the last two years in the aviation business in addition to heading Indian (Airlines) before the merger and being part of the merger process. Moreover, being reasonably young, he can efficiently serve his term for the next three to five Vishwapati Trivedi CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

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OFF THE RECORD Minister Praful Patel. That’s all that will matter; nothing else, really. When Thulasidas had got the nod for the top job some on years back, it was the then Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy who had personally pursued his case with the then powers-that-be to push through his candidature. In that sense therefore, the job is yours if Mantriji says, ‘Yes’. And is who is Mantriji pitching for? Ask him and he offers the most expansive smile possible and states: “I have an open mind in the matter.” Read that as: “I have made up my mind but wait for the appropriate moment for me to reveal it. For the record, it may be mentioned that the appointment is normally for five years or superannuation at 58 (it could be a shorter term in case Thulasidas continues). The salary is laughable as the basic pay scale mentioned in the Civil Aviation Ministry advertisement is Rs 27,750 that goes up to Rs 31,500 with a meagre annual increment of Rs 750 with few other allowances and perks. No wonder, an AI employee rightly commented once with a scathing oneliner: “When you are serving the country, you don’t really look at the salary.”

TAKING OFF TO THE

BIG APPLE

nterestingly, there is plenty of churning going about within the airline industry. Executive Director (Marketing) Deepak Brara is likely to be posted as the next RD (America). For months together, everyone had been crying raucous that Deepak is vying to move out, despite the good man denying every bit of this story. However, the ambiguity surrounding the entire issue is finally over with the news of Brara being tipped as the next RD. The formal announcement is expected any moment. Meanwhile, Anita Khurana will take charge of the Commercial portfolio, PK Gupta, the officiating ESD at Cargo will take over as ED (Marketing) while Chitra Sarkar will take over as the officiating EDS at Cargo. For the past several years, Deepak had been directly reporting to the CMD — with Sushma Chawla and Vishwapati

NEWS, VIEWS, INSIGHTS

Trivedi in IA and then with Thulasidas in combined entity. Although, he never made a mention of it ever, it was clearly evident that he always wished it that way. As the head of AI’s operations in North America, he will thus, be reporting to the CMD.

WAJAHAT HABIBULLAH Chief Information Commissioner

V N KAUL Comptroller and Auditor General

ABOUT THE POWERHOUSE THAT REALLY RUNS THE INDIAN GROWTH ENGINE g-files is the country’s first magazine focusing exlusively on governance and India’s vast and formidable network of bureaucracies and public sector organisations. It is the only platform from which India’s top decion-makers and thought leaders speak out freely and fearlessly.

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CHAWLA SAYS MUMBAI CHALLO TO

AI DIRECTORS A

t a review meeting in Mumbai, civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla’s homily to AI directors was simple: Mr. V Thulasidas is in command and has been calling the shots. Any attempt to let the drift prolong would simply not be appreciated. Subsequently, all directors will have to shift to the headquarters in the next few days. The original plan was to facilitate some directors in operating out of Delhi considering the fact that were still core issues in dire need of getting resolved with the ,ministry as well as copious other central agencies. However, we shelved off this idea since it meant that one had to hop on to an aircraft every second day for being in Delhi. But clearly, Chawlaji is unhappy with the slew of SoDs (Staff on duty) that one finds aboard each flight. However if one looks at in a detached sort of way, the SoDs are bound to continue. Instead of the Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi routine, you will now have the Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai routine. Now does that make any real difference?

Photo: H.C. Tiwari

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

WHO WILL BE

THE BOSS ? W

hen the advertisement came on January 9, it was a bit of a rude shock to everyone at the Airports Authority of India. After all Chairman S. Ramalingam had over ten months to go for retirement, so what was the tearing hurry for the PESB to advertise for the position of Chairman, AAI? If they were proceeding in advance in this case, there are other cases where they have given hardly 90 days’ notice for the next incumbent to take over? So how does it work? Is it something that happens when the ministry asks the PESB to find them a candidate or is the process set in motion per se by the PESB itself. Those in the know state that without a wink from the ministry, the PESB rarely acts. So, are we to believe that Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan wants to make sure a new Chairman is at least anointed by the middle of this year? Please watch this space for an update on why this happened. Meanwhile, post the closing date of February 4, there are seven internal candidates in the fray and two of them Member (Planning) V. P. Aggarwal and Member (Finance) S. C. Chatwal are the obvious frontrunners. Aggarwal is the quintessential insider having worked in the organisation for over a quarter century and has served as ED in Guwahati and Delhi. At 52, he has a long way to go. Chatwal, on the other hand, is a chartered accountant who has spent years in the Public Sector and was acting CMD of ITDC at one time. He came back two years ago to the AAI from his perch as Director (Finance) in the National Aluminum Company. According to PESB sources, there have been several applications from outside candidates including many from other public sector companies. So what’s in store for Ramalingam once he completes his term this year-end at AAI? Those in the know state that Mantriji has already earmarked another assignment for him and it is possible that he could shift out of AAI to a more prestigious assignment.

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NEWS DIGEST

‘Go slow’ for

Photo: H.C. Tiwari

FDI

Praful Patel (right) with Airbus Chief Operating Officer (Commercial) John Leahy : Airbus will be one of the beneficiaries of the liberalised FDI regime

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

liberal FDI regime for certain areas of the aviation industry in India has finally passed muster in the Union Cabinet — light at the end of the tunnel after a long long time. According to a note steered by the nodal Ministry of Civil Aviation, it was proposed that the current FDI cap of 49 per cent be relaxed up to 100 per cent through automatic route for MRO, flying and technical training institutions, to 74 per cent in non-scheduled airlines, chartered and cargo carriers without a direct or indirect participation by any foreign airline and a similar FDI regime and going up to even 100 per cent in the case of helicopters and sea planes operations. It has now been approved by Praful’s colleagues in the cabinet. It may be recalled that a Group of Ministers (GoM) is already seized of certain vital aspects of the much touted but still non-existent, new civil aviation policy. An important aspect under the consideration of GoM was if the government should reduce the waiting time for domestic carriers to fly foreign routes. The issue got resolved when Kingfisher, which still has two and a half years to go before it completes the mandatory five years, acquired majority stakes in Deccan Aviation and its brand Air Deccan, which will complete five years in August 2008. By reverse merging Kingfisher into Deccan, Mallya has circumvented the rule in a perfectly legitimate manner and so much so that even the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel went on record to say that Kingfisher, nay Deccan, can now fly international routes. The only difference is, while Jet, by acquiring an Air Sahara, will have two bilateral rights to fly foreign routes, it will be only one for KingfisherDeccan combine as with Air India-Indian after merger. With these developments, it will now be another three years before Spice and Indigo make their claim to fly foreign. Who knows who will be sitting in Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan then to take decisions! But surely the GoM can now continue its long holiday that began in May-June 2007 when these issues were referred to it. It appears that even now there may be no tearing hurry either, for the new proposals to be cleared, as many members of the Union Cabinet are also in the GoM. Meanwhile, the Cabinet’s approval for liberalising FDI norms in several sectors, including civil aviation, has come in for severe criticism from the Left. The CPM has asked the government to reconsider the decision saying that it was not in line with the National Common Minimum Programme which stated that the goverment would encourage FDI only in areas

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NEWS DIGEST

The bare details:

To continue with the existing FDI cap at 49 per cent on the automatic route and 100 per cent for NRI, subject to no direct or indirect participation by foreign airlines and reclassifying it as Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airline Sector. To allow FDI up to 74 per cent on the automatic route for Non Scheduled airlines; Chartered airlines; and Cargo airlines with no direct or indirect participation by foreign airlines in non-scheduled airlines and chartered airlines. NRI investment would be allowed up to 100 per cent like infrastructure, high technology and exports. The CPM is particularly against raising of foreign equity cap in the petroleum refining PSUs, commodity exchanges, and titanium mining and further liberalisation of norms in cargo airlines as well as groundhandling operations. The CPM said further liberalisation of FDI norms in cargo airlines and ground-handling operations needed to be reviewed from the security aspect. CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta told one newspaper that the FDI proposals would be “opposed lock, stock and barrel.” “We see no room for further relaxation of the foreign investment norms in these sectors,” he said. Patel said Indian companies need time to grow and consolidate before the domestic

on the automatic route. To allow FDI up to 74 per cent on the automatic route for Ground Handling Services subject to sectoral regulations and security clearance. NRI investment would be allowed up to 100 per cent on the automatic route. To allow FDI up to 100 per cent on the automatic route for Maintenance and Repair Organisations; flying training institutes; technical training institutions; and helicopter services/ seaplane services in the aviation sector requiring DGCA approval. sector could be opened up to foreign airlines. speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos just days before the long pending proposal were cleared, he said the country could not afford to open up its domestic skies immediately to foreign airlines, but added this would happen “eventually.” Carriers need scale and size. It will happen eventually, but even then it’s not going to be 100 per cent. Even in the United States, the domestic sector is only opened up to around 35 percent,” he added. And for the investors, there was yet hope: “There is no new airport being built in either Europe or the US, whereas India’s needs are to build or upgrade 500 airports in the next 10 years,” he said.

Great coincidence I

t was a nice coincidence. Within a fortnight of Civil Aviation Ministry clearing Mallya’s demand to fly international, the Chinese have agreed in principle to clear Jet’s demand to fly to San Francisco via Shanghai. The Chinese clearance came soon after Indian government gave clearance to its cargo carrier Great Wall to fly to Mumbai and Chennai during the January visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Beijing. Perhaps this should be the best of winter clearance (sale or not, we do not know) anywhere in the world. Having said that, we must also refer to the five Boeing 737s NG aircraft being taken on lease by Jet from BOC Aviation — a 100 per cent subsidiary of Bank of China (BOC). These aircraft will be delivered new from the Boeing final assembly line between March 2010 and November 2011

INFRASTRUCTURE

NEWS

A new integrated terminal building at Chandigarh This will cater to 400 passengers at a time and is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 79.97 crore. \With an area of 12150 sqm, it will be centrally air-conditioned, with all modern passenger-friendly facilities, including passenger-boarding bridges with visual docking guidance system, escalators, elevators, in-line baggage conveyor system

in the arrival as well as departure halls, CCTVs, FIDS and car-parking facilities.

New Airport for Jaisalmer With civil air services being launched in the Indian Air Force (IAF) airstrip in Jaisalmer, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to build an airport terminal, 20 kilometres from the golden city, by 2010. AAI has decided to start construction work of the new airport in Khudi village of Jaisalmer.

Greenfield at Vizag The State Government’s efforts to set up a greenfield international airport near Visakhapatnam has gained momentum with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) zeroing in on Koruprolu at S. Rayavaram as the appropriate site for the project. Koruprolu is four km from the NH 5 and lies equidistance from Visakhapatnam and Kakinada. The site is considered good as the liability of rehabilitation is less and is suitable for SEZ operations on the coastal corridor.

Thiruvananthapuram’s new terminal The shell of the three-storey terminal building of the

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and would be leased for 10 years. With this, Jet Airways has leased seven aircraft from BOC Aviation. Jet proposes to start its SFO flights via Shanghai from February 2008, provided the Chinese clear all the formalities. Jet will be using its Boeing 777-300 ER for this route. Not to be left behind, his key critic and competitor in India, Kingfisher has told Airbus Industrie that it is converting even the five optional A380s to firm orders. Since its new A340s and A330s will be arriving in March-April 2008, Mallya offered his aircraft for two months on lease to Air India, which is short of aircraft and may continue to be constrained with a near nine month delay in the deliveries of Boeing 787 dreamliner, notwithstanding the compensation it may get from Boeing. The dreamliner is expected to join Air India fleet only by May 2009. Already, Air India has sought to lease 12 to 14 wide bodied aircraft to share the expanding market and also meet its obligation under Star Alliance which it will formally join, soon. Mallya’s offer to Air India has already been rejected as the lease needed is for longer tenure. SpiceJet is going ahead with its scheduled plan of acquiring a total of 30 Boeings — 737-800s and 737-900s. Established big boy Jet has decided to seriously

Page 15

look at the option of either rights issue or some other way to raise its much delayed US $400 million to part finance its aircraft acquisition plan. Kingfisher is thinking of raising US $250 million through its equity to fund its capex. A decision could be taken once KPMG submits its report to the Board of the airlines on the valuation following merger of Deccan and Kingfisher. There are also rumours to suggest that Jet and Kingfisher may bid for the holdings of BMI Chairman Sir Michael Bishop who owns 50 per cent plus one share followed by Lufthansa with 30 per cent share minus one share and Scandanavian SAS with 20 per cent in BMI, which flew into India from London for a few months before withdrawing in 2005, following the enlarged bilaterals between India and the UK. Virgin and BA are also interested to take over BMI. The interest lay in the fact that BMI has nearly 83 slots at London Heathrow. BMI’s value, and that of the slots in Heathrow, have increased enormously, especially after the conclusion of open skies between US and Europe. Yet another airline on sale is Sri Lankan Airlines, following the expiry of 10

year holding period by Emirates in April 2008. Again, the Indian big boys have been sounded and it is not known if any one of them will be interested. Firstly, it made sense for Emirates to acquire 43.6 per cent in Lankan when India was the prized destination and use Lankan to enhance its penetration into India. Now that Emirates itself

has 91 weekly flights to India, Sri Lankan is no longer an attractive proposition. Since Emirates does not find Sri Lankan interesting, why should Indian carriers! After all, Sri Lankan flies 100 flights a week to India and there is no problem for Indian carriers to fly that many frequencies in India.

Rs.245.58 terminal complex of Thiruvananthapuram international airport will be ready by April. The fabrication for the building is coming on in full swing.

ment, of which eight acres have been handed over to AAI, while the remaining transfer is underway. Besides the terminal building, an air traffic tower will also be constructed.

Mangalore gets new taxiway

Centre gives ‘in principle’ approval for Kannur

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has completed the new taxiway at Bajpe Airport in Mangalore connecting the concrete runway with the bituminous runway. The taxiway has reduced the runway occupancy time for aircraft landing on the main concrete (new) runway and heading to the apron (hangar) at the terminal.

The centre has given ‘in principle’ approval for setting-up of a Greenfield International Airport through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) route at Kannur. The move is significant in terms of the relaxation of the Policy on Airport Infrastructure relating to Greenfield Airports. The proposed airport is located in Kannur district and falls outside the municipal limits of Kannur. The site is at about 80 km aerial distance from Calicut Airport, about 229 km from Kochi airport and 125 km from the Mangalore airport.

Master plan finalised for Raja Bhoj Airport Master plan for the overall development of Raja Bhoj Airport project in Bhopal has been finalised. A total acquisition of 387 acres of land has already been approved by the state govern-

Jolly Grant and Pant Nagar airports to start operations The Uttarakhand Government has completed the upgradation work at the Jolly Grant Airport and Pant Nagar Airport. The airports are scheduled to start operations in February 2008. Besides, three airstrips at Naini Saini in Pithorgarh, Gochar in Chamoli and Chinyalisaur in Uttarkashi are also ready for operations. After the upgradation, the airports now have the capacity to handle the landing of Airbus 320 and Boeing 787. The Jolly Grant Airport at Dehradun essentially caters to the Garhwal region in the state, while the Pant Nagar Airport caters to the Kumaon region.

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NEWS DIGEST

ATF woes and knee jerk reaction V Thulasidas, Chairman, Air India along with colleagues announcing the launch of Air India’s direct flight to New York from Delhi. Standing (from left to right) D. S. Kohli, Air India's Northern India passenger chief, Vasudevan Thulasidas, Jitender Bhargava, Corporate Communications and Deepak Brara, Executive Director

he battle to reduce the sales tax on ATF is being fought by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for a number of years. But the intensity and need to fight it has increased enormously in recent times when crude oil in the international market has shot up to 100 dollars a barrel with a concomitant increase in jet fuel prices world-wide. India, however, has two problems. One, the levies on fuel and its derivatives like jet fuel by the central government, is very high in terms of basic excise

Kochi ‘partial’ shutdown for six months Almost 200 out of 400 weekly domestic and international flights in and out of Kochi will be severely affected with the airport authorities deciding to close the runway from 10 am to 8 pm every day for seven months starting November this year. The private airport developer has said the entire runway needs to be recarpeted. The 3400-metre runway will be developed in small blocks so that aircraft can take off and land outside the no-fly period. No aircraft uses the entire runway to take off and land. Officials of Cochin International Airport Ltd have already informed over 14 carriers that operate from the airport – a key centre for migrant workers travelling to West Asia – of the impending closure. Kochi accounts for nearly half the total aircraft movement in and out of Kerala. The other airports include Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode (Calicut). Carriers have started planning to reschedule flights to skirt the “no-fly” time or divert aircraft to other airports.

Expansion at Amritsar The Rajasansi International Airport is set to begin the longawaited facility of night parking and expansion of runway. As part of the expansion project of the airport, the parking

duty, ad valorem rate, etc. On top of this, when ATF is sold in respective states, they impose their own sales tax which is as high as 33 per cent. To settle this issue, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Tourism convened a National Conference of State Governments in New Delhi on January 18 to impress upon the states to cut sales tax to four per cent and the central government, more particularly the Finance Ministry, to get ATF declared as a declared good so that it will attract an all India sales tax rate of only four per cent. But the states have rejected the idea of reducing the sales tax rate. For instance, UP Chief Secretary

area will have provision for nine parking bases. The total area of the terminal building will be more than double of the existing area. This will provide adequate space for multiple arrivals and security holds. With the expansion of the runway, the airport can now fulfill its dream of landing a jumbo jet, like the Boing-747. The runway is being extended by 369m to a total length of 3658 m. Meanwhile, several Indian firms, including some large conglomerates and foreign companies are in the race to develop the international airport at Amritsar in Punjab which one aviation analyst calls “a valuable airport” because of its location and the number of airlines flying to it, a result of the huge non-resident Indian (NRI) population that has roots in that part of the country. Among the initial bidders for the project are the Tata group, Reliance Energy Ltd, Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), Zurich Airport, Vienna Airport, Gammon Infrastructure, Emaar MGF Ltd, K. Raheja group, DS Constructions Ltd, Maytas Infra Ltd, Nagarjuna Construction Ltd, General Electric, DLF Ltd, Unitech Ltd, the GMR group and the GVK group.

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NEWS DIGEST

V.Thulasidas, Air India Chief

P. K. Mishra said a four per cent rate would mean a huge loss of revenue to the state government. Similar views were aired by other representatives as those from Maharashtra, Kerala etc. At present, Rajasthan charges 28 per cent sales tax on ATF, Bihar 29 per cent, Gujarat 30 per cent, Andhra Pradesh 33 per cent, Kerala 28.75 per cent, Tamil Nadu 29 per cent, Maharashtra 25 per cent, West Bengal 25 per cent and Himachal Pradesh 25 per cent. It is not for nothing that strong pleas have been made to cut sales tax on ATF as fuel constitutes between 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the cost of operating air serv-

ices in India. Perhaps in some sort of retaliation, some private airlines, including public under the umbrella of Federation of Indian Airlines have suggested that to encourage the travelling public of those states where sales tax on ATF is less, there should be a lower fare. But this idea can work only one way. For instance, if passengers from a state charging lower sales tax pay a lower fare and fly to a state charging higher sales tax then will they not pay higher fare on return to their home state? In that case passengers originating from higher sales tax charging state can take the same flight and pay less alongwith passengers who are returning to lower sales tax charging state. This idea was made at the National Conference where Praful Patel said states should not see aviation as milch cow. He said “lower your taxes and airlines will operate more flights. This way you can generate more revenue otherwise the airlines will suffer and so will overall economic growth”. We must again caution against this hair brained idea. Airlines will fly only where there is demand. Suppose there was no compulsion for route dispersal and the states in North East charged no sales tax at all, the airlines will still not be able to go full on multi-frequencies. Perhaps a knee jerk reaction of airlines will not take off.

Airport update BIAL Basic trials begin: Basic trials have begun on the new Bangalore International Airport. According to an official statement released by Bangalore International Airport Ltd, the designated airport readiness experts are currently testing basic processes, after which the basic trials will be conducted. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) is scheduled to be innagurated on March 30 while the first flight would take off from GMR Hyderabad International Airport after its inauguration on March 16. Landside and airside works are in progress. With all check-in counters at the terminal building installed, work is underway to install the Universal Flight Information System and other electronic peripherals. Meanwhile, the airport rescue and fire fighting team is ready to participate in the basic trials, the statement added. USER CHARGES: Meanwhile, The user development fee proposed by Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) on outbound domestic and international travellers is likely to stay, with BIAL insisting on its imposition. BIAL has sent a proposal to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry seeking to levy user development fee of Rs 675 on domestic travellers and Rs 955 on international travellers. The State Government, however, has expressed its reservation over levying hefty charges on outbound travellers.

Making

moolah the JV way

alking of FDI hike in MRO, there were some serious issues – till last month – that had inhibited smooth progress. Air India has decided to have four MROs of which one will be a JV with Boeing and located in Nagpur, the second a JV with EADS for Airbus aircraft and likely to be located in Delhi and two more MROs - one for all types of engines and another for peripherals and spares components etc. – for which RFPS are being circulated. The issue that needs to be firmed up is the equity holdings of the partners of the JV. Earlier in the Boeing-Air India MRO JV, it was thought that Boeing will hold majority equity of 51 per cent with Air India holding the next highest and a third partner with a minority holding. Prior to the present FDI relaxation,

Speaking to reporters BIAL CEO Albert Brunner said: “It is the core of our revenue stream without which the operations would not be viable.” He said that BIAL had agreed for uniform landing and parking charges for aircraft that are applicable at all the airports across the country. It had, on the other hand, Albert Brunner been allowed to impose user development fee for domestic and international passengers as a part of concession agreement signed with the Government. “Some people say that we are going to get more passengers than what was projected when the agreement was signed. It is true. But it is also true that our investments on the airport increased from the estimated Rs 1,400 crore to Rs 2,400 crore at present,” Brunner said. BIAL had incurred additional expenditure on construction of canopy, airline offices, landscaping and trumpet interchange, he added. On the projected passenger traffic, he said: “Three forecasts that have been made so far have gone completely wrong.” BIAL would be handling around 10 million passengers in the first year of its operations, he added. On the controversy on retaining the airport at HAL, he said: “The concession agreement does not allow operation of a second airport in the city. Allowing it would, in

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the cap for aviation was 49 partners, location of per cent, the possibility of the proposed MRO, Boeing holding 51 per cent investment details and appeared difficult. Accordother plans would be ingly, it was decided by Air part of the business India that both Boeing and plan. itself hold equal equity and The Memorandum off-load from it equal shares of Understanding to a third partner in the J. V. (MoU) was signed But all that is now a thing of with an Airbus subthe past. However, it must sidiary. As per the be mentioned that the govMoU, AI will make a ernment has given in-princibusiness plan within pal approval to GMR two months. AI CMD Rajeev Chandrasekhar Hyderabad International V. Thulasidas signed Airport to offer 74 per cent equity to the MoU during the recent visit of French Lufthansa Technik. How did that happen president Nicolas Sarkozy. before the norms were relaxed? Jupiter and EADS have already set Meanwhile, It has been announced up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for that Air India is joining hands with Airbus this purpose. The proposed MRO would of France and Rajiv Chandrasekar’s not only provide services to Air India Jupiter Aviation to set up maintenance, fleet that includes A310, A319, A320 and repair, overhaul (MRO) facility in India to A321 but also to other airlines having service all types of Airbus aircraft. A fleet of Airbus aircraft. Among other airMemorandum of Understanding to this lines that have Airbus aircraft in India are effect has been signed. The national carri- Kingfisher, Air Deccan, IndiGo and er would now prepare a business plan for GoAir. the MRO and submit it to its board. The While talking of airframe MROs, Jet plan would be ready in two months. Boss Naresh Goyal had said at a press The proposed business plan would conference in New Delhi in September outline the broad contours of the proposed 2007 that MRO would make sense only if MRO joint venture. Equity stake for the there were adequate captive planes avail-

fact, be disastrous for both the airports.” Dual airports in Milan, Montreal and Bangkok had proved “disastrous”, he pointed out. Transfer of passengers between airports and maintaining two sets of staff would be expensive. The investors, based on the concession agreement, have laid out business plans and BIAL will not go back on the concession agreement, he added. Bengaluru, he said, had an opportunity to become an aviation hub in South India as there is none at present. “We are competing with airports in Hyderabad and Chennai for which a viable airport is necessary in Bengaluru,” Brunner said. “Perhaps, Bengaluru can have a second airport in about 25 years when BIAL reaches a saturation point. Once fully commissioned, BIAL will have a capacity to handle around 40 million passengers annually,” he added. GHIAL too, would be charging user development fee (UDF) on the embarking passengers but declined to get into the specifics saying talks were still on with the project partners. Civil Aviation Ministry sources had earlier told that BIAL has suggested user fee of Rs 675 for embarking domestic passengers and Rs 955 for international passengers. Currently, passengers pay Rs 225 as regulated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). However, the ministry is understood to have suggested that the final arbitrator in the matter would be the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority that is likely to be set up shortly.

able. Some said the numbers should be at least 250 aircraft. At the recent WEF conference at Davos in Switzerland, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Indian carriers at present had a fleet of 400 aircraft and this number may rise to 2500 by 2020. Industry sources, however, said much of it will be in the area of general aviation and the usual narrow bodies, wide bodies like the Airbus and Boeing versions may not exceed 800 to 1000 in the next ten years. So how many is too many. How many MROs can we have? Finally, Air India has received technical approval from DGCA to continue to carry out maintenance of its fleet of aircraft as well as those of others. The approval granted by DGCA has validity till March 31, 2008 by which time Air India is supposed to prepare a common Manual or Maintenance Organisation Exposition (MOE). Separately, Taneja Aerospace and Aviation have entered into an MRO facility agreement with Air Works Commercial MRO Services. The company will be licensing seven acres of land and up to five-hangar spaces on a long-term basis that is in line with Taneja’s strategy to lay its own private airfield.

DIAL Medicare in private hands: As part of its plans to upgrade facilities at the airport, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) is planning to handover its medical unit to a private hospital from this April. Sources revealed that DIAL has been discussing the options with six hospitals — Indraprastha Apollo, Max Healthcare, Fortis Hospital, Escorts Hospital, St Stephen’s and Holy Family Hospital. At the Hyderabad Greenfield Airport, the medical unit is handled by Indraprastha Apollo Hospital. A full-fledged medical unit was set up at the airport in 1984. The unit has 21 beds — four at IB domestic terminal, two at IA domestic terminal, eight at the international terminal, six at the casualty centre situated at the airside and one at the cargo. Every month, the unit treats around 2700 patients. Other than the medical unit, the Indira Gandhi International

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NEWS DIGEST

KINGFISHER-DECCAN

Louis Berger wins Navi Mumbai

he City and Industrial Devel- ing the civil aviation secretary opment Corporation (CIDCO) Ashok Chawla selected Louis Berghas appointed US engineer- er for the preparation of the master ing consulting giant Louis Berger to plan for the Navi Mumbai airport. finalise the master plan for the Rs The committee scrutinised state4,000 crore international airport at ment of application, technical bid Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra. Louis filed by the four bidders and examBerger outbid Mott ined the financial bid. Macdonald, SingaLouis Berger scored the pore’s Maunsell and highest multi-disciplinary The Louis Berger design and engineering group offers professional group Scott Wilson, to services in civil, structurget the mandate from al, mechanical, electrical state-run CIDCO. and environmental engiLouis Berger is expectneering; program maned to prepare a comagement planning; enviprehensive master ronmental sciences;culplan, project report, Derish Wolff Chairman, tural resour-ces; inforLois Berger Group procurement documation services; ecoments and other necesnomics; and construcsary reports to help finalise bids to tion management and support. The be issued for selecting a strategic proposed greenfield airport would partner for developing the proposed come up by 2012, and it would have project. the capacity to handle nearly 55 milA technical committee compris- lion passengers annually.

FAQ What is the share swap ratio?

Kingfisher Airlines Ltd will offer stockholders three shares in Deccan Aviation Ltd for every seven held, part of a merger plan to expand its fleet, cut costs and fly overseas.

What happens to the chopper business? The helicopter business run by Deccan will be separated into a new company. The Deccan board also approved a proposal for the sale of the charter business of the company to an entity that will be jointly owned by Captain G. R. Gopinath and the UB Group.

Who owns what? UB group will own 60.6 per cent and Mallya and his entities, 8.4 per cent in the company. Mallya will be the chairman and chief executive officer of the merged airline, while G. R. Gopinath, Deccan Aviation's founder and chairman, will be the vice-chairman.

What’s the market share? The Deccan-Kingfisher combine commands a market

Airport also has an aircraft emergency medical centre below the apron control area to handle about 150-100 patients. Direct Metro Link: A consortium led by Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Energy has received the letter of intent (LoI) to develop the Rs 4,000 crore Airport – Metro Express Line connecting Ajmeri Gate in central Delhi to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Reliance Energy has roped in Spanish rolling stock company CAF for the project. The IGI airport is currently being developed by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a joint venture formed by a consortium led by the G. M. Rao promoted GMR Group and Airports Authority of India (AAI). GMR has agreed to pay 10 per cent of the cost for building the metro link. The concession agreement will be signed within 60 days from receipt of letter of acceptance of the LoI, which is for design, maintenance and operation of 22-km airport metro link. According to sources, passengers can check in at any of the stops on the designated metro link route, which is expected to be covered in 15 minutes. “A person can reach Connaught Place and check-in their baggage, shop for a while before getting on the train for the airport,” an official from DIAL said. As per the LoI, the consortium will have to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for implementation of the project without any equity participation by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) or any other government agencies to enter into a concession agreement with DMRC. The

project envisages development of India’s first airport link comparable to the other mega cities across the globe, like in London and Hong Kong. The total concession period is 30 years including a period of about two years for development of the project, which is planned to open for passenger service by July 2010. This has been planned keeping in view the ensuing Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

GVK, GMR slug it out in Europe The GVK Group, is planning to bid for modernisation of Prague airport. Since the GMR Group that’s building airports in Delhi, Hyderabad and Istanbul, has also decided to bid for Prague, these two companies will fight it out in GVK GMR Europe. GVK sources said, the group is looking at opportunities abroad in Eastern Europe and Latin American countries like Mexico. “A special team has been constituted to just keep track of emerging opportunities abroad,” said a source. GMR is also keen on entering Eastern Europe in a big way and is looking at airports and road projects. It is shifting its international business development unit to London to closely watch opportunities from there.

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Jet F A Q

share of just over 29.3 per cent. Jet Airways, together with JetLite have a marginally higher market share of 29.9 per cent.

What's the fleet size? Kingfisher has 127 aircraft on order, including options, while Air Deccan has 60, all A320s. Kingfisher's fleet includes 15 A350-800 XWBs, five A340-500s, 10 A330-200s and 20 A320-family jets ordered at the Paris Air Show in 2007. In total, Kingfisher's orders are for 48 A320 family air-

Open skies

craft, 20 ATRs, 15 A330s, 10 A340s, 20 A350s and five A380s.

Do they need so many? It could be a huge bonanza for the combined entity. “We don't have to take delivery of all the aircraft. The slots alone are worth over $400 million to us,” Gopinath told journalists. Deccan and Kingfisher are both deferring deliveries this year but have not settled on the exact number. Air Deccan is slated to take delivery of eight A320s in 2008.

called for the presentation and the others are still waiting for their turn! Interestingly, it may be mentioned that Shrivastavji has asked for a review of the specs on X-ray equipment. When the AAI wrote to the veryone knows that Praful Patel (BCAS) Bureau of Civil Aviation is for an open skies that Security asking for its opinion, it clarincludes a hugely liberal bilat- ified categorically that the specificaeral regime, a highly flexible aviation tions issued in 2004 continued to be policy that can be tweaked at effective till any further a moment’s notice and an amendments were noti‘open mind’ on most things. fied. That would mean One must compliment Joint looking at equipment that Secretary K. N. Shrivastava didn’t come with less for really being flexible, than four images. In fact, highly liberal and always if anything the movement have an open mind on most should be towards five or issues. The other day, for six images. But apparentK. N. Shrivastava example, the good man who ly that’s not happening. Joint Secretary looks after the airports diviAnd to whose benefit? sion called a meeting with one of the So, while the AAI and the DGCA vendors at the Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan continue to hold the aviation safety conference room. Now, this is a new week, security is being compromised tradition of transparency being estab- with no baggage solution in sight. Or, lished by Shrivastava. More power to is it also part of the open skies polihis elbow. The only problem, though, cy–an open, friendly and free to use is that only this particular vendor was airport with no proper security!

Jet Airways has been in the news this month for a variety of reasons. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions: Cargo Plans: The airline is likely to invest $8-10 million in its cargo airline as an initial sum once it finalises most formalities, including a partner for its dedicated freighter airline by June 2008. Operations should commence by end2008. Currently, it uses the belly space in its passenger aircraft for cargo activity. Jet is lifting around 150 tonnes of cargo per day through its fleet of Boeing 777s and Airbus 330s, which contributes around eight per cent to Jet’s bottomline, worth about $149 million per annum. While converting aircraft from passenger to freighter seems a preferable mode, it would be open to leasing out new freighters too. It is still not certain if German carrier Lufthansa would be its preferred partner for the upcoming venture. Back in the red: The airline has reported a Rs 91 crore ($23.1 million) loss for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31. This is opposed to a profit of Rs 40 crore for the same period last year. It ends a streak of four consecutive positive quarters. Jet cited three main reasons for the Q3 loss — high ATF prices; startup costs for new long-haul routes and lower yields. “We spent an additional $30 million because of record fuel price,” Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told journalists. And finally, despite higher fares, Jet witnessed a lower yield. Jet was the only domestic airline in 2007 to record a negative growth of passengers carried from previous year. “If we include fuel surcharge, yield was higher. But the base yield has gone down from last year. Also last Q3 we had profit from sale and leaseback of planes which is not there this time,” he added. Meanwhile, the airline’s board approved raising further capital of up to $800 million (Rs 3000 crore) to fund their growth plans. While $400 million will come through the much-delayed rights issue, the rest could be raised through instruments like QIP. Prock-Schauer, however, denied this increased funding was to finance recent reports of Jet eyeing stake in some foreign carriers.

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AT A GLANCE

Now fly to Penguin land CHARTERED FLIGHTS to Australia’s blue ice runway in Antarctica have started after the $47 million project received final regulatory approval. Sydney Company Skytraders is operating the 3400 km flight on an Airbus A319 jet. It is a 4 1/2 hours flight. Direct, permanent flights to Antarctica had been a long-time dream. Now that scientists and other Antarctic personnel can fly to

Starwars comes to jets Antarctica in a matter of hours, rather than 10 or more days by ship, it opens up an entire new chapter in the scientific effort on the frozen continent. Skytraders has already conducted test flights to Antarctica but approval to start the regular service to the specially constructed runway had been held up while the Civil Aviation Safety Authority looked at outstanding technical issues.

Fiji pisses off

Japan

Fijian soldier urinated on a Japanese woman on a plane causing “untold damage” to Fiji. Air Pacific, Fiji’s international carrier, admitted in its annual report that its Fiji-Japan route was performing poorly and was struggling. However, the report stopped short of mentioning the freak incident in March last year when a drunk Fiji soldier on a flight from Japan exposed himself and then urinated on a Japanese woman in her seat. The incident created quite a spur in the Japanese media. The Fiji media was agog with it too. The Fiji Times, for instance, said it was an “appalling incident” that was an urgent reminder to every person in this country.

“This unforgivable offence has caused untold damage in Japan — a market which Fiji has strived for decades to cultivate,” the newspaper said. “All it takes is one moment of stupidity to paint a black picture of this nation and her people in a lucrative market. The incident has generated widespread, negative publicity at a time when we need it the least.” The newspaper said the whole country had to “share in the shame he has brought upon his uniform and to this country. Urinating on a tourist on an international flight is a high-profile incident which gains global notoriety. “It is a brief moment which brings unwanted exposure and deprives the economy of millions of dollars in revenue.” CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

AMERICAN AIRLINES is going to outfit upto three jets this spring with laser technology which is being developed for protecting planes from missile attacks by terrorists. Officials said the anti-missile systems won’t be tested on passenger flights. However, the tests, which could involve more than 1000 flights, will establish whether the technology endures under the rigours of flight, they said.

We always knew Santa is real A CHRISTMAS EVE flight featuring a pilot with holiday spirit was the winner at the US Airways’ Second Annual Holiday Story Contest. Marlene Patrick of Cheltenham, the grand prize winner received a $500 gift card, good for travel anywhere US Airways flies. Entries ranged from funny (folks trapped in their cars by their Christmas trees) to sad (family members getting together for a last holiday) to hauntingly beautiful (Late Luciano Pavarotti performing impromptu outside New York’s LaGuardia Airport.) Here’s Marlene’s complete story: “I was travelling from Philadelphia to Richmond on US Airways on Christmas Eve several years ago. The original flight had been cancelled and the last flight out was late at night and packed with holiday travellers and quite a few small children. “When we reached our cruising altitude, the captain gave the usual announcement over the PA and suddenly got very quiet and told us that he saw something strange ahead. Before we began to panic, he said it was a sleigh piled high with presents, eight reindeer — one with a blinking red nose, and a fat, laughing gentleman in a red suit. “The children started jumping up and down in their seats yelling ‘Santa!’ and pressed their noses to the windows for a glimpse. Just this one announcement provided a Christmas Eve for these children that they would never forget.”

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The first Boeing 767-200 is scheduled to be equipped in April. American runs that Boeing model mostly between New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The technology is meant to stop a missile attack by detecting heat from the rocket, then

reacting in a fraction of a second by firing a laser beam that jams the missile’s guidance system. Although, the device on the belly of the Boeing 767-200 aircraft will be operational, but it won’t be tested on regular flights, an official said.

Rats! AS MANY AS eight dead and live mice were found on a United Airlines (UA) flight from Washington to Beijing, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said earlier in January. United had reported to the Beijing Capital International Airport after its arrival that they found live mice on flight UA897, so an emergency team was immediately dispatched to the aircraft. All the entries to the plane were shut down for further examination. The team put rat poison and mice traps at every possible corners on the aircraft, including the cockpit. Eight mice, dead and alive, were found hidden in pillows. Live mice had been sent to labs for virus test. The team also commented that it was very rare to find so many mice on one aircraft. This was not the first time a US airline is caught tangled in a rat mess. In 2006, a hidden camera showing mice on an American Airlines airplane surfaced. A long-time employee at the overhaul base at Kansas City International Airport shot the video, which surfaced last year. The whistleblower did not want to be identified but did want to expose a hidden secret onboard an American Airlines Boeing 767 passenger plane.

SF Airport, the messiah SAN FRANCISCO International Airport officials have announced a plan to accommodate passengers who are forced to remain on an airplane for extended periods of time, including making space for them in the International Terminal. Individual airlines have their own policies for dealing with long tarmac delays, either before takeoff or after landing. The airport’s plan is an offering made to the airlines and is not mandatory. Nevertheless, the offer is a response to legislation in Congress and several states — in the form of an airline passengers’ bill of rights — as well as lawsuits and demands by consumers that passengers be accommodated during delays that in some cases have been 10 or more hours. One assemblyman Mark Leno has said he will introduce legislation that will require airlines to provide basic amenities such

Lightening struck twice in a day upon two Aer Lingus planes which were subsequently grounded for several hours at Shannon Airport, in January. The aircraft, arriving from Boston and New York, both sustained damage to their noses as they prepared to land early morning. Both planes landed safely, but were unable

to continue on the Dublin legs of their journeys and an extra flight was provided to take passengers to Dublin.

Illustrations by Rajeev Kumar

Believe it or not

as drinking water, fresh air, sanitary restrooms and lights when passengers are held for hours on airplanes in California. There have been numerous prolonged delays in recent years, but two relatively recent events captured a great amount of attention — airplanes idled on the ground at Austin, Texas for nine hours on Dec. 29, 2006, and at New York’s Kennedy International Airport for up to 11 hours on Valentine’s Day. Gates at the terminal will be used, if available. If not, planes can park at any of 12 outlying areas and passengers will be bused to the terminal. Also, 300 sets of blankets, sleeping bags and pillows are available, should passengers need to remain in the terminals overnight. “We cannot mandate that the airlines take advantage of this, but we can make the facilities available to them, and that is what we are doing,” said airport spokesman Mike McCarron.

Are you out of your senses! TRAVELLERS PREPARING to board a flight from Toronto to Charlottetown got a scare when a man outran security guards at Pearson International Airport and into the aircraft, entering the cockpit and sitting in the pilot’s chair before he was subdued by passengers. The man walked down the boarding ramp, into the plane and sat down in the pilot seat beside the first officer, who was doing her pre-flight checklist. The pilot was outside the aircraft doing the pre-flight walk around. Passengers say they overheard the man say, “I want to fly the plane.” Some said afterward his behaviour was odd and he appeared to be high on drugs.

Daredevil Kiwi A NEW ZEALAND helicopter pilot who single-handedly put out a wildfire while flying with night-vision goggles in winds gusting to 40 knots has been awarded the Federation Aeronautique International (FAI) Outstanding Airman Award. Pilot Richard “Hannibal” Hayes, of Te Anau, received the honour from FAI Chairman Pierre Portman for some “pretty tricky” flying near Queenstown, in 2005, an aviation news website, avweb.com reported. Hayes used a monsoon bucket in windy conditions between 55 and 75 knots to douse the vegetation fire and protect houses from damage.

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WE HAVE A

STAR!

Two years of behind-the-scenes hard work paid off when Air India was formally invited to join Star Alliance at its meeting in Beijing at the end of 2007. The merged Air India with the Star on its wings, will have enough capability and clout to become a world-class airline ready to take on any competitor. Is Air India prepared to don its new global mantle? A report

INALLY, THE WILL-THEY, wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t-they question came to end on December 13 last year when the Star Alliance board unanimously voted to induct Air India as the 22nd member of the global aviation alliance. It is probably the final step in the merger and consolidation of Air India and Indian Airlines and attempts to produce a world-class travel experience from the sub-continent. For the National Aviation Company of India Ltd, the new baby born out of the merger of AI and IA, it was the perfect tenth anniversary gift from Star Alliance. At its meeting in Beijing, it invited AI to join the Alliance while inducting Air China and Shanghai Airlines formally as members of the team. Continued on Page 28

To celebrate their new membership in the Star Alliance, a Shanghai Airlines Boeing 767-300 (foreground) and an Air China Airbus A330-200 painted in the alliance's colors are posed in front of the new Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport. Photos: Star Alliance

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“As a company, we have to plan to survive and endure” Air India chief V. Thulasidas on the airline’s invitation to join Star Alliance and what it means for the carrier’s future, the merger and the competition The first phase of acquisition is over, you are now moving over to Phase II. In the wake of your severe losses, can Air India afford to buy more aircraft over and above the 111 and undertake a huge financial expenditure when there is a cash flow crunch? Also when do you see yourself turning the corner? You can’t look at a company’s transformation or plans for growth or acquisition only on the basis of one year’s financial results. If you look at the old Air India alone, we were not incurring loses. We had actually wiped out the accumulated losses of the previous four years or so. That was not the case with Indian Airlines: they had a negative net worth, they had accumulated losses. However, last year was bad for both the airlines (2006-07). And if you look at Indian aviation as a whole, you will find that all airlines incurred huge losses. So, our losses have to be seen in that context. It’s a fact that the costs situation is still not good and we are under financial stress. But that shouldn’t be the only criteria to decide on our future plans for expansion. Therefore, the plans for expansion and buying aircraft is really dependent on ways of generating more revenue, fund aircraft acquisition and move towards creating profits As far as the 111 aircraft are concerned, we have a business plan wherein we have predicted cash flows to repay the loans that we have taken without any capital infusion by the government over a period of 12 years. We presume that the impressive growth in Indian aviation will continue. Also, with fleet renewal, with merger and with our joining Star Alliance, we — as an airline — should be able to do good over a longer time frame and should be a looking at the future as a long airline in India. That’s the context in which you should view the acquisition. Have you factored in the increased competition from Eithad, Singapore Airlines and Emirates and the fact that Jet and Kingfisher too will now be flying overseas? If you look at Air India alone, you will agree that we have always been in competition. Of course, the nature and the size of the competition keep changing. If you say there is more and more competition, I will say there is more and more growth in the

market. For meeting the growth requirements of Indian aviation or international aviation from India, the two old entities or the newly-merged Air India alone would not have been adequate. We need a whole lot of more airlines and capacity. So competition, therefore, has to be seen in that perspective. Naturally, we, they, everybody will come under pressure. And in the process of competition not all airlines may survive. Some airlines may change their plans. bmi, for example, closed down its London-Mumbai flight. Changes like that are bound to happen in a hugely competitive environment. As a company, we have to plan to survive and endure. We believe we have the greatest strength. And unless we renew ourselves periodically we will not endure or survive. If you look at the last five years, Air India’s rate of growth in terms of fleet and seats offered was less than that of Indian Airlines. What happens to your domestic wing? That is actually contracting. It’s market share is now just 19 per cent. This should be a matter of serious concern in that your Alliance partners will see a Kingfisher or a Jet having a much larger share domestically than you. It’s a fact that market share has declined but the number of passengers has actually increased. If we were the only airline in India obviously we would have a 100 per cent. If there are other airlines, naturally they are bound to have some market share. Look at Indigo’s growth rate: a growth of 60 per cent. It only shows that the market is growing. But it does not show that the new airlines individually have more share than us. Maybe Jet does, but others do not have more share than us. Our growth is taking place because we are carrying more passengers than in the past. If we need to carry more passengers then we need more capacity. I don’t think that the performance of Indian Airlines — in terms of market share alone — should deter us. The benefit of the merger will be felt two to three years down the line even on the domestic front. We are bringing value in terms of a seamless international connectivity that was available to Jet, which has a limited number of international operations. And then look at the value we are bringing in terms of being the first Indian carrier to join the largest global

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

alliance in the world. By being invited to join Star Alliance, we are completing the process of integration that we had started with the merger of AI and IA. What is your main task as far as the Alliance goes at the moment? Our main task is to conclude negotiations with all individual Alliance members on codeshare agreements so that we build relationships that our passengers can immediately benefit without our formally joining Star Alliance. We have completed the first stage of the process of negotiation and have been invited to join the Alliance. Thereafter, they give us time to sign individual agreements with Alliance members. Moreover, there is a list of requirements that we need to fulfill. Air India is compliant ready even without joining the Alliance. What they have told us is that any new entrant to the Alliance generally takes 12 to 18 months to complete all the formalities. For example, Air China and Shanghai Airlines, which were formally inducted in Beijing, were invited to join Star Alliance more than a year back. Egypt Air and Turkish Airlines were invited before Air India, but have still not been formally inducted. The moment we are invited, we start attending all Star Alliance meetings — like meetings of the sub-committee, etc. After we sign the formal Star Alliance agreement, which we are required to do by March 31, we will become the 22nd member. So, we have to complete the process of negotiations and agreements with 21 airlines. We are trying to do so with as many as possible. What happens to your codeshare

agreements that are already in place? Lufthansa, for example, is a leading member of Star Alliance. We have substantial codeshare agreements with Lufthansa. The principals of the Alliance are that you can have an agreement with an airline that is a member of the Alliance or an airline which is not a member of any Alliance. But if an airline is a member of another alliance you can’t sign the agreement. Jet Airways is not a member of the Alliance at the moment, but if they do so in the future then they would have to review it. Is it exclusive to you in India? It is not like that. In America, there are two airlines that are members of Star Alliance: United and US Airways. In China there are two: Air China and Shanghai Airlines. We have an exclusivity contract, we

are a member of Star Alliance. It is for the whole board to take a decision including us. Do you have a veto? Yes, of course. When is the process of merging the IA-AI reservation systems and adding Star Alliance to it going to take place? I think it will take about 15 months. But we will try to do it faster. The only advantage that we can see now is that the entire process will be common for the merger and Star Alliance. At the end of the process we will have a common CRS that will also be Star compliant. What about yield and revenue management systems? PSS system is not just about reservations. It has departure control, inventory management, revenue management, rev-

STAR ALLIANCE MEMBERS

1 Air Canada 2 Air China 3 Air New Zealand 4 ANA 5 Asiana Airlines 6 Austrian 7 bmi 8 LOT Polish Airlines 9 Lufthansa 10 Scandinavian Airlines 11 Shanghai Airlines

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Singapore Airlines

South African Airways

Spanair

SWISS

TAP Portugal

Thai

United

US Airways

Turkish Airlines

EgyptAir

Air India

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

enue accounting, FFP (Frequent Flier Programme). The vendors have been shortlisted and final negotiations are on at the moment. What happens to the other FFP programmes in place, like the one with Air France? As an airline we are responsible. There are several teams that are looking at such issues. These are dynamic groups that are taking decisions as we go along. What about Star Alliance counters at the airports? Mumbai airport is apparently making arrangements. We have asked all the new airports during the course of a meeting in the ministry that we want dedicated terminal space for the national carrier: the new Air India plus its Alliance members and even other airlines which we handle. Can we talk about your MROs? One is the Boeing-Air India MRO that will be based at Nagpur. The other is the Airbus-Air India MRO. The final location of that is yet to be decided, but the prevailing view is that it should be based at least for the moment in Delhi. Airbus has indicated that EADS, Airbus’ parent company will be the partners. Both are airframe MROs and are almost of the same size. The other two MROs are engine MROs and we have not decided about them. We have floated request for proposals and invited JV partners. We will select our partner and then decide the location. The fourth MRO will be for components — for repair and overhaul. The MRO for engines will include all engines: GE, Pratt and Whitney,CFM. What is the likely value of the four MROs? Rs 1000 crores? I think that is too high. But we are looking at equal share-holding between us and the primary partner. To come back to acquisitions, there have been reports with Mr Ashok Chawla stating that it won’t be to the scale of $10 billion. What is the real picture? All that we have decided is that once we get the last aircraft of the current order, we should have a plan in place for fleet augmentation. We should not repeat the mistakes of the past in buying a few aircraft and forgetting about the whole thing. Are you going to wait for a year before you order? I don’t think it will take so long.

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STAR ALLIANCE MEMBERS

1 Air Canada 2 Air China 3 Air New Zealand 4 ANA 5 Asiana Airlines 6 Austrian 7 bmi 8 LOT Polish Airlines 9 Lufthansa 10 Scandinavian Airlines 11 Shanghai Airlines

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Singapore Airlines

South African Airways

Spanair

SWISS

TAP Portugal

Thai

United

US Airways

Turkish Airlines

EgyptAir

Air India

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COVER STORY It has been a tough ride to the podium for AI. For close to two years now, there has been talk of the Alliance wanting to get AI or Jet on board. Prior to the merger, the Alliance had detailed discussions with both Air India and Indian (Airlines) hoping to induct both together as partners. One World too, had made its own pitch to the two — with the domestic wing looking far more attractive at one stage to most alliance partners. It was no surprise considering that Air A Star Alliance member carrier India had few new aircraft, there were huge Leo van Wijk was quoted as saying, “The delays on its flights and the company’s need and potential of having an Indian airimage had taken repeated beatings from the line in the alliance has grown. We have travelling public. So bad, in fact, at one held exploratory discussions with Air stage that it figured in the bottom three in India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher about on-time performance at Heathrow airport— joining the alliance. Sooner than later, we month after month. will have an Indian airline joining the Clearly all that is a thing of the past. SkyTeam.” Simply put, both van Wijk and As the merger was fast tracked and the OneWorld managing partner John McCulnew fleet was ordered, it was clear that all loch, believed that India is a huge market the global alliances were looking at the and a “major target for us”. Indian option. As United’s CEO Glenn Tilton said at Along with OneWorld, SkyTeam too, the Star Alliance Beijing meeting: “India was bullish on India and had held discushas long been on the radar of Star sions with Air India. SkyTeam’s chairman Alliance; after all, it is one of the world’s

fastest growing economies and aviation markets. Having now come to an agreement with Air India makes us the first airline alliance to secure a member in India, which will enable our customers to receive more benefits when travelling to, from and within India in the future.” Prior to the induction at Beijing, Air India officials literally burnt the midnight oil to ensure a smooth entry into the Alliance. A lot of the legwork was spearheaded by V. K. Verma, then Commerical Director (he has since retired) and ably assisted by S. Lalwani, Executive Director-Planning & International Relations. Verma, in fact, worked out a comprehensive presentation for the Alliance members and even had to resolve a number of issues between the members who were keen on guarding their own turf. The negotiations between Air India and the Alliance saw two threeday marathon sessions in London and Singapore. India was one of the big blank areas in the Alliance that bothered them and as CEO Jaan Albrecht stated, now that China and

A Star, but will it help AI to shine?

ir France, KLM and British Airways are long-time partners with Air India. But that relationship will come to an end latest by December 2009. AI will also terminate its agreement with Cathay Pacific, Continental and Royal Jordanian, once it joins Star Alliance. The reason is simple: they are members of the competing Sky Team and One World. Star Alliance is the largest airline consortium with 17,000 daily flights to 897 destinations in 160 countries. They have 74 exclusive lounges at various international airports. Air India, along with Egypt Air and Turkish Airlines, has been accepted as future members of Star Alliance network, which has around 3,000 aircraft in its combined fleet. But Egypt Air and Turkish are at the moment fulfilling the integration process having been inducted last year. So what are the pluses and minuses? On the one hand, Air India will join 19 international airlines and three regional carriers in the Star Alliance team. But it stands to lose close to two dozen international carriers — about a

At the annual Star Alliance board meeting in Beijing, the CEOs of the Alliance’s member airlines voted to approve Air India’s application to become a future member

dozen member airlines from Sky Team and eight member airlines from Oneworld — many of which are its existing code-sharing partners. The financial implications of this annulment that should happen one by one is bound to further affect the airline. But there is still no clear estimation of how much the Star Alliance will help offset this loss. Air India has codeshare partner-

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

ships with: GMG, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Air France, Aeroflot, Emirates, Kuwait Airways, Air Mauritius, Malaysian Airlines, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Thai Airways, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines and Uzbekistan Airways. In all the above arrangements, the foreign carrier is the Operating Carrier and Air India is the Participating Carrier.

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Give some, take some

lliance rules do not stop individual airlines from codeshare and FFP programmes with other carriers in member-countries as long as the carrier is not a member of any other alliance. But can Jet join the Star Alliance? According to Thulasidas, not unless Air India agrees (see interview). There are reports that Jet could be a regional member of the Alliance in the future. However, off the record, AI officials are clear that they prerfer their “exclusivity”. The Alliance regional membership strategy is part of Star’s mission to serve more places, more often than any other alliance. In terms of customer benefits, regional members will offer the same advantages as member carriers. In other words, frequent flyer benefits, lounge access, through check-in, to name just a few. In order to become a regional member, aside from meeting certain require-

ments, the carrier in question must be sponsored by and have close ties to an existing member to achieve a quick and easy integration. The sponsoring airline will represent the regional member within the alliance. Now, would Naresh Goyal like Air China management and crew members pose for a photo after the carrier’s induction into the Alliance to be represented by the Maharaja? He has always preships with: Qantas, SN Brussels, Ameriferred being in the driver’s seat and can Airlines and Air Canada. Its FFP (Frewould probably prefer that the Maharaja quent Flyer Programme) pact is with take the rear seat. Brussels Airlines, Jet Lite, Virgin Atlantic In real terms, Jet could be a full partand Swiss. ner, too. Like it is with Air China and Kingfisher Airlines has codeshare Shanghai Airlines. Both are Chinese and agreement with Continental Airlines and members of the same alliance. its FFP arrangement is with Northwest, Jet Airways has codeshare partnerEmirates Airlines and Swiss.

India were on board, the Alliance could look to expand its footprints to Latin America and Russia to complete what would be a formidable global network. In Brazil, with Varig having gone bust, the Alliance is looking to replace it with TAM Brazil — as big a story in that part of the world as Jet Airways is in these parts. Although there is no talk as yet of a second member from the sub-continent, it is quite possible that Star Alliance will persuade Air India at a later date to let Star Alliance check-in counters at an airport Kingfisher or Jet to join the Alliance. That Shanghai Airlines. So, you could well see a will be in keeping with its two-hub policy. Bangalore or Hyderabad hub and a Mumbai In China, for example, it is concentrating to hub in the years to come. improve the major hub airports, Beijing Similarly, with the opening this summer Capital and Shanghai-Pudong, to provide of Cairo’s new Terminal 3 — a dedicated better connections between international Star Alliance facility — business is expectflights and Chinese domestic destinations. ed to up by over 40 per cent in just three Beijing Terminal 3 — scheduled to years. The idea is to build Cairo as a formiopen in March 2008, in time for the 2008 dable Middle East hub to strengthen Star Olympic Games at Beijing — will serve as against expanding carriers like Emirates and the new home for all Star Alliance member Qatar Airways. airlines serving China’s capital. Air China is The recent spate of liberalised bilaterals based at Beijing Capital International Airalso leaves plenty of opportunity for port and operates a fleet of more than 200 Alliance members. Flying through Hong aircraft on a domestic and international netKong to New Zealand on a codeshare with work that reaches 39 cities in 26 countries Air New Zealand should be effortless. The outside China. In March 2008 also, Shangbilateral allows for each other’s carriers or hai-Pudong’s new Terminal 2 will open. All third party carriers to ferry passengers Star Alliance airlines serving Shanghai will onwards. With both being Star Alliance use the new terminal. And that’s the base for members that should be even easier.

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

While Munich has formally been declared as the AI hub in Europe, AI will continue its direct flights to three European cities — Paris, London and Frankfurt — even after the hub becomes operational. But there is a severe shortage of planes and the delay of the 787 Dreamliner will translate into scaling back plans of linking important metros to its hub with a daily flight only in the next three to four years. The biggest woe for Air India at the moment is fleet shortage. It is so severe that there is hardly any major expansion expected this year. The plan to link Australia is most likely now delayed indefinitely. Perhaps, the only routes that are likely to fructify are the ones to link Bangalore and the Silicon Valley. All things considered, the very fact that AI has made it to the Alliance gives it a huge global presence and unprecedented connectivity. With new airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore opening next month and Delhi and Mumbai scheduled to go in stream in two years, they should be a big boost with world class terminal facilities, access points and lounges for its passengers. So, if Air India can get its act together and get a long-term perspective and road map in place there is no reason why the Maharaja can’t smile.

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We’re not yet ‘ Gulf Air President and Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Naf is a confident man. Less than a year in his job, the former pilot is now pushing through a makeover of the once-troubled Gulf Air, now 100 per cent owned by Bahrain. He has embarked on an $825 million restructuring programme, including destination, fleet and employee cutbacks. During his first-ever visit to Delhi, Naf spoke about the slow and steady rejuvenation of the airline he heads. Upbeat about 2008, what was unmistakable was the new air of confidence that he and Gulf Air’s staffers exuded. Excerpts from the one-on-one with K. Srinivasan and Tirthankar Ghosh:

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t at the mountain top’

What about the load factor from and to India? What attracts you to the Indian market? It is very high. We are doing around 80 per cent — both inbound and outbound. We would like to be one of the vehicles on the bridge between the Middle East and India. Business people, tourists, people who work or have families in the Middle East and vice versa. We have a lot of Indians in Bahrain and they have families here.

You have to be careful when giving out numbers (revenue, passengers, etc). We have a number that was given to us in April that mentioned that Gulf Air was burning a lot of cash per day and I am trying to fight to get these numbers out of the heads of the people because these are wrong numbers.

do business with us. There are enough aircraft around to increase (our fleet) over the next five years – the 15 planes (that we have ordered) are not much. We can get them. We are also looking to completely refleet our old fleet. For that we need 50 aircraft and that is a bigger challenge.

Aircraft are hard to come by and the order books of both Boeing and Airbus are full. You mentioned that with the subprime problem in the US, some airlines or leasing companies would not take delivery of aircraft. That we understand is your Plan A. What is your Plan B? My Plan A would be that we secure from the leasing companies the aircraft that we need. Plan B would be if we can get extra aircraft due to the subprime. Let me take you back a bit. In April last year, my predecessor announced an aggressive restructuring. That closed many doors: Banks, financial institutions, leasing companies. A lot of companies then said, "We won’t do business with Gulf because it is fighting for survival." Now, what we are doing is turning it around. We have ordered aircraft. We have a new management and a board that is supportive. You can see a lot of things happening … we are now 100 per cent Bahrain-owned. We have a few things that we can now say, show success. These have opened doors again. Leasing companies and banks are now ready to

You said you would be going for aircraft from both Boeing and Airbus. Don’t you think that the two types of aircraft would be difficult to manage? We can manage both. We have been managing both. We have a good deal with Boeing. We currently have 35 aircraft and nine of them are Boeing 767s. We have sold some of them. Eventually, we will have no Boeing 767s. Maybe in 5-6 years we will have a ratio of 50:50 as far as Boeings and Airbus aircraft are concerned. Tell us, what are the problems that you have been facing? There was a change in leadership and even a change in ownership. The management then was not focused and there was no clear commitment from the owners to catch up or move forward. We were in kind of a limbo and our marketing was not done properly. Look, if you have a fleet that is aging, you have to maintain it. That was not done 100 per cent. As a result, the system was worn out. The morale of the staff was down and a number of people left us.

CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

“

We have ordered aircraft. We have a new management and a board that is supportive. You can see a lot of things happening … we are now 100 per cent Bahrainowned. We have a few things that we can now say, show success.

“

: The image of Gulf Air has gone down over the last few years. At one time Gulf Air was the preferred choice but if one has to go to London, for example, via the Middle East, the airline that is preferred is Qatar or Emirates. One often had to wait for eight hours at Bahrain to take a flight out. We understand Gulf Air has taken steps to bring about a change. How long will this makeover last? : Certain things that weren’t happening earlier are happening now. We are concentrating on punctuality and reliability and both these have happened already. In our restructuring plans we have reduced daily cash losses. We have one hub now – instead of the four – so being grounded at Bahrain (for eight hours) is now a thing of the past. You see things happening in the cabin – if the seats are working well, etc – but that will take a bit of time. If you order new seats, it takes one and a half years. If you want to change the interiors – putting the whole fleet through maintenance moves – that will take time. You will start seeing changes once the new aircraft come in over the next year. So, you will see a lot in the next 12-16 months.

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Photos: H.C. Tiwari

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Gulf Air’s big plans: (L-R) Rajeev Nambiar, Gulf Air’s General Manager in India, President and CEO Bjorn Naf, Capt. Abdulrahman Al Gaoud, Undersecretary for Civil Aviation Affairs, Bahrain and Mohammed Ghassan Shaikho, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Delhi

“

I like the challenge, I like the culture and I like the opportunities. It is a growing market and Gulf Air is a carrier that has a lot of potential. We can do a lot. There is a motivated team and it is a challenge to lead such an airline forward

“

Now, I think, with the clear direction of Bahrain, we are moving. We have reduced complexities. There is one hub, a new network, increased sales, increased yields and quality revenues. We have enhanced staff morale and, in short, strengthened our core competence. We have a revenue management system along with a new booking engine in place. We have renegotiated handling contracts, laid off some people and taken out the old aircraft. We sold six Boeing 767s because they were too old and we have started using narrow-bodies on the 767s’ routes … it is kind of a bundle of initiatives that have started showing some results. We are in a good position on the mountain but we are not at the top yet. Compared to nine months ago, we are in a good position but we still have a long way to go. Emirates, Qatar, Etihad: none of them have gone for an alliance – Star or One World. Are you planning to go for one? Yes, it is an option that we can examine. As I said, we need to first become a nice bride before we can go out and show ourselves. You know, we have to look nice before somebody even opens the door. And, therefore, we have to show results first. We have to be competitive and go out to add value to an alliance. We are open for all discussions but as I said, we are not just there yet. I just took over six months

ago and I have been busy internally to align things in the whole organisation – put the right people in the right place – and as we go along, things should get better. If you want more Indians to travel, you need a great hub and spokes. Are you looking at other stations now so that more Indians travel by Gulf Air? When you talk about hub, we have one in Bahrain. We are not looking for one in India or for that matter one in Europe. We want to have a strong Middle East network to connect the Middle East via Bahrain to the world and vice versa, connect the world via Bahrain to the Middle East. We have plans to go to China and we want to increase our presence in India. The recent bilateral (between Bahrain and India) was a big achievement but I am not happy with what we got. I want to have more – in fact, double of what we have for India – so that we can have more destinations from India connecting Bahrain to the world. What about cargo? Earlier, you had a dedicated freighter service from Indian stations but that has been discontinued? When do you plan to start cargo and have you ordered freighters among the new aircraft? I would love to do it. We need capacity. We don’t have a full freighter. In fact, we have reduced

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a few wide-bodies and now we are flying to certain destinations with narrow-bodies. So, cargo revenues are suffering. Very soon, we want to upgrade to wide-bodies again in order to get cargo revenues. But we don’t have any plans of buying freighters. I have brought in a new VicePresident-Cargo and I have given him the task to turn cargo around. I believe that cargo in the Middle East is the future. So is cargo in India. We will certainly be playing an active role in air cargo and yes, drive it. But that will only be possible the moment we have the aircraft. We are talking to certain companies that have cargo capacity or charter freighters. Maybe, we will be able to secure a contract or sign a deal to fly cargo aircraft as a wet lease, for example, to certain markets. However, I cannot say when that will happen. We have just started talking to somebody and it is still in the very early stages. One last question: What forced you to take this challenge? I am passionate about this and it is a huge challenge. I come from Switzerland and I was in the regional carrier: Crossair. I started as a pilot and went up the management ladder and was in the executive management of the carrier. As a pilot it was too boring and that is why I went into management. Then Swissair collapsed. I was in the executive management of Swiss International Airlines and I was responsible for spinning off the regional part. Some years later, I went to Africa. I was COO of Cargo Carriers in Africa, flying for the United Nations. Two - three years later I came to Gulf Air as Chief Operating Officer. The previous CEO was my boss in Swiss. He called me for the operation but he did not last long – only three months – in Gulf Air. The management asked me to take over as Acting CEO. Obviously, I did a few things right so they confirmed my post two weeks ago. I like the challenge, I like the culture and I like the opportunities. It is a growing market and Gulf Air is a carrier that has a lot of potential. We can do a lot. There is a motivated team and it is a challenge to lead such an airline forward.

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Experts meet on safety Safety has always been a prime concern for the civil aviation sector. The Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism (FAST) organised a thought-provoking and well-attended seminar that saw industry experts discussing safety norms

HE FOUNDATION for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism (FAST) recently organized a safety seminar, “FAST Growing Civil Aviation: Managing Safety” at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Flagging off the seminar, Gurcharan Bhatura, Director General, FAST, pointed out: “the increasing number of aircraft in the Indian skies, coupled with inadequate airport and air traffic infrastructure as well as shortage of skilled human resources has

Gurcharan Bhatura, DG, FAST, pointed out that the large number of aircraft in the skies always posed a challenge to airports CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

always posed a challenge to airport or aircraft operators in maintaining the desired levels of safety. In view of all, a grave need was felt for flagging safety issues and norms both in scheduled carrier and general aviation for the attention of all the stakeholders”. Lt General K. M. Seth (Retd) President, FAST, shared how the safety and security issue had acquired a more critical role in the growth scenario. He suggested that FAST, comprising a large resource bank of professionals, could aptly be

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(From left) Kanu Gohain, Director General, Civil Aviation being welcomed by Gurcharan Bhatura, Director General, FAST along with other participants at the seminar

Ashok Chawla, Secretary, Civil Aviation

tapped by government and industry to conduct studies and examine problem areas to find out workable solutions. Complex issues, which surround aviation safety and security, are constantly under review to meet emerging challenges. Besides, the measures selected have not only to be effective, but should be internationally harmonised to ensure free movement of air traffic with zero disruptions. Passengers like enjoying free and easy access to airport coupled with a hassle free check-in and check-out. With an aim to simplify passenger travel, what we actually need is the use of technology, separation of baggage from passenger, self check in machine and check in points at different locations in the metros. Extensive use of information technology and biometrics would go a long way in providing a safe and secure international as well as domestic travel, emphasised General Seth. Spelling out the various initiatives taken by his organisation, Kanu Gohain,

So far, DGCA has been performing the dual role of regulator and investigator. The time has come when we should have an independent investigative authority for making operators and regulator more responsible CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

Director General, Civil Aviation, said, “Airline operators and airports need to prepare themselves by conducting their own safety checks including the safety audits. The medical check-ups of CPL holders has been allowed at private hospitals.” In his inaugural address, Secretary, Civil Aviation, Ashok Chawla stressed upon the exponential growth in the Indian Civil Aviation Sector in the recent past. He shared how the domestic passenger traffic grew from 32.67 million in 2006 to 43.29 million in 2007, registering a growth of 32.51 per cent. Chawla went on to say that while the figures were “noteworthy, we registered an exceptionally high growth of 46 per cent last year. There are 13 scheduled airlines in operation and about 65 nonschedule operators. The number of aircraft has increased from about 300 in 2003 to about 1000 now, inclusive of about 200 helicopters. Additionally, helicopter operations have increased in the recent years for elections and executive flying as a result of which the air traffic in India has increased manifold. An Aviation Safety week was organised in December for sensitising the general public about aviation safety issues and it was a resounding success. The operators have to adopt all the prescribed safety norms, even if the cost is prohibitive in the wake of the considerable rise in the number of incidents and accidents in the recent past.” “Presently, DGCA is performing the dual role of regulator and investigator,” said Chawala. The time has come, he added, when “we should have an independent investigative authority for making operators and regulator more responsible.” One of the speakers at the conference was Siddhanta Sharma, Chairman, SpiceJet, who shared how safety was the core thrust area in the low-cost carrier. The event was a well attended one and was graced by V. P. Agarwal, Member Planning, Airports Authority of India, Arun Misra, Joint Secretary, Civil Aviation, Andrew Harrison, Chief Operating Officer IGI Airport, A. K. Chopra Joint DGCA, Capt. J. S. Dhilllon, Vice President (Ops), SpiceJet, B. K. Joshi, Secretary General, FAST, and numerous other professionals. The technical session was chaired by Arun Misra, Joint Secretary Civil Aviation. Besides, R. P. Sahi, Joint Director General Civil Aviation, J. S. Rawat, Director Aerodrome Standards and speakers from Federation of Indian Pilots, Pawan Hans, Bell Helicopters, Jamshedpur Aerodrome and Kalyanpur Aerodrome too, presented their papers.

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Nagpur Multi Modal Hub A BIG PUSH FOR AIRCARGO The clearance of the Nagpur multi-modal hub project has sent a strong and clear signal. The lack of proper infrastructure will no longer arrest the growth of air cargo, reports Tirthankar Ghosh

STORY THAT is repeated time and again to prove that Nagpur is the ideal location for the country’s first international multi-modal cargo and passenger hub, goes something like this. FedEx’s founder Frederick W. Smith apparently read about Nagpur before he wrote a paper on the ‘hub and spokes’ concept when he was at Yale University. Back in the 50s and 60s, Nagpur was well known in Indian aviation circles as the Indian Postal Department’s hub. The airport was used as a hub for the distribution of letters and packets to the four metropolitan cities of the country: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The city is almost equidistant from the four metros. A plane from any of the metros, for example Delhi, with letters meant for the other three centres, would land at Nagpur. There, the bags would be sorted and loaded on to planes meant for the other three metros. On its part, the Delhi plane would take in postal bags meant for the capital from the other three metros. The hub principle was adopted by Smith and replicated at Memphis, Tennessee. It will never be known whether the story is true or not but Nagpur’s claim to hub status has never diminished and when the Union Cabinet gave its ‘in-principle’ approval for the transfer of the Dr Ambedkar International Airport to the Joint Venture company for upgradation of the airport to a world-class, multi-modal, international passenger and cargo hub, those who had been keenly watching the

FedEx’s Memphis hub

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CARGO

Teaching hubbing to the world

red Smith, the founder of FedEx, expounded his theory of logistics — which later became the hub and spoke theory — in an economics paper he wrote while studying at Yale University. He mentioned that shippers transported large packages across the United States by truck or inside passenger planes. He tweaked the transportation method and pointed out that if a company carried small, essential items by plane, it would be a more efficient transporter. Smith did not get high marks for his paper but he continued thinking about creating an express delivery system. In 1971, Smith got his chance to put his idea into action. He had two Dassault Falcon airplanes and in June that year he officially launched the Federal Express Corporation. He sold his idea to his first customer: the Federal Reserve System. The “Fed” is the US government’s central bank and is linked to a dozen district banks around the country. Fred Smith said that he could ferry cheques and documents between the banks overnight. He would thereby reduce the existing delivery time. He conceived of

progress of aviation infrastructure in the country must have sighed in relief. After all, air cargo growth has gone up by leaps and bounds. Experts estimate that the market ex-India will grow at the rate of 11 per cent per year but infrastructure has not kept pace. The establishment of the hub at Nagpur would certainly provide the much-needed fillip to infrastructure. While granting the approval, the Cabinet also decided to constitute a Committee of Secretaries, under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary for the valuation of the land. The committee has been given the responsibility to decide the equity share of Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which had agreed to form the joint venture company to run the international airport and cargo hub at Nagpur. In the joint venture firm, the AAI – which owns the airport at present – would hold 49 per cent stake and MADC would have the remaining 51 per cent of equity. The Cabinet also gave the approval to the AAI to subscribe Rs 4.9 crore capital in the JVC, which would have a total subscribed capital of Rs 10 crore. The committee has also been entrusted to prepare the roadmap for transfer of the

Frederick Smith Founder and Chairman, FedEx

a central airport where he could fly the documents to — a hub — from where they would be taken to their final destinations along air routes called “spokes.” However, though the deal with the “Fed” did not work out, the huband-spoke concept is what the FedEx system works on. In the next few years, Smith contin-

Nagpur is indeed the right choice: it is in the geographical centre of India. It is well-connected by surface transport: roads and railways. To top it all, there are no constraints of land CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

ued pushing his idea but this time around he focused on high-priority, lightweight items like computer parts or medical supplies. These items required fast deliveries and FedEx was able to do it. Later, more planes were bought and trucks were leased. Among the planes were Boeing 727s and 737s and DC-10s. With the larger planes, FedEx got its hub-and-spoke system working to perfection, guaranteeing delivery by noon the next day for its premium service. (In 1982, this deadline was pushed up to 10:30 am.) The FedEx network is built around a single hub airport located on each continent: the hub in America is in Memphis (Tennessee), the Gulf’s hub is at Dubai, Subic Bay in the Philippines acts as the Asian hub and, Roissy in France has the European hub. Parcels sent through FedEx begin their journey at one of the 42500 deposit points around the world. They are picked up and carried by one of the 40500 trucks the company has internationally. The company has a fleet of 610 aircraft. present Nagpur airport and will put in place the financial structure and other incidental issues. The committee has also been authorised to re-shape the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Maharashtra Government and Ministry of Civil Aviation on December 18, 2006 in the light of conditional approval by the Cabinet. According to the MoU, the airport would be transferred to the JVC at an annual lease rent of one rupee for 30 years,

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which could be extended on mutually agreed terms. The hub has taken a long time in coming. The Government of Maharashtra had, quite a few years ago, proposed to develop a world-class passenger and cargo hub at Nagpur airport. A high-level Steering Committee had been constituted for the project with the participation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the nodal agency for the project, even got a Techno-Economic Feasibility Study done through a consortium of consultants led by L&T Ramboll Consulting Engineers Ltd. The consultants opined that Nagpur was ideally located for the setting up of an international hub airport. Indeed, Nagpur is the right choice: it is in the geographical centre of India. It is well-connected by surface transport: roads and railways. To top it all, there are no constraints of land. However, location is just one of the necessities for a successful hub. The other factors — investments, infrastructure and planning — have all got to fit in. The locational advantage notwithstanding, a number of express integrators have been critical of Nagpur’s position as a hub since it is not on the flight path of planes flying from the US and Europe to China via India. To land at Nagpur, they maintain, the aircraft need to take a diversion to the south. They cite the example of an aircraft flying from Frankfurt to Beijing/Shanghai. The shortest path would be Frankfurt-Delhi-Beijing/Shanghai. That may be one of the major reasons why FedEx and DHL created a gateway out of Delhi first, before moving to the other metros. While that may be true to a certain extent, it cannot be denied that Nagpur would be able to service a very large middle India market.

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The locational advantage notwithstanding, a number of express integrators have been critical of Nagpur’s position as a hub since it is not on the flight path of planes flying from the US and Europe to China via India CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

The other point that these integrators point out is that India is not as big a country as the United States where a Memphis-like hub-and-spoke system would make sense. Travelling from one coast of the US to the other takes around six hours or so unlike India where metros are around two-and-a-half hours apart. In fact, the airport is connected to 37 airports in India at an average of 1.2 hrs. With such short flying times, does it make sense to create a Nagpur hub for domestic players, they ask? Whatever the factors, now that the government has given the green signal, Nagpur’s elevation to international hub status will place the country firmly on the global trade map. The Multimodal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) has indeed been a careful and well thought-out process. Hyped as a oneof-its-kind project in the heart of India, MIHAN will be spread out over an area of 4354 hectares. The project would consist of: International Airport: The airport would consist of two parallel runways, each 4000 metres long and 60 metres wide, and a semi-circular terminal building of 300000 sq. ft, which would cater to a projected traffic of 14 million passengers and 870000 tons of cargo a year by 2030. Special Economic Zone (SEZ): Spread out over an area of 2086 hectares, the SEZ next to Nagpur airport will trigger development of various activities in the region. The SEZ would consist of: Information Technology Park (IT Park), Health City, an eco-friendly coal-based power plant and manufacturing units. A Techno-Economic Feasibility Study (TEFS) of the project was done at the

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CARGO NEWS

Hub Airports in Asia

behest of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the nodal agency for the project, by a consortium of consultants led by L&T Ramboll Consulting Engineers Ltd. The consultants stated that Nagpur had the potential to become an international hub airport. A detailed study of traffic data and statistics carried out for air traffic, road and railways, suggested that the airport could be developed to handle 18.9 million passengers per year in 2035 against the 0.2 million passengers per year in 2000. The project, then, includes the expansion of the present airport along with development of facilities in and around for the multi-modal transfer of passengers and cargo. The Special Economic Zone would comprise, among others, an inland container terminal, a truck terminal, banks, repackaging facilities and convention and exhibition centres. The total project cost has been worked to Rs 2,581 crore over 30 years. The investment required in various facilities in MIHAN by other agencies would be approximately Rs 2,600 crore. Added to all this would be Boeing’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility. To be set up with initial investment of about US $100 million, around 75 acres of land has already been allotted to the aircraft company. The Changi Airports International (CAI), the wholly owned airport management unit of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), has already secured a technical services agreement with Maharashtra government to develop MIHAN. CAI has started work with MADC to enhance the efficiency of Nagpur Airport.

If Dubai with a few manufacturing facilities or major exports, could become a successful hub, why not India with its growth in the manufacturing sector, exports and imports and even location? CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

Perhaps, what is heartening to note is that the MIHAN project has become a peoples’ movement. Soon after the Union Cabinet gave its approval, a Nagpur-based NGO, the Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) Council, decided to promote the project on its own. On its part, VED has been working with MADC. It had, in fact, taken the lead to wage a legal battle for the transfer of the airport to MADC. The NGO has proposed to hold a MIHAN expo in the city in partnership with global business consultants Deloitte in November last year. Staging the exposition comes in the wake of inquiries that the NGO has received from Indian and foreign firms. MIHAN would essentially promote India’s potential to be a global hub for air cargo. Not long ago, Hwang Teng Aun, President, Singapore Airlines Cargo, had pointed out that the country indeed possessed the right ingredients to become an international cargo hub. Speaking at the India Cargo Summit organised by the CII in New Delhi, Aun had said that before that happened, India would have to improve its infrastructure and cost efficiency. “Considering its geographical location, India, especially Delhi, has the potential to become a gobal hub for air cargo,” he had said. He then went on to say that Dubai, where there was not much of manufacturing or exports, had become a successful destination. India, by that reasoning, with all its growth in manufacturing sector and exports and imports, could become another global hub. Now that Nagpur will see fruition in the not too distant future, the country’s chances of becoming a global cargo hub may be brighter than ever before.

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DOMESTIC AIRLINES Jet zips into Muscat, Doha and Kuwait The Maharaja goes non-stop from Dilli! AIR INDIA has deployed stateof-the-art Boeing 777-200LR for its Nonstop Delhi-New York flight which commenced in February 2008. With this, Air India has become the first airline to offer non-stop services between Delhi and JFK, New York. Air India had, incidentally, commenced non-stop service between Mumbai and New York back in August 2007. The 238-seater aircraft will have eight seats in First Class, 35 seats in Executive Class and 195 seats in Economy Class. The flight will depart from Delhi at 0030 hrs (LT), arriving JFK at 0545 hrs (LT), depart JFK at 1600 hrs (LT) and arriving Delhi at 1630 hrs (LT) next day. Air India’s Maharaja is rolling out the red carpet for those who travel on this flight, AI-101/AI-102. The passengers travelling in premium classes — First and Executive — will get a free limousine pick up and drop service to/from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and JFK airport at the time of departure/arrival. Additionally, they will receive a gift voucher of US $75 and US $50 respectively, for each sector of travel for onboard duty free shopping. Those who purchase tickets in India for travel by the non-stop flight from Delhi/Mumbai in the Economy Class on full-published IATA fares, can avail of Air India’s Companion Free Scheme. The scheme is valid till March 31, 2008. Members of ‘Flying Returns’, Air India’s Frequent Flyer Programme, who travel on its flight AI-101/AI-102 can look forward to receiving double mileage points. This introductory offer, applicable for travel from either Delhi or New York, is valid till April 30, 2008.

JET AIRWAYS has announced the launch of its daily direct flights to Muscat from Kochi and Kozhikode (Calicut) and Doha from Mumbai and Kozhikode. With the induction of these new flights, Kozhikode will be the second city in Kerala to be connected by Jet Airways’ international services to the Middle East. Jet Airways has also launched its daily direct flights to Kuwait and Bahrain, thus expanding its international network. Jet Airways marks its initial launch with a daily direct (From left to right) U. H. Shenoy, General Managerflight on the Kochi-Kuwait-Kochi South India, Capt. Hameed Ali, Chief Operating Officer, Naresh Goyal, Chairman and Sudheer Raghavan, Chief and Kochi-Bahrain-Kochi sectors. Commercial Officer, Jet Aiways, during the Press With these flights, Jet Airways Conference in Kozhikode makes its first international foray out of Kerala. The airline also commences daily direct flights on the Mumbai-BahrainMumbai and Delhi-Kuwait-Delhi sectors.

Kolkata-Jaipur non-stop, simplifly! DECCAN CONTINUES to increase connectivity to new city pairs across India. It has launched new daily flights connecting Kolkata to Jaipur. An Airbus A320 has been deployed to serve this route. Operations commenced on January 15 and an Airbus A320 has been deployed on this route. First Hangar in Chennai: Dr K. Ramalingam, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chennai, inaugurated the first aircraft hangar owned and built by Deccan in Chennai. Capt. G. R. Gopinath — Executive Chairman, Deccan and Ramki Sundaram — Officiating CEO Deccan, attended the inauguration ceremony. The Hangar, which took nearly two years to build, has a total construction area of 3200 sq. m. The maintenance hall spans 46m wide, 54m deep and 17m high. The hangar has space for one A320 and two ATR aircraft at one time and is designed and equipped to be a world-class facility. The new Hangar at Chennai will provide a tremendous fillip to Deccan’s maintenance and service efficiency, reducing the ‘downtime’. With love for SBI: Deccan, in association with the State Bank of India (SBI), has announced its special fixed fare offer called the ‘SBI card-Flat Fare’ offer, for all SBI credit card holders. A fixed fare of Rs 499 (Basic fare) will be offered to passengers booking on Deccan using their SBI credit card. Taxes and surcharge, as applicable, will be borne by the passenger.

IndiGo expands IndiGo has taken delivery of its fifteenth and sixteenth brand new A320 aircraft. The airlines is operating one of these aircraft for additional daily flights from Mumbai to Chennai and Mumbai to Kolkata and also return on the same route. The second aircraft is being used to further expand its route network with the introduction of six new flights and the addition of Ahmedabad as a destination. The airline now operates 112 daily flights connecting 17 destinations, including, Agartala, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and Vadodara.

GoAir records 73 per cent growth

GOAIR RECORDED an impressive 73 per cent growth in passenger traffic during the first nine months of the current fiscal. The airline carried over a million passengers during the last nine months. The massive growth in traffic immediately follows the flight operations expansion programme concluded by GoAir last November, whereby GoAir doubled its weekly flight operations to 561 commercial flights. Jeh Wadia, MD, GoAir During the nine months period, GoAir’s load factors averaged to 83 per cent. It has been consistently recording highest load factors since the

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last one year. GoAir’s overall market share has risen to nearly five per cent. With the onset of the tourist season in India, GoAir hopes to maintain this growth trend in passenger traffic, load factors and market share in the last quarter as well. According to Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir, “The enormous growth consistently recorded by GoAir over the last few quarters reflects the faith of our passengers in the brand. Despite the challenging tourism environment in India, GoAir managed to maintain its leadership stance by recording such high load factors. Moreover, our market share is on an upswing as compared to our market share during the previous season. We also enjoy the highest market share per aircraft in the industry.” Rs 1075 Flat Fare on Delhi-Jaipur-Delhi flights: GoAir has announced a unique fare offer on the Delhi-Jaipur sector as part of its new pricing strategy. The airline is offering a Flat Fare of Rs 1075 for passengers flying this sector, including all taxes and surcharges. The flat fare offer on the Delhi-Jaipur sector is also available on Jaipur-Delhi flights. Over the last one year, the airline has recorded a whopping 200 per cent growth in passenger traffic in the Delhi-Jaipur sector. As part of its aggressive strategy to drive growth in this sector, GoAir recently doubled its flight operations in Jaipur to 28 weekly flight departures.

SpiceJet-BillDesk tie-up SpiceJet has announced a tie-up with BillDesk that will provide SpiceJet customers an additional option to purchase and pay for

Tom Ronell, CEO Istithmar, Siddhanta Sharma, Executive Chairman, SpiceJet Ltd and Partha Sarathi Basu, CFO, SpiceJet

their tickets through their Internet Banking Accounts Online, on the SpiceJet’s website www.spicejet.com. Meanwhile, in another related move, Istithmar, the private equity arm held by Government of Dubai, announced that it had no plans to sell its stake in SpiceJet. At a press conference, Istithmar’s Chief Executive Officer, Tom Ronell, said: “We are not selling the investment made in Spice and would look to increase the stake at an opportune time. We have been talking to other investors about increasing our stake. In the long run, there is tremendous scope in the airline.” Istithmar holds a 13.42 per cent stake and has 7 per cent in convertible bonds — due for conversion in December 2010 — which, when exercised, would see their holding going up.

INTERNATIONAL Qatar duty free or call it the 'fortune transformer' Dragonair set to launch Bangalore service Dragonair has announced that it will fly passengers to and from India for the first time in May when it launches a new service to Bangalore, a major economic hub that in recent years has shaped into a techno-savvy capital of India. The Bangalore service will commence in May 2008 with daily flights operated by A330-300 aircraft, offering a two-class Business as well as Economy Class cabin product. The launch of the destination will open up new opportunities for people travelling between Hong Kong and the thriving southern region of India. Bangalore will be the seventh new destination to be launched by Dragonair since it became part of the Cathay Pacific Group in September 2006. In the past one year, the airline has also launched scheduled services to Phuket, Busan, Fukuoka, Sendai and Kathmandu, besides a daily charter service to Taichung in Taiwan.

Qatar Duty Free, a subsidiary of Qatar Airways, has announced the winners of its biggest ever raffle prize draw, transforming over-night the fortune of one lucky passenger who became an instant millionaire, besides making two others proud luxury car owners. The lucky winner, The Qatar Duty Free draw concluded at Doha International Airport Varkey Thomas from with tickets picked for US$1 million and two luxury cars. Qatar Duty Free Deputy General Manager Krishna Kumari is pictured third left India won a whopping US $1million in the second millionaire draw held at Doha International Airport. “I feel so elated on getting this special gift and surely deem that it has come because of Almighty’s blessings,” said Varkey after learning of the win. Married with four daughters, 55-year-old Varkey works as a General Manager for an offshore company in Qatar. He shared how the news had brought “great joy” to his family. As luck would have it, the Thomas family has been in Doha for past 23 years and had incidentally bought the winning ticket before boarding flight QR 264 to Cochin, to visit family in their hometown. Murray wins Qatar Open: British number one Andy Murray powered his way to clinch the Qatar Exxon Mobil Tennis Open, the first tennis tournament of the year for which Qatar Airways was the Official Airline. The world number 11 from Scotland beat Stanislas Wawrinka, of Switzerland in a threeset marathon final held at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha. Following his defeat in last year’s final, Murray returned to Qatar to win his fourth ATP Tour title. As Official Airline of the prestigious event, Qatar Airways was proud to fly players and officials in the weeklong tournament, with total prize money worth US $1.5 million on offer. The event was organised prior to the Australian Open. Later, Qatar Airways cabin crew gave away gifts to spectators in the grounds of the complex. CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

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BAE Systems bags a prestigious contract BAE Systems has bagged a $29 million award from the US Department of Homeland Security to test JETEYE, its infrared aircraft missile defense system, on passenger aircraft. The tests will evaluate the system’s compatibility with daily passenger airline operations and maintenance. The latest contract is for the third phase of research and development on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) counter-man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) programme. Significantly, there will be no testing of the JETEYE system’s missile-defeating capability, as testing was done at government test ranges during the earlier phase of the program. As part of the counterMANPADS program, BAE Systems will install its JETEYE aircraft missile defense system on three American Airlines aircraft.

New AEA Chairman is KLM’s top boss THE ASSOCIATION of European Airlines (AEA), representing Europe’s major network carriers, has announced that Peter Hartman, President and Chief Executive Officer of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will chair the AEA in 2008. Hartman takes over from Fernando Conte, Chairman and CEO of Iberia. Incidentally, KLM was one of the four founding members of AEA and 2008 will be the eight year when the airline has held the chair, a record unsurpassed by any other AEA member. Peter Hartman succeeded Leo van Wijk at the helm of KLM in 2007, crowning an airline career which began in 1973 and with passage of time, encompassed senior posts in a broad range of the airline’s activities.

Hyderabad to London direct: BA BRITISH AIRWAYS will soon operate five flights a week from Hyderabad and thus will become the only airline offering direct flights from six metros in India to London Heathrow. Robert Boyle, British Airways’ Commercial Director, said: “India is our largest market outside North America. There will be a strong business demand for our flights that will be the only direct services between the city and UK.” All out to woo passengers: British Airways continues to offer consistently low fares on its flights from India to UK, Europe and America. British Airways passengers headed to the UK or Europe need to pay as little as Rs 26,000 and all of Rs 36,000 to America or Canada for a return journey. Interestingly, for those flying from India to London Heathrow, there is an exclusive travel experience in the offing in World Traveller Plus by paying just Rs 10,000 extra. Going the green way: British Airways took fresh steps today to intensify its work in limiting aviation’s impact on climate change. The airline unveiled a new carbon offset scheme, research into the effects of aircraft’s non-carbon emissions and backing for deforestation prevention in Brazil. The upgraded offset scheme uses UN certified emissions reductions to help finance clean energy projects in developing countries. Customers offsetting their flight emissions will be supporting a Biomass power plant in Mahasamund in India along with a new windfarm in one of the poorest regions of China, as well as run-of-the-river hydro electric plants in China and Brazil. The scheme is user-friendlier with customers able to buy their offset in one transaction when they book their flight on ba.com. British Airways will also invest in a range of projects to help protect the Brazilian rainforest and improve understanding of ways of combating one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases.

Cathay Pacific to augment its Indian services CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS has announced that it will considerably enhance its schedule to and from India, beginning end of February, with more flights added to its existing services to Delhi, Mumbai and the launch of a new destination, Chennai. The enhanced services, with a total of 23 new flights a week by early June, from one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, will serve to further enhance connectivity between India and the world on Cathay Pacific’s global network. Cathay Pacific’s services to Mumbai and Delhi will both become a daily feature from beginning March with the addition of three more flights a week to each city. The extra flights to Mumbai will continue on to Dubai. This translates into a daily flight from Mumbai to Dubai in addition to daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Hong Kong. From the beginning of the summer schedule in April, the airline will add further three flights a week to Mumbai, taking the number of flights to the city to almost 10 a week. At the same time, another daily flight will be added to Delhi, making it a double-daily service of 14 flights a week. Beginning June, Cathay Pacific will add Chennai, India’s fourth-largest Metropolitan City, to its network with four flights a week. The aircraft deployed on the route to Mumbai will be a Boeing 777-300 aircraft. To Delhi, the airline will operate Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Cathay Pacific will also operate the Airbus A330-300 on the new Chennai route. All the deployed aircraft will offer a two-class cabin product with both Business and Economy Class.

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Etihad’s new Indian country Manager THE ACTING manager of Abu Dhabi-based airline, Etihad Airways for India, Neerja Bhatia has been appointed as the country manager for India. Bhatia was instrumental in overseeing the launch of new services to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. Geert Boven, Etihad Airways’ executive vice president, sales and services, said: “Etihad Airways has made no secret of its desire to augment its Indian operations. Bhatia’s experience would be extremely pivotal Neerja Bhatia and invaluable in helping us establish the potential new routes.”

AirTran to build hurricane hardened centre AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, announced its plans to construct a permanent, hurricane-hardened Systems Operations Control (SOC) centre at Orlando International Airport. “Orlando will remain our nerve centre for our fast-growing network as well as our headquarters city,” said Robert L. Fornaro, AirTran Airways President and Chief Executive Officer. AirTran Airways has rapidly added services and new routes at its home base and now operates 449 weekly services to 33 destinations from Orlando. The company plans to add more than 120 jobs at an average salary of US $45,000 to its 300-member Orlando workforce. Many of the new jobs are tied to the AirTran Airways SOC, the airline’s technologically advanced nerve centre, where dispatchers, schedulers and resource planners control the various aspects of airline operations. As a recap, Hurricane Charley had extensively damaged the existing SOC in 2004.

Irresistible offers from Emirates DSF IF YOU THOUGHT only the Dubai Shopping Festival was exciting, think again. Emirates’ hotel packages starting from as little as US $75 per person per night is bound to make visitors rethink their travelling plans. The packages, valid till February 24, apply on a twin-sharing basis and provide customers with a choice of accommodation from a range of about 18 select properties to suit all pockets. The price includes breakfast, transfers between Dubai International Airport and the hotel by chauffeur-driven car and personalised meet-and-assist upon arrival. Customers receive a special 10 per cent discount on hotel room tariff, for booking and buying packages online at www.emirates.com. The packages must be booked for a minimum of three nights and carry the option to extend.

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Automation does wonders for Lufthansa fliers AUTOMATED check-in at Lufthansa’s Quick Check-in terminals or via the Internet is fast raking in popularity. Last year alone, about 12 million Lufthansa passengers used these options. The 426 terminals available at airports worldwide were used by about 10 million customers. There was exceptionally strong growth in demand outside Germany, where almost 60 per cent more passengers used the Quick Check-in service compared to the previous year. The latest service innovation enables passengers to identify themselves by entering just their name and their sixcharacter booking reference when checking on the Lufthansa website. Lufthansa’s new quiz show: National Geographic Channel and Lufthansa will soon take you on a virtual expedition around the world with the Indian version of the internationally acclaimed quiz show — ‘Lufthansa Nat Geo Genius’. Hosted by acclaimed actor and director, Rajat Kapoor, Lufthansa Nat Geo Genius is being telecast every Saturday. In this show, three contestants will take a predetermined route around the globe to answer questions based on the countries they travel through and earn miles. Each correct answer will move the expedition to the next destination. The person who clocks the maximum number of miles in an episode will be the winner of that week. Eighteen weekly winners will subsequently compete in the next rounds followed by two semifinals and the grand finale for unraveling the first Indian Lufthansa Nat Geo Genius. Lufthansa to expand base in Germany: To facilitate future expansion plans, Germany’s biggest airline Lufthansa will be taking on close to 4300 new staff this year. Lufthansa is seeking a total of 2000 flight attendants and 1000 other staff for passenger support as “Service Professionals” at Frankfurt and Munich Airports.

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TRAVEL & TOURISM ‘VITS’ luxury chain business hotel now in Belgaum A 60-ROOM VITS property, part of a new chain of luxury business hotels from Kamat Hotels India Limited (KHIL) has recently set home in Belgaum. Located at Club Road, the new hotel offers contemporary luxury business accommodation for discerning business class travellers from across India. Belgaum is well known for its prominent medical and education facilities and other tourist attractions. With a VITS hotel in Belgaum, travellers visiting the city for leisure or for medical treatment from Karnataka, Maharashtra or Goa will now have an alternate ‘home away from home’. The first VITS hotel was launched in Mumbai in November 2007.

Oberoi’s unique Training and Education Programme

THE OBEROI GROUP initiated the unique Systematic Training and Education Programme (STEP) in 2004. This three-year programme provides undergraduates the opportunity of acquiring specific and specialised training and knowledge, either in Kitchen Operations or other Hotel Operations, at the same time as pursuing a Bachelor of Tourism Studies (BTS) degree from the Indira Gandhi Open University. The programme equips trainees to work in deluxe and first class hotels and resorts. While The Oberoi Group hopes that the trainees would pursue their careers within the Group, they are free to join any other organisation. Alternately, as graduates, the trainees are also eligible to compete for admission to the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD).

Mahindra Holidays & Resorts inks golden deal MAHINDRA HOLIDAYS & RESORTS India Limited (MHRIL), a leisure hospitality provider offering quality family holidays and a subsidiary of Mahindra Holdings and Finance Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd), has finalised a one per cent private placement deal with NYLIM Jacob Ballas India Fund III, LLC. The equity shares to be transferred to NYLIM Jacob Ballas India Fund III, LLC, shall be subject to lock-in after the IPO as per SEBI regulations.

Brigade Hospitality and Sheraton join hands BRIGADE HOSPITALITY SERVICES PVT LTD, a 100 per cent subsidary of Brigade Enterprises Limited, announced that they have signed a management agreement with Sheraton Hotels and Resorts to manage a new-build Sheraton Hotel in Mysore. Sheraton Mysore Hotel will be part of a four acre development that will include commercial space, in addition to the hotel. The 220-room hotel will include over 15000 sq ft of meeting space, four restaurants with all day dining outlets, lobby lounge and pub, a bar, health club, spa and a business centre.

Sarovar Hotels and Resorts foray into Bengaluru SAROVAR HOTELS and Resorts announced the opening of Savannah Sarovar Premiere, the first Five Star Hotel in the Whitefield area of Bengaluru. The hotel will cater to the ever increasing needs of international and national guests in the burgeoning IT sector. Enjoying a prime location and easy access from the airport, Savannah Sarovar Premiere, with its contemporary architecture and interiors has a strong cosmopolitan feel. Complete with 104 guest rooms and suites, and two dedicated meeting rooms, Savannah Sarovar Premiere has high-energy interiors and vivid, lifestyle driven design distinctive of Sarovar’s Premiere brand. Guests can look forward to some great dining experience or after hours relaxation at Savvy — the multi cuisine restaurant and Beyond — the Bar, The Oriental Blossom — Specialty Chinese Restaurant and Sin — The Lobby Lounge. The hotel offers access to meeting and banquet facilities for low-key meetings for upto 30 people to larger conferences for about 120 people. The hotel also has a fully equipped business

centre, a swimming pool and a health club. A hugely popular hotel with the young and the aspirational, technology is integrated into the very spirit of Savannah Sarovar Premiere. It offers Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the hotel.

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Ramayana spots, the latest USP of Srilanka DIVERSIFYING its tourism product offering in its primary source market of India, Sri Lanka Tourism unveiled its ambitious thematic programme of ‘Following the Trails of Ramayana’ in Sri Lanka to lure more travellers to Sri Lanka. This meticulously devised programme will offer an opportunity to the Indian tourist to visit prominent religious sites as sited in Valmiki’s epic Ramayana. Research by professionals and historians have established that there are more than 50 sites in Sri Lanka linked to the epic where names of S. Kalaiselvam, Director General, Sri Lanka Lord Rama and Devi Seetha find resonance. The Tourism; H. E., C. R. Jayasinghe, High list also includes special temples built in the areas Commissioner of Sri Lanka; Sri Lanka Tourism Ambassadors Arjuna Ranatunga where King Ravana kept Seetha captive. The and Aravinda de Silva kickstarting the prominent sites include names associated with Ramayana Trail programme Ramayana such as Seethaeliya, Ram Bodha (Ramboda), Ussangoda and Roomassala.

Le Telfair Golf & Spa Resort, Mauritius woos Indians LE TELFAIR GOLF and Spa Resort in Mauritius nestles between the foothills of the Plaine Champagne Mountains and the translucent blue waters of the Indian Ocean. The resort reflects the glory of its old colonial past and comprises many of the estate’s original buildings. Of the many attractions of this resort is their 18-hole, par 72, championship golf course ‘Le Golf du Château’ that winds its way through the contours of the former sugarcane plantation. Designed by well-known South African golf architect Peter Matkovich, the 205 acre course has wide, undulating fairways and two intersecting streams. All features combine together to provide golfers an opportunity for displaying their skills in the most breathtaking and picturesque environment. For the non-golfers, there are numerous activities to entertain, or just simply relax in the luxurious surroundings of the resort. The Six Senses Spa village offers an extensive list of treatments.

MISA’s space odyssey for tourists The Tourism Ministry of Malaysia offers a unique opportunity to the international tourists for experiencing true space odyssey through its first-ever Malaysia International Space Adventure (MISA), NASA aerospace exhibition. In sync with its theme ‘Experience Space on Earth’ this MISA exhibition includes 87 exhibits from NASA, including the Apollo and Gemini programme along with exhibits from German Space Museum. This space exploration adventure is divided in eight thematic zones including Galactic Concourse, History of Space Exploration, Magic Planet, Mars Rover, Space Station Interactive, Space Shuttle Flight Deck, Blast Zone and the first 4D Theatre experience in Malaysia. MISA visitors can also capture the NASA experience through the world’s latest and most spectacular 4D display.

DTCM launches online reservation THE DUBAI DEPARTMENT of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has launched a new online travel reservation system on its hugely popular website www.dubaitourism.ae. Website visitors can shop 24x7 for the best possible travel deals on hotel and hotel apartment bookings. In addition to the hotel and hotel apartment bookings, visitors to the website will, in near future, be able to take advantage of car rentals, airline tickets and tickets to attractions.

Navi Mumbai gets Fortune Select Exotica FORTUNE PARK HOTELS LTD., a subsidiary of ITC Ltd, has announced the opening of Fortune Select Exotica at Navi Mumbai. Owned by Exotic Cuisines Private Limited (ECPL), Fortune Select Exotica has been created with a carefully crafted blend of aesthetics to cater to today’s discerning business traveller. Director-ECPL, Vikramditya Kukreja and his team have ensured that the hotel is equipped with all possible necessities for global travellers, for whom Navi Mumbai is fast becoming a very important destination. Designed on a grand scale, the hotel offers contemporary architecture and interiors. The hotel is located adjacent to Palmbeach Galleria Mall on Palm Beach Road. Already recognised as a landmark at Vashi — the corporate hub of Navi Mumbai — as a first class full service hotel, it stands out for its contemporary ambience and well-designed use of space and functionality. The 85-room property, includes 50 standard rooms, 19 Fortune Club rooms, 8 Fortune Club Exotica rooms and 8 suites. Suresh Kumar, President-Fortune Park Hotels Ltd, was happy that Fortune Hotels’ first property in Mumbai had opened at such an important business location. He said that with Mumbai having such a dearth of space, Navi Mumbai was the future for the region. As part of Fortune Hotels’ premium brand, ‘Select’, the exterior of the hotel presents an invitingly expansive façade. The ‘corporate’ look is enhanced by the extensive use of dark wood and a uniquely harmonious blend throughout the hotel in which brown and beige remain the prominent colours. The Fortune Hotels chain is known for the excellence of its cuisine and the Fortune Select Exotica will also ensure that its cuisine lives up to this reputtion.

Countdown to the ITB Berlin 2008 begins THE OUTLOOK is exceptionally good for the ITB Berlin as final preparations are under way for the event in March. The focus will be on the Dominican Republic, the partner country at this year’s ITB. Overall, around 11000 companies from 180 countries and territories will be exhibiting at the ITB Berlin 2008, and more than 100000 trade visitors are expected to attend. A giant leap for ITB Berlin: With the relaunch of its web portal, ITB Berlin has trodden a giant leap forward. The main features: it is barrier-free, and incorporates a new download centre with improved, faster access. Following an extensive technical and graphical relaunch, the ITB Berlin is now ready with an updated logo and a revised website. CRUISING HEIGHTS February 2008

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The World’s MostDelayed Airports

Forbes.Com has put out a list of the world’s most delayed airports. Here’s the list: Departures Brasilia International Airport, the world’s worst for ontime departures — less than 27 per cent of all flights took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time in 2007. Beijing Capital International Airport — just 33 per cent flights took off on time in 2007. Cairo International — Africa’s second busiest airport behind Johannesburg — saw only 47 per cent of its flights take off on time. The average wait: 43 minutes. Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris – the worst place in Europe to catch a timely flight – barely 50 per cent planes left as scheduled. Arrivals With just 58 per cent of its flights arriving on time LaGuardia (New York) airport beat out Newark International (slightly more than 58 per cent arrived as scheduled) for the worst airport in the U.S. for arrivals. They round out the top five of the world’s worst airports for

delayed arrivals. Incidentally, John F. Kennedy International — New York’s largest airport with 44 million passengers annually — was barely behind them, with more than 40 per cent of its flights arriving late. And Where are the least delayed airports in the world? Korea and Japan. Nearly 95 per cent of commercial flights at Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport arrived on time. In Japan, Osaka Itami International airport had the timeliest arrivals — just eight per cent of its flights didn’t land on schedule. But the country had by far the best track record for on-time departures — six of its airports are in the top 10. Osaka Itami leads the pack, with 97 per cent on-time departures in 2007; Tokyo’s Haneda airport, which saw more than 66 million people pass through its terminals, was second best. Only seven percent of the flights departed late there. And what about India? Here is the Forbes take: “Of course, we looked at arrivals as well. If you flew to Mumbai or Delhi last year, more often than not your plane did not arrive on time. The international airports in those cities were the world’s worst for timely arrivals.”

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