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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S NOTE

Maska for DGCA ne of the great bunkum in India these days is the dependence K Srinivasan on a regulatory mechanism to resolve issues. I don’t know if that is the solution considering the ineffectiveness of regulators in telecom, power, and insurance and who have you. But that can be no yardstick not to have a regulatory mechanism or indeed if there is a system in place to improve and make it effective. A regulator is critical, but he is really a vital cog in the wheel, not the whole wheel as such! In the Indian context, he is viewed as an impediment to the smooth movement of the wheel or like the gall bladder — an unwanted evolutionary anchorism! In the present case we are talking about the Civil Aviation Ministry and the ‘operational’ regulator for the sector is clearly the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Several newspapers have reported over the past several weeks that senior DGCA officials are under the scanner and under investigation by the Chief Vigilance Commission for ‘cosying’ up to the very companies they were to regulate. It’s good of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to be outraged, but it might do some good to remind them that several officials of the Ministry and the various public sector units have retired/resigned to take up jobs straightaway with companies they were dealing with as officials in the government. How it is that no one has blinked when this was happening? One isn’t suggesting that the CVC mustn't act, but surely there is something known as a level playing field! The other great piece of fiction is that the DGCA has become venal and frightfully corrupt. Dead wrong. It was always that way. And let's put it this way, it is the airlines that

wine, dine and massage those who matter and brought this reputation upon the DGCA. It was only two frightful front wheel landings by a commander at IndiGo and a police investigation in Rajasthan that unravelled the fake pilots’ racket. Mind you there had been no systemic safeguards by the airlines — they acted thanks to the public outrage and the media pressure that forced the DGCA to clean up its act and get the airlines to clean their act as well. It also helped to clean up the examination system that is critical to the health of the sector. But to be fair to the airlines, they are willing to accept a cleaned up system and state that they have no option but to cosy up to the existing arrangement simply to survive and fly! If all that is not enough, the DGCA faces a safety audit this December of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) if indeed it is safe to overfly India and the report — in the public domain — will give most countries a good hard look at our capabilities. Just three years after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nearly downgraded India, this will be an acid test for a huge understaffed and demoralised DGCA. While Indian aviation has been galloping at a 20-25 per cent year on year growth, the regulatory mechanism has been getting stunted and short staffed. In fact, the present sorry pass is that they don't have enough senior officials to head the organisation and it’s been a civil servant at the helm for close to five years. The time has now come for a complete overhaul of the system. Sacking E K Bharat Bhushan wasn't really the solution. It's only trying to say that the others will fall in line. I wonder if Arun Mishra or his ilk will like that comparison.

srini@newsline.in

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Off the cuff

Virtual support on offer The next time you are in a major US airport, do not be surprised if virtual assistants help you out. These virtual assistants are the first in a series of hologram personalities — there are two of them, Paige and Carla — who have been popping up at airports across the US. While Paige made her debut in April at Washington Dulles, greeting and guiding international arrivals through Customs as part of a summer-long pilot project, Carla joined the staff at Boston's Logan International Airport in a different role, offering tips for getting through the security checkpoint in two languages: English and Spanish. Ed Freni, Director of Aviation for the Massachusetts Port Authority, US said good security meant good customer service. "This new virtual greeter gives us an opportunity to collaborate with the TSA on a more efficient security checkpoint by educating passengers ahead of time on the dos and the don'ts of security screening," he said. "Our best asset in making the security screening process move along faster is an informed and prepared customer." Freni dispelled rumours that the avatar would replace any existing staff members, saying it simply grabbed more attention than some of the signs and videos already in place. The avatars help reduce costs in other ways too. They work 24hour shifts without overtime pay and don't complain, need lunch or take bathroom breaks. Both Carla and Paige were designed by Tensator, a global leader of queue management solutions. Next up is Ava, developed by Florida-based aviation marketing company Airus Media. Ava will make her debut in July at three New York City area airports - LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty. The smiley hologram will greet an estimated 31 million passengers that fly in and out of the three airports this summer and is expected to remain beyond the sixmonth demo period.

contents

A GALA AFFAIR

p32

FARNBOROUGH AIRSHOW 2012 WAS A ROARING SUCCESS. THIS, DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT WAS TAKING PLACE DURING A VIRTUAL DOWNTURN IN EUROPE AND THE US. INDEED, THE SEVEN-DAY-LONG EVENT PROVIDED AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS, AEROSPACE, DEFENCE, SPACE AND SECURITY SECTORS TO SHOWCASE AND DEMONSTRATE AIRCRAFT, EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGIES. AN ESTIMATED $72 BILLION WORTH OF COMMITMENTS AND ORDERS WERE ANNOUNCED BY VARIOUS COMPANIES AT THE AIRSHOW.

NEWS DIGEST

p24

AAI is pushing airport infrastructure along the length and breadth of the country — but with little help from the government. The sorry state-ofaffairs continues at Air India and there is a big question mark on the induction of Dreamliners. CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

FOCUS

p64

The Dharmadhikari Committee report recommendations have stirred up a hornet's nest among the employees of both the carriers—erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines — as they are unhappy.

contents ARTICLES NEWS VIEWS EDITS INTERVIEWS CLIPPINGS PROFILES NEWS DIGEST

CARGO

CRUISING HEIGHTS

p58

Volume VII No 4

International air express major DHL has drawn detailed plans to invest $132 million in China and Asia. The company also announced plans to further invest $132 million to add eight dedicated aircraft to service high demand routes between Shanghai and North Asia, Europe and the US, by 2014.

Editor-in-Chief

K SRINIVASAN Managing Editor

TIRTHANKAR GHOSH Group Consulting Editor

R KRISHNAN HC TIWARI

Consulting Editor

NET EXPRESS

NANDU MANJESHWAR Assistant Editors

p47 SPOTLIGHT Cleartrip introduces a new feature on its existing mobile platform which allows customers to book international flights on the go while AirAsia unveils Chrome application. Plus a special story on how fewer bags are getting lost on flights, as revealed by SITA's annual baggage report. Also an interview with Makemytrip CEO, Deep Kalra.

p12

IATA’s Director General and CEO Tony Tyler, while addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), urged all stakeholders to initiate level-playing policies to build a successful future for Indian aviation.

JUSTIN C MURIK , NIDHI SHARMA Copy Editor

ASHOK KUMAR Senior Sub-Editor-cum-Reporter

PUNIT MISHRA Design

MODASSAR NEHAL, MOHIT KANSAL NAGENDER DUBEY, CHANDERJEET Picture Editor

PRADEEP CHANDRA Photo Editor

HC TIWARI Photographer

HEMANT RAWAT —————————— Director (Admin & Corporate Affairs)

RAJIV SINGH Director (Marketing)

RAKESH GERA Senior Manager (Sales & Marketing)

PRAVEEN SHARMA

SNIPPETS CHOPPERS

p39

A special story on the trends in helicopter design and how it can help India which aims to extend their speed and utility. Kamov recently unveils its medium-category, multi-role Kamov Ka-62 and Sikorsky bags $8.5-billion US deal. And country's premier chopper operator, Pawan Hans, is all set to receive all new Mi-17 medium-lift helicopters.

p68

Jet plans to launch an aviation academy while IndiGo conducts the first-ever Required Navigation Performance (RNP) approach in regular airline operations. In the international section, Emirates and JetBlue launch joint frequent flyer partnership while Etihad unveils a tie-up with Abu Dhabi Organics Farms.

CRUISING HEIGHTS TONY TYLER ON BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL INDIAN AVIATION SECTOR Pg 12

www.cruisingheights.in

AUGUST 2012 I `90

Troubled future ahead for AAI

Air India’s delayed dream

AFS to the rescue?

Moves are on to pull the curtains down on the country’s top airports operator

Induction of Dreamliners and the pilots’ strike have all but brought the Maharaja to his knees

Stakeholders demand more air cargo stations near major airports in the country

What

a show!

Despite fears that the global downturn would have its impact on Farnborough 2012, the air show beat all expectations and even recorded quite a few orders

KING, N0 PAR S SAY

MIAL

Cover Photo: Seattletimes

The total number of pages in this issue: 72+4

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Manager (PR)

ASHUTOSH MISHRA Sr. Executive (Coordination)

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Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd., D-11 Basement, Nizamuddin (East), New Delhi -110 013, Tel: +91-11-41033381-82 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-91 and printed by him at Nutech Photolithographers, B-240, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase- I, New Delhi-110020.

“ PERISCOPE

Standard norms “The new CO2 metric system, agreed by states, as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, addresses emissions from a wide variety of aircraft on a fair and transparent basis.”

ROBERTO KOBEH GONZALEZ, ICAO COUNCIL PRESIDENT on acceptability of new CO2 metric system.

Pushing against the wall “Government is committed to the welfare of the employees of Air India including pilots and at the same time revive Air India to the past glory to make it the best airlines.”

LETTERS TO EDITOR

The cover story SpiceJet readies its recipe for success (July, 2012). India’s low-cost carrier SpiceJet has come a long way from its inception. It is also important to note that Spicejet has acquired 12 new Bombardier Q400 aircraft for enhancing connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities to serve affordable air connectivity for more destinations in North India. On the international front, it has launched its service to Dubai, one of the most sought after destinations in Asia. The airline has charted out plans which might make it the most preferred carrier in India. N Srinivasan, Goa

The case of the ‘show-off ’ Bombers (July, 2012) was interesting to read. It is baffling to know that only two countries — Russia and China — are serious about producing strategic bombers. In the Indian context, I assume that it holds a great significance as India still lacks strategic bombers. According to Wikipedia, a strategic bomber is a heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy’s capacity to wage war. And I think, strategic bombers can provide a major fillip to the ailing Indian defence combat system. Reema Ghai, Srinagar

The story, ‘Don’t kill aviation’ (July, 2012) on the IATA AGM talked about some very grim issues of the international aviation sector. This year’s Annual General Meeting took place in one of aviation’s most dynamic markets — China. The interesting statement which actually summed up the IATA AGM was put forth by IATA Head Tony Tyler, “The biggest and most immediate risk, however, is the crisis in the eurozone. If it evolves into a banking crisis we could face a continent-wide recession, dragging the rest of the world and our profits down.” Kamal Tuli, Surat

Opportunities aplenty “Gulf and Saudi markets are very important to us. We are noting what’s been done and are evaluating opportunities, but we are not in any discussions to invest or for equity stake in Saudi Arabia.” JAMES HOGAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ETIHAD AIRWAYS on the business opportunities in the Gulf region.

Tough taskmaster “We are very concerned about the state of finances of Kingfisher. Employees are not being paid for months. Our concerns are growing from safety perspective. We cannot be idle spectators and some decision may have to be taken very soon.” E K BHARAT BHUSHAN, FORMER DGCA CHIEF on Kingfisher Airlines’ state of finances.

Flying is easy “Indian customers are extremely discerning and they recognise that the Global 6000 aircraft offers the best in cabin technology, design and comfort.” NILESH PATTANAYAK, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SOUTH-A ASIA, BOMBARDIER BUSINESS AIRCRAFT on the astuteness of Indian customers.

All correspondence may be addressed to Editor, Cruising Heights, D-11 Basement, Nizamuddin (East), New Delhi -13, OR mail to cruisingheights@newsline.in.

AJIT SINGH, MINISTER OF CIVIL AVIATION on Air India's future course of action.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Bizarre decorum “Britain should make arriving at the airport in immigration the most magical, wonderful thing. It should be 'welcome to Great Britain’ not we suspect every single one of you of being terrorists.” RICHARD BRANSON, VIRGIN ATLANTIC FOUNDER on Britain's disorderly immigration policies.

Heralding innovation on board

Qatar Airways: Business Class product featuring 180 degree flat bed seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, a seat pitch of 78 inches, 15 inch IFE screens. Virgin America: Heralded new Chromebook laptop computers while offering free tickets to higher-profile Twitter 'influencers' via a partnership with Klout. airBaltic: 'SeatBuddy' social seating service allows like-minded flyers to sit next to each other and an innovative ancillary product called airBalticBag. AirAsia: Introduced industry's first social CRM platform — called 'Ask AirAsia' where customer service is provided via live chat, webmail and twitter. ANA (Japan): 'Inspiration of Japan' cabin and service concept, women-only toilets onboard, sleep support kits on late night departures and wireless mobile phone chargers.

COLD STATS

“

Airlinetrends.com recently unveiled a list of world's most innovative airlines. The world's top 10 innovative airlines: Korean Air: Organic in-flight meals, female-only lounge at Incheon Airport, female-only bathrooms on aircraft. British Airways: iPads for crew, Celebrity Chef-curated in-flight meals and a golden ticket scheme rewarding outstanding crew members for customer service Delta Air Lines: Wi-Fi services for all aircraft, a mobile bag tracking smartphone app and a premium service partnership with Porsche. KLM: BE Aerospace-produced 'Diamond' full-flat beds, Delft Blue tiles livery and 'Meet & Seat' social seating scheme TAM (Brazil): Panasonic In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system, introduced a 50 per cent cheaper rate for onboard cellphone use than the commonly used international roaming rates.

LOOKING GLASS I'm not giving up…

I’ve paid...let me in!

Here’s my money, I want a seat…

AIRPO

VIP

LOUN G

News item: ‘Why should aam admi pay for VIP lounge: Supreme Court’

American dreams “The time is right for Airbus to expand in America.” FABRICE BRÉGIER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AIRBUS on the expansion plans of Airbus in America.

Future perfect

“The world's aviation market is broader, deeper and more diverse than we've ever seen it. It has proven to be resilient even during some very challenging years and is driving production-rate increases across the board.” RANDY TINSETH, VICE-P PRESIDENT, MARKETING, BOEING COMMERCIAL AIRPLANES on the future prospects of world's aviation market

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

TRAFFIC DATA

PASSENGER TRAFFIC FALLS

The period January-June 2012 saw a marginal rise in the number of air passengers — 309.16 lakh as against 298.10 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year; thereby registering a growth of plus 3.71 per cent, according to the monthly data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). IndiGo garnered the largest marketshare of 26 per cent followed by Jet Airways, 20.7 per cent, SpiceJet, 18.6 per cent, Air India (Domestic), 16.8 per cent and GoAir, 6.9 per cent. JetKonnect had a

marketshare of 6.7 per cent and Kingfisher Airlines 4.2 per cent. According to the report by DGCA, the passenger load factor in the month of June 2012 started declining due to end of peak season.

The highest passenger load factor was obtained by IndiGo at 86.5 per cent (it was 86.3 per cent in May), GoAir's was at 76.6 per cent (78.1 per cent in May), SpiceJet's was 80.4 per cent (May: 82 per cent),

Passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-June 2012 (half yearly) were 309.16 lakhs as against 298.10 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of + 3.71%. 2011

2012

Pax Carried (in Lakhs) 309.16

298.1

300

Growth

- YoY (+ 3.71%) - MoM (- 3.84%)

The number of passenger complaints recorded by scheduled domestic airlines in June 2012 was 740. The number of passenger-related complaints was 1.5 per 10,000 passengers carried.

¢ PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR OF SCHEDULED DOMESTIC AIRLINES May 12

100 80

Seat Factor (%)

¢ PASSENGERS CARRIED BY SCHEDULED DOMESTIC AIRLINES

350

Kingfisher 62.2 per cent (May: 62.2 per cent), JetKonnect 79.8 per cent (May: 80.5 per cent), Jet Airways 74.2 per cent (May: 77.1 per cent) and Air India (domestic) 71.3 per cent (May: 70.6 per cent).

77.1 70.6 71.3

June 12

80.5 79.8 74.2

86.3 86.5 80.4

73.3

78.1 76.6

62.2

40 20

250 0

200

Air India

JetLite Jet Airways

SpiceJet Kingfisher

IndiGo GoAir

150

The passenger load factor in the month of June 2012 has started declining due to peak season.

100 53.12

51.08

50 0 YoY

MoM

¢ PASSENGER COMPLAINTS OF SCHEDULED

¢ On-time performance (otp)

DOMESTIC AIRLINES

• Total number of complaints (June 2012) - 740 • Number of passenger-related complaints - 1.5 per 10,000 passengers carried

OTP AT SIX METRO AIRPORTS 120 100

OTP (%)

88.7 78.6

95.1 87

83.2

85.8

Kingfisher

0.9

IndiGo

JetLite

1.5

SpiceJet

1.5

Jet Airways

1.6

20 Air India (dom)

1.7

GoAir

Air India (Dom)

Kingfisher SpiceJet

GoAir

IndiGo

2.3 0

Jet Airways+JetLite

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

0.5

1 1.5 2 No. of Complaints/10,000 Pax

2.5

GoAir and Air India had one of the highest passenger complaint rates of 2.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent while JetKonnect and SpiceJet both had 1.5 complaints, Jet Airways had 1.6, IndiGo had 1 and Kingfisher had 0.9.

at Chennai was 98.5 per cent. At other's airports it was: Kolkata (92.5 per cent), Hyderabad (88.8 per cent), Bengaluru (88.8 per cent). The carrier's performance at Delhi (80.1 per cent), and Mumbai (90.4 per cent).

IndiGo led the airlines in the overall on-time performance of airlines in June 2012 at six metro airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — with 95.1 per cent. The other airlines that followed were: GoAir 85.8 per cent, Jet Airways and JetKonnect 88.7 per cent, SpiceJet 83.2 per cent, Kingfisher 87 per cent and Air India (Domestic) 78.6 per cent.

GoAir flies to only five of the six metro airports. The carrier's on-time performance at Mumbai was the highest at 96.1 per cent. In the other four metros, it was: Delhi (86 per cent), Kolkata (82.7 per cent), Bengaluru (88.7 per cent) and Chennai (65.5 per cent).

cent), Bengaluru (87.7 per cent), Mumbai (95.7 per cent) and Chennai (81.5 per cent). Air India's on-time performance at Kolkata was 83.8 per cent. The carrier's landings and take-offs at the other metros were: Hyderabad (80.2 per cent), Bengaluru (85.2 per cent), Chennai (71 per cent), Delhi (74.3 per cent) and Mumbai (84.6 per cent). According to the data received by the DGCA, the overall cancellation rate of flights in June 2012 was 1.2 per cent. Leading the carriers were Kingfisher (3.7 per cent) followed by Air India-domestic (3.2 per cent), SpiceJet (1.4 per cent), GoAir (1.3 per cent), JetKonnect (1.3 per cent), Jet Airways (0.5 per cent) and IndiGo (0.1 per cent). The reasons for the cancellations: Miscellaneous 16 per cent, technical 36 per cent, operational 6.5 per cent, weather 20.8 per cent and commercial 18.7 per cent.

Kingfisher flies to four metros. Its on-time performance at Chennai was 87.9 per cent followed by Bengaluru (87.9 per cent), Delhi (84.5 per cent) and Mumbai (98 per cent).

IndiGo's on-time performance at Bengaluru was 98.4 per cent. The carrier's performance at Delhi was 95.2 per cent, Hyderabad (94.9 per cent), Chennai (89.4 per cent), Kolkata (95 per cent) and Mumbai ( 98.1 per cent). Jet Airways and JetKonnect's on-time performance

SpiceJet's on-time performance at Kolkata was 85.6 per cent. The carrier's performance at Hyderabad was 87.3 per cent, Delhi (76.9 per

¢ MARKET SHARE OF SCHEDULED DOMESTIC AIRLINES

IndiGo 26.0%

¢ CAPACITY VS DEMAND

Jet Airways 20.7%

Capacity (ASKM)

Demand (RPKM)

Jet Airways + JetLite = 27.4%

-10

-0.53 -4.46

5.8 -0.33

3 2

2.9 9.5

Kingfisher 4.2%

14.5 10.8

12.2 7.9

11.9 6.9

16.8 11

16.3 12

18.5 15.4

17.4 16.6

19.4 20.5

GoAir 6.9%

JetLite 6.7% 18.5 15.7

% Change over Month

Air India (Dom) 16.8%

¢ REASONS FOR CANCELLATION

SpiceJet 18.6%

Technical 36.0%

-20 -30

Weather 22.8%

-40 Jun Jul

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Year over Year

Operational 6.5%

¢ CANCELLATION DATA OF SCHEDULED DOMESTIC AIRLINES

Commercial 18.7%

Consec/Misc 16.0%

• Overall Cancellation Rate in June 2012 – 1.2% IndiGo

¢ REASONS FOR DELAY

0.1

JetAirways

O p s 17.8%

0.6

GoAir

1.3

JetLite

1.3

SpiceJet

Airp o rt 1.2% Reactio n ary 66.3%

1.4

Air India (Dom)

T ech 7.7%

2.1

Kingfisher Airlines

AT C 1.0% W x 1.5% Pax 1.8% Ramp 1.1% Misc 1.6%

3.7 0

Cancellation Rate (%)

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

SPOTLIGHT

TONY TYLER

“An India Inc approach is essential for building the Indian aviation’s future” IATA’s Director General and CEO, Tony Tyler, while addressing an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on “Building the Future of Indian Aviation”, urged all stakeholders to initiate level-playing policies for building a successful future for Indian aviation.

progress, India's aviation sector is in a multi-faceted crisis. Before aviation can deliver greater benefits to the domestic economy, this crisis must be resolved with coordinated public policies.

Aviation in India Aviation in India supports 1.7 million jobs, 0.5 per cent of GDP and 90 per cent of international tourist arrivals. That's impressive but it could and would be much more. Today, India is a market of about 100 million passengers annually. Looking ahead, if Indians travelled as much as Americans, we would see a market potential of over 2 billion travellers. To prepare for growing opportunities much can and must be done. For example, the work of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on upper airspace harmonisation was recognised internationally with a prestigious Jane's Award this year. But despite such

Airlines in India Building the future for a successful aviation sector must begin with solving the well-catalogued problems of airlines in India today. The sector is growing, but not profitably. Airline losses approached $2 billion in the year’s ended March 2012, after losing $3.5 billion over the previous three years. With some relief in oil prices and capacity rationalisation the red ink may recede slightly. But the crisis continues. All the network carriers are struggling financially. Kingfisher's situation is dire. And Air India is on government-provided life support of financial bailouts and other forms of protection. In the case of Air India, long-term state-aid has not rehabilitated the business and in the meantime it is having a destructive impact on the market. Governments must lay the foundations for fair competition and regulate safety, security and sustainability. And there are many examples of airlines being run on sound commercial principles while being partly or wholly owned by governments. Furthermore, while not desirable as a matter of public policy, governments sometimes find it necessary to intervene

viation is a topic about which I am passionate. It is a force for good, providing safe global mobility to some 3 billion people annually and delivering nearly 50 million tonnes of cargo. The most measurable impact of this is jobs for 57 million people and $2.2 trillion in economic activity. But, aviation's contribution is much broader. By value, over a third of goods traded internationally are transported by air. And about half of international tourism is facilitated by air links. And later this week the world's best athletes will gather in London for the Olympics — a celebration of human achievement that could not happen as easily without aviation.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

directly in the market, as happened in the US after the 9/11 or with the restructuring of Japan Airlines (JAL). In the case of Air India, even with government commitments approaching $6 billion, we are still waiting to be proven wrong. I don't profess to have a comprehensive solution. But as a believer in India's great potential, I urge all parties to take inspiration from the JAL example. The agenda Of course, stabilising Air India is not a panacea. It's one important step. In March, the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the government's intention to allow foreign airlines to make strategic investments in Indian carriers. This will be another important step — allowing Indian carriers the ability to benefit from closer ties with international airlines. I congratulate Pranab Mukherjee on his election to the presidency. I hope the government will follow through with this policy change as part of a comprehensive strategy to fix India's aviation crisis. Even with India's great potential, if critical problems are not comprehensively addressed, investors — foreign, domestic, aviation or otherwise — will not be lining up to put their cash in Indian airlines. Why? Simply put, because, under current circumstances, investors can't see how they will ever enjoy a return. Despite the best efforts of the Ministry of Civil

Infrastructure On infrastructure, India has shown that it can build world-class facilities. In addition to the new terminal at Delhi, there are airports at Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Cochin, which have been developed via Public-Private Partnershipthe so-called PPP model. Bengaluru is representative of the benefits of these developments. Over the last decade international services have more than doubled to 17 destinations. And it certainly could not have become India's Silicon Valley without international air connectivity. Compare that to Mumbai, also developed under a PPP. Work is under way to expand the existing airport to handle 40 million. The new terminal will be ready by the end of 2013. And by 2017 the airport is expected to be running at full capacity once again. And there is no possibility of further significant capacity expansion. A new airport is needed or economic opportunities will be lost. Costs Infrastructure must also be affordable. Unfortunately, India's airports are becoming increasingly expensive. The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) approved a 346-per cent increase in charges at Delhi Airport effective from May 2012. Including Consumer Price Index adjustments, that's a 353-per cent rise. How this ranks Delhi among the world's airports has been the topic of much discussion. For the long-term success of the airport as well as India's economic prospects, it's the wrong focus. The increase will add over $400 million in operating costs for airlines providing connectivity to India through Delhi. That's an indisputable fact. And any business that increases prices ahead of what the market can bear can expect demand to soften. Our estimate is that an increase of this magnitude will impact travel demand by 5-7 per cent. That's bad for airlines, for passengers, for Delhi

HC TIWARI

Aviation, a coordinated government-wide policy framework that will lay the foundation for those investments to yield profits does not exist. For those who heard me speak in Hyderabad earlier this year, or who heard my predecessor in previous CII interactions, what follows will have a strong sense of déjà-vu. India needs policies to reduce the tax burden on aviation, lower external costs and ensure adequate infrastructure to meet growing demand. I will address these in reverse order.

DISCUSSING AVIATION: (L-R) Ankur Bhatia, Director, Bird Group; IATA’s Director General and CEO Tony Tyler and Jet Airways Chief Naresh Goyal.

International Airport Private Limited (DIAL), for the Delhi hub, for Delhi as a city and indeed for India as a whole. In the meantime, the urgent shortterm discussion we should be having is about how to make Delhi a more competitive airport, a successful hub and a major driver of economic growth for the city and the entire subcontinent. Tax The next element to address is taxation. Aviation can deliver the greatest value to national coffers by facilitating business that expands the tax base. Unfortunately, many Indian ministries see aviation as a revenue source, rather than as a revenue generator. Taxes may provide short-term gain for finance ministries at various levels of government but they are compromising the initiatives and strategic priorities of other ministries. Coordinated approach Indian aviation has broad impacts across the economy. Increasing access to capital, building infrastructure, ensuring a costefficient operating structure and creating a tax regime focussed on growth form the basis of an agenda to improve the competitiveness of Indian aviation and drive broad economic and social benefits. But there will be no success if policies are not coordinated — or even worse — if they work at cross purposes. Aviation is the responsibility of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. For lack of a better description, what is needed is an "India Inc." approach to manage interests for the widest possible benefit. Environment At the international level, India has

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

recognised the importance of coordinated efforts in the environment debate. In fact, India is among the leaders calling for the European Union (EU) to forego its unilateral and extra-territorial inclusion of international aviation in its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). And the resistance to the EU-ETS should not be confused with a reluctance to deal with the important issue of managing aviation's 2 per cent contribution to global manmade CO2 emissions. Introducing a divisive regional ETS risks a trade war that nobody can afford. And it will not help the industry to achieve its goal of improving fuel efficiency by 1.5 per cent annually to 2020, capping net emissions from 2020 and cutting net emissions in half by 2050 compared to 2005. Conclusion Aviation is a team effort. Common purpose brings a value chain together with governments and regulators. Roughly 80,000 times a day a remarkable choreography of cooperation gets an airplane and its passengers and cargo safely into the air — and back on the ground. That happens in India and around our planet. Knowing we are capable of that, we should have every confidence in building a successful future for Indian aviation. The world is focussed on Indian aviation — from manufacturers, tourism boards, airlines, global businesses to individual travellers, shippers and businessmen. (Excerpts from Tony Tyler’s speech delivered during the seminar "Building the Future of Indian Aviation" organised by CII. )

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Avianca, TACA and Copa Airlines join Star Alliance

Star Alliance recently wel-

comed Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa airlines in its partnership, thereby cementing its presence in Latin America. “On behalf of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines to the Star Alliance family. The addition of these quality aviation groups strengthens our presence in the rapidly growing Latin American market,” Mark Schwab, CEO, Star Alliance said. “With Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines our customers now enjoy increased connectivity across the Americas by connecting through five new Star Alliance hubs right in the middle of the American continent.” Such wide-ranging choice for travellers in today’s globalised world is something only airline alliances can offer, as they link individual networks of their member carriers. With Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines now being part of the Star Alliance network, passengers from within and outside the region will be able to connect seamlessly through the Copa Airlines hubs in Panama City (Panama) and Bogota (Colombia) and the Avianca, TACA Airlines hubs in Bogota (Colombia), San Salvador (El Salvador), Lima (Peru) and San Jose (Costa Rica). In addition to the network, Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines customers will also gain access to the full breadth of the global Star Alliance benefits by using their existing frequent flyer memberships to collect and redeem miles on all member carriers.

ACCC gives greater authority to Star Alliance The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has agreed to tie up agreements between

Emirates and Flydubai and a commercial alliance between Etihad and Air Berlin, as well as authorising Star Alliance business solutions. The ACCC handed down a draft decision allowing Emirates and Flydubai to engineer operations on international passenger and cargo services between Australia and Dubai. The draft-approved commercial alliance between Etihad and Air Berlin aims to coordinate international air travel services between Germany and

Australia via Abu Dhabi. Codeshare operations for Air Berlin customers flying from points in Germany via Abu Dhabi and onto Australia have already commenced. The ACCC also approved an eightyear authorisation of Star Alliance Corporate Plus, Conventions Plus and Meetings Plus programmes. With these solutions, Star Alliance member airlines will be able to offer discounted fares, volume inducements and discounts on published fares to corporate customers and conference organisers under one contract.

TAM will exit Star Alliance contract

TAM has acknowledged that it will no longer be part of the Star Alliance of which it has been a member since May 2010. According to Mauricio Amaro, Chairman of the Board of Latam, the holding company combining LAN and TAM that was officially established, in the coming months the group will decide whether TAM will join LAN's alliance, Oneworld or will be independent. By decision of the antitrust court of Chile, LAN and TAM have 24 months to decide between Oneworld and Star. After Star Alliance is formally informed of the exit of TAM, which has not yet occurred, the actual withdrawal will occur in six months. Meanwhile, passengers on TAM and LAN can now

share miles, when their respective programmes will be integrated. Within a few weeks, it will also be possible to buy tickets from one company on the other's site. The holding company was born as the second largest group in the sector by market value. Although treated as a merger by the TAM and LAN families, the operation is interpreted by the market as an acquisition of TAM by LAN. "Each company will maintain its own brand and the domestic operations will be independent," said Enrique Cueto, President of Latam. It is up to Latam executives to consolidate finances, think up strategies for buying planes, and plan the integration of international networks and cargo operations. Sao Paulo will be the main international hub. LAN and its subsidiaries (Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador) will feed the international flights of TAM. This network will allow the launch of ten new flights by 2013.

SkyTeam in pact with Beijing Airport SkyTeam and members China Southern and China Eastern recently signed a cooperation agreement with Beijing Capital International Airport that paves the way for more customerfocussed initiatives to be introduced at

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

the airport. As part of the agreement, the parties will further work together on improving processes that will enhance the SkyTeam customers' airport experience, particularly when transiting in Beijing. Current

Second airline from Middle East moves to alliance

Middle East Airlines (MEA) has followed Saudia to become the second of the region’s airlines to join the SkyTeam airline alliance. “Becoming a part of SkyTeam will allow MEA to increase the number of passengers and increase its revenues by at least 10 per cent,” Chairman, MEA, Mohammad Hout said. Hout said Lebanese passengers would benefit from better-priced longhaul trips to destinations including Japan, the United States and China.

“Joining SkyTeam allows us to expand our global reach and offer our customers hundreds of new destinations,” he said. The signing ceremony included a number of key government officials. Lebanon’s Minister for Public Works and Transportation, Ghazi Aridi described the relationship as considerably important for MEA, particularly as Lebanon is facing turbulent economic and political conditions. Speaking at the signing, SkyTeam’s Managing Director Michael Wisbrun said, “By welcoming MEA into SkyTeam we are offering our customers increased travel options to and from Lebanon, particularly given its strong trade links with the Gulf region, Asia, Africa and the Americas — all regions with a considerable SkyTeam footprint.”

SkyTeam unleashes customer-centric initiatives at semi-annual meet

SkyTeam recently announced several priority initiatives to enrich the customer proposition, strengthen the global network and achieve synergies. At their semi-annual meeting held in Beijing, the Chief Executives of the SkyTeam member airlines endorsed the acceleration of multiple projects, aimed to improve the transfer processes between members. After the SkyTeam Governing Board meeting, Managing Director Michael Wisbrun shared the priorities of the alliance and the status of several projects. “The industry is facing tumultuous times. As an alliance we can and must add value to our members’ businesses,” said Wisbrun. “We do that by focussing on

three clear priority areas; enriching our customer proposition, looking for new opportunities to expand and strengthen our global network and finding synergies for our members.” In 2012, SkyTeam rolled-out SkyPriority, a series of distinctive branded priority airport services consistently offered to Elite Plus, First and Business Class customers throughout the alliance network. SkyPriority aims to help top customers travel faster through the airport — from checking in, to security, boarding and picking up their bags. “We like to call it the red carpet treatment for our top customers,” said Wisbrun.

and future initiatives planned at Beijing airport include: SkyPriority: A series of distinctively branded priority airport services offered to Elite Plus, First and Business Class customers. These include: priority checkin areas and baggage drop, priority service at transfer desks, priority boarding and priority-baggage handling. SkyPort: Delivering cost synergies for member airlines and a better airport experience for customers at shared loca-

tions worldwide. SkyTeam opened a colocated check-in facility at the airport in December 2011, offering 50 check-in desks, numerous self-service kiosks and dedicated check-in counters for premium passengers. SkyTransfer: With approximately 14 million SkyTeam passengers arriving and departing Beijing each year, this initiative will ensure seamless, straightforward transfers of passengers and their baggage from one member airline to another.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

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Aiming high

Claiming top spot AirAsia achieved the highest score in Aviation Week’s latest Top-Performing Airlines (TPA) study, underlining the dominance of smaller and niche carriers in this year’s rankings. Of the top 10 carriers overall, only one — Singapore Airlines in ninth position — comes from the category of airlines with annual revenues greater than $6 billion.

Voicing concern

Overhauling, Virgin Oz style

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Virgin Australia has taken care of long-term fleet replacement with an order for 23 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, and at the same time the carrier is reshuffling its medium-term fleet plans. “The 737 MAX 8s are due to be delivered between 2019 and 2021, and are intended to replace the airline’s oldest 737-800s rather than growing the fleet,” a Virgin Australia Spokeswoman informed Aviation Week. Virgin Australia also has seven 737-700s in its narrow-body fleet, but these will be gone by the end of 2013. Virgin Australia also announced it would be deferring an undisclosed number of the 737-800s that it had on order. Under its revised plan, it will take delivery of 31 (800s) between 2013 and 2016. The reason behind the deferrals is to give the airline more flexibility in the medium term, the spokeswoman said. Virgin Australia Chief Executive John Borghetti said that Virgin Australia has reduced its average fleet age to 4.2 years over the past year down from 4.9 years.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

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Air Arabia announced that it has welcomed 1.3 million passengers in the second quarter of 2012, an increase of over 15 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2011. In June 2012 alone, the airline carried some 466,474 customers - the highest number of passengers that the airline handled in a month by far. The airline also reported that the average seat load factor for the second quarter of 2012 stood at 85 per cent, registering an increase of 3 per cent over the figure for the second quarter of last year. The airline attributes this impressive growth to its wider range of destinations and the value for money services.

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Cathay Pacific Airways recently announced that it will enter into an agreement with Airbus to convert 16 of its previously ordered Airbus A350-900 aircraft into larger Airbus A350-1000 aircraft and to exercise an option to purchase an additional 10 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The list price of the 10 aircraft is about $3.30 billion and the incremental list price for the conversion is about $1.09 billion. Following this latest order, the airline will have 22 Airbus A350900s and 26 Airbus A350-1000s on order. The A350-1000 aircraft will be powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine.

Airbus is of the view that the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) first major milestone in the development of a CO2 emissions standard for civil aviation has come as a major achievement for global aviation emissions standard. Once fully established in 2013, the CO2 standard will measure the CO2 efficiency of commercial aircraft types from private jets to the world’s largest passenger plane, the A380, taking into account the different design characteristics such as the aircraft’s payload and range across all market segments.

Absentmindedness at large

Air Arabia flies high

According to a new survey, travellers in the last year left a whopping 8,016 mobile devices at seven of the largest airports in the US. The airports examined by Credant Technologies, a data protection company, included Chicago O’Hare, Denver International, San Francisco International, Charlotte Douglas, Miami International, Orlando International and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Only one of those airports reported handing the lost devices over to the authorities. The most left behind device were laptops: 3,576 (44.6 per cent), followed by smartphones and tablets: 3,444 (43.0 per cent) and finally USB drives: 996 (12.4 per cent). In February, Javelin Research found that 62 per cent of smartphone users did not have a password on their devices creating the risk of a serious data breach. Other notable findings were that five of the seven airports said that most mobile devices were left behind at TSA checkpoints. Two of the seven said they found maximum missing devices in restrooms. Six of seven airports reported donating the mobile devices to charity or transferring them to another location.

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Now, charge your electric car

Future beckons for airlines

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has predicted that global air traffic growth will start to recover next year after slowing this year because of high oil prices and economic uncertainty.

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The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has introduced five charging points for electric cars at Dublin Airport, under a joint initiative between the company and Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board. Three electric car parking spaces with charging units have been located in the T2 multistorey car park, with a further two spaces in the Executive Car Park on level 1. The new facility, which had become operational in July 9, means that motorists can top up while meeting or seeing off passengers in the

Upping the ante

terminal, or fully recharge their vehicles if leaving their car for longer. According to DAA, the venture is designed to encourage the use of electric cars and to promote environmental sustainability.

Foodies’ delight Lagos-based Evergreen Apple Nigeria, EAN, launched the first and only dedicated executive in-flight catering service at Lagos’ Murtala Mohammed International Airport. EAN Catering Limited, a subsidiary of EAN, already manages Wings restaurant on the penthouse floor of its FBO at Lagos. The new product will be operated under the same brand and called Wings InFlight. The service has been developed in response to the increased business jet activity at the airport and the growing demand from the private jet community for good quality inflight catering.

Turkish Airlines: Europe’s best Turkish Airlines scored a resounding success at the 2012 Skytrax World Airline Awards, with air travellers voting the airline as the Best Airline in Europe, the second year running. The airline was also named as the winner of the categories, “Best Airline in Southern

benchmarking programmes of product and service quality.

Business as usual for Cathay Cathay Pacific Airways was voted the “World’s Best Business Class” at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards programme, in which more

Europe’s three leading flag carriers — Air France-KLM, IAG and Lufthansa — are taking steps to reduce costs at underperforming short and medium haul operations. This can be attributed to the presently difficult times confronting aviation. European airlines are expected to report combined net losses of $1.1 billion in 2012, principally because of the eurozone crisis, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA). “The eurozone crisis is standing in the way of improved profitability,” said Tony Tyler, Director-General of IATA.

they told us would provide them with the optimal balance of productivity, comfort, and privacy. This is a seating environment truly designed by the people who use it.”

Oman Air shines For the second year running, Oman Air won the ‘Best Business Class Airline Seat’ award at the World Airline Awards by Skytrax. The award recognises Oman Air’s Airbus A330 Business Class seat and was presented to the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Wayne Pearce, at a ceremony held at the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow 2012.

CROWNING GLORY Europe” and “Best Premium Economy Class Airline Seat” for its Comfort Class seats by Skytrax. According to the results of the evaluation 2012, Turkish Airlines has been chosen as the winner of the three categories by Skytrax, which is a worldrecognised brand associated with air travel excellence in the 21st century, providing unique expertise to the world airline and airport industry through the most professional audit and service

than 18 million airline passengers from across the world picked their choices. Cathay Pacific Chief Executive John Slosar said, “This year’s award becomes even more meaningful as our new Business Class is a genuine collaboration between our customers and our own team. The customers know best. This is why in designing the business class product we talked to our customers, listened to their feedback, and then incorporated those features

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

IndiGo scores a hat-trick IndiGo celebrated yet again for being recognised as the Best Low-Cost Airline in Central Asia/India for the third time in a row. Marking a double milestone 6E also bagged its second prominent award, for Best Staff Service in Central Asia/ India at the World Airline Awards 2012 held at the Farnborough International Air Show in London. IndiGo was also nominated in the category of Best Airline in Central Asia/India.

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82 new airports for China

Oops! I left my bag at the airport

China will build 82 new airports Luggage worth crores of rupees during the 2011-15 period, and is getting lost in transit every construct a national air transport network year. In the last four years, fliers have

The creation of Latin America’s biggest airline, LATAM Airlines Group, took place with the Chile’s LAN

that will cover 89 per cent of the total population by 2020. China plans to build more feeder airports. Feeder airports mainly serve cargo planes and smaller flights. By the end of 2015, there will be 230 airports for passenger and cargo transport open to traffic, up from the current 182. And, 80 per cent of China's population will be able to use an airport within 100 kilometres by then. China lags behind many other major countries in terms of the total number of airports. Director, Civil Aviation Administration of China, Li Jiaxiang said, “The plan must consider future development space and not waste money on useless infrastructure.”

Airlines completing its takeover of Brazilian airline TAM. Through the airlines that comprise it, LATAM will offer its passengers more flights to more destinations than any other airline group in South America, initially reaching about 150 destinations in 22 countries and transporting cargo to 169 destinations in 27 countries.”The creation of this group of airlines is an opportunity to take South America to the world and to allow us to position ourselves to operate in an increasingly competitive environment due to the continuing consolidation of the global airline industry,” said LATAM Executive Vice President and CEO Enrique Cueto.

forgotten their belongings worth over `60 crore at airport lounges, according to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that provides security at all the country’s 57 airports. Strangely, passengers do not bother to claim these belongings that range from mobile phones to laptops, cameras, wallets and even jewellery. Incidentally, a bag containing `5 lakh of jewellery and antiques was left at Kochi airport while another with `2 lakh in cash was abandoned at Jaipur airport.

169

60 82 p u 1,49,000

RR upbeat about jet engines for India, China

din

tnhuembers

India and China would be among countries that would constitute the largest market for aircraft engines and

their after-sale services, totalling a whopping $1,700 billion, over the next two decades, according to the latest market outlook from London-based airplane engine maker Rolls Royce. While the engines would be worth $975 billion, another $700 billion have been estimated as the cost of after-market services. The study said that domestic aviation markets in India and China would see a 9.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent per annum growth, respectively while the mature markets of Europe and North America would grow by 2.5 per cent per year. The study also mentioned that world airlines were investing in more fuel-efficient planes to cut average fuel burn per seat but that was pushing up demand for larger aircraft or twin-aisles such as Boeing 787, B-777, Airbus A330 and A-350.

Destinations aplenty

23 Virgin orders

Virgin Australia has ordered 23 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in a deal worth $2.19 billion at list prices. Australia’s second-largest airline also said that it had deferred delivery of some Boeing 737NG aircraft to after 2016 to give it flexibility to develop the right mix of narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. Virgin said that the new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will begin flying between 2019 and 2021 and said that it expected all of its older Boeing 737-700 aircraft to exit its fleet by the end of 2013.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Israel’s unlucky 13

There were a total of 937 civilian aviation safety incidents in 2011, according to a report released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel, a 13 per cent increase from 2010. There were five fatal aviation accidents in 2011 with the most high-profile occurring on May 23, 2011, when an El Al jet en route to Newark was forced to return and make an emergency landing at Ben-Gurion airport after one of its wheel struts malfunctioned. The plane landed safely just after dawn following several harrowing hours in the air.

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HC TIWARI

AAI faces a troubled future

STRICT VIGIL: AAI Chairman VP Agrawal takes a look at the ATC operations at Delhi airport.

he Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been developing airport infrastructure along the length and breadth of the country including in remote and far-flung areas. It manages 118 airports and 25 civil enclaves and also provides CNS-ATM facilities at 11 other airports. The main function of AAI inter-alia includes construction, modification and management of passenger terminals, provision of passenger facilities and related amenities, development and management of cargo terminals, development and maintenance of apron infrastructure including runways, parallel taxiways, etc, provision of communication, navigation and surveillance, which include provision of Doppler Very High Frequency Omni Directional Range (DVOR)/Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), Instrument Landing System (ILS), Air Traffic Controller (ATC) radars, visual aids, provision of air traffic services, etc. thereby ensuring safe and secure operation of aircraft, passenger and cargo in the country. The approved annual plan outlay for the current fiscal 2012-13 of AAI is `1987 crore, which includes `280 crore as budgetary support by the Union Government. Of this outlay, `630 crore has been earmarked for aerodrome works, `320 crore for air navigational services including GAGAN (GPS-aided geo augmented navigation), `26.54

crore for airport system, `30 crore for information technology, `54 crore for GSS Equipment and Technology including aviation safety equipment, `500 crore for Kolkata airport, `175 crore for Chennai airport, `140 crore for airport security, `100 crore towards contribution in JV company of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), Hyderabad International Airport Limited (HIAL) and National Flying Training Institute (NFTI), Gondia mainly as equity. As for the budgetary support of `280 crore it will be spent on specific schemes like `65 crore for GAGAN, `32 crore for construction of new airport at Pakyong, `17 crore for the construction of new terminal building, extension of runway and strengthening of existing runway at Tirupati airport. Others schemes include specific expenditure on construction of new terminal building at Puducherry, Port Blair, development of Gondia airport (Phase-2), etc. Further `40 crore has been earmarked for the north-eastern region, `100 crore for others, which include infrastructure for CISF security. There was substantial reduction in Internal and Extra Budgetary Resource (IEBR) 2012-13 mainly due to accretion of debtors amounting to `900 crore and repayment CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

of long-term loan and interest thereon amounting to `1050 crore. It was in order to meet this that the AAI had approached the Ministry of Civil Aviation for seeking approval for private placement of Tax Free Bonds amounting to `3000 crore and government grant-in-aid for development of airport infrastructure. The Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in its report to Parliament on April 27, 2012 or just before the Budget session ended noted that it was informed by AAI that the modernisation work of Chennai airport had been completed. The domestic terminal and international terminal were expected to be opened by May 2012 and July 2012, respectively after testing and pre-commissioning trials. However, it is now learnt that Chennai airport may be formally opened to traffic in August 2012. The modernisation work of Kolkata airport excluding Zone I was expected to be completed by May 2012 and operationalised by July 2012. Work of Zone I is expected to be completed by October 2012. As per the latest reports, the new modernised Kolkata airport is likely to be opened for commercial traffic in October 2012 or around Durga Puja. While deposing before the Standing Committee, the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, observed that Chennai and Kolkata airport were developed through internal resources and loans raised by AAI to the tune of `1600 crore, which were expected to rise to `3000 crore. He said since AAI was going through a financial crunch, the ministry wanted approval for raising funds by floating tax-free infrastructure bonds. The Ministry of Finance has, till date, not given approval even after the change of guard at the top. The Committee was informed that the outstanding dues of private airlines to AAI for the services rendered to them stood at `475 crore on December 31, 2011. As for shortage of manpower in AAI, its Chairman informed that there was a shortage of ATCs in airports in the country. Against the required manpower of 2400 ATCs currently, 2100 were in place and the process of recruitment of 200 was on.

FACING THE PRESSURE: (L-R) Inside views of Chennai and Kolkata airports

While this was the position as of March 2012, it is expected that by now (August 2012) some more ATCs would have joined the ranks. There are plans to recruit 200 ATCs every year till the actual requirement is achieved and the demand will only increase in the coming years in view of surging air traffic. But then considering the drop in domestic air traffic growth rate, perhaps, AAI could expect to get a breather now for some time at least. The Committee asked AAI about the status of carving out ATC from the control of AAI and was informed that it was in December 2007 that KPMG had been tasked to conduct a pre-feasibility study for the corporatisation of AAI's Air Navigation Services (ANS). The need for this study by KPMG was based on the findings of earlier Committees including the Tata Committee 1976, Justice Lahoti Committee 1996, Julka Committee 1997, Naresh Chandra Committee 2003 and Roy Paul Committee 2006. The key objectives of the study were to analyse the options and develop a roadmap for the corporatisation of ANS. The key suggestion or recommendations of the committee included: (a) Consolidate ANS under Member ANS and establish an ANS Oversight Committee to monitor its performance; (b) Segregate ANS from AAI and establish it as a separate Government of India enterprise. The new ANS entity would have stringent performance parameters and monitoring mechanisms. These recommendations were further reiterated in the Report of the Committee under the Chairmanship of Ajay Prasad in 2008. The Ajay Prasad Committee recom-

mended a clear demarcation of the dual functional responsibilities of AAI as an “Aerodrome Operator” and of an Air Navigation Service Provider. Taking note of these recommendations, a roadmap has been prepared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to segregate ANS from AAI and incorporate it as a separate entity. The Member ANS in pursuance of this recommendation, joined the AAI Board in October 2010 and ANS function was consolidated under him. KPMG was retained as advisor in July 2011 to assist AAI in the corporatisation of ANS. The engagement timeline is for 15 months; it will end by December 2012. The Standing Committee, which was apprised of these developments, noted that the allocation of funds under the Plan Head for the airport infrastructure provider — that is AAI — was reduced to `208 crore at the Revised Estimate Level from `280.15 crore at the Budget Estimate level in the previous fiscal 2011-12. But AAI was able to spend only `120.99 crore in 2011-12. The Committee felt that a cut in plan outlay for the AAI at the revised estimate level and spending only 60 per cent of this plan allocation did not augur well for AAI or the development of required airport infrastructure in the country. However, AAI informed the Committee that the delay in receiving requisite clearances and land acquisition for airport projects was the reason for under-utilisation of funds by AAI during the previous fiscal (2011-12). The Standing Committee found that the much-emphasised financial autonomy to AAI to plan and execute its projects had not materialised so far. This was virtualCRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

ly what the AAI had been stating. The Committee said the government should lend a helping hand to AAI to recover its outstanding dues from various agencies for services rendered so that the cash flow of the agency was maintained at the desired level. The Committee also hoped that the Ministry of Civil Aviation would impress upon the Ministry of Finance to grant permission to AAI to float tax-free bonds to raise funds so that the on-going and planned airport projects were not stalled or delayed for want of funds. Even as the Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended granting some kind of financial autonomy to AAI and also allowed it to issue tax-free bonds to fund airport infrastructure, the Planning Commission in league with the Nodal Ministry of Civil Aviation seems to be working overtime to finish whatever is left of the AAI, once a pride among the PSUs in the country and a totally debtfree company. The Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports were first taken away and then Delhi and Mumbai airports were handed over to private operators. The Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and his advisor Gajendra Haldea in a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh mentioned that both Chennai and Kolkata airports after being modernised at great pains by the AAI be handed over to the private sector for management under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement. The speculation is that it could be a PPP arrangement of the kind seen at Delhi and Mumbai which was basically handing over a Brownfield airport to private players. Instead of asking them to set up a Greenfield airport, the present UPA government seems to be bent on taking away

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ABOVE GROUND LEVEL ¨¨ New rapid exit taxiway at CSIA runway In order to achieve reduction in runway occupancy time (ROT) by landing

A scene inside the Mumbai airport

aircraft at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd (MIAL) recently commissioned a new Rapid Exit Taxiway N5 for runway 09. The new taxiway RET N5, which is located on the northern side of primary runway 09-27, will reduce the arrival ROT by 9- 10 seconds. Taxiway N-5 is going to be the only RET for Runway 09 and it will ensure optimum utilisation of this runway. This initiative will upgrade the capacities of Runway 09 and bring it almost at par with that of Runway 27.

Wanted: Land for Kanpur airport

Nagpur ATC linked to Jharsuguda

Union Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal appealed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to provide 50 acres of land to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for infrastructural expansion of Kanpur airport. In a letter to Yadav, the Coal Minister said the city required a bigger airport with better and hi-tech facilities. “Kanpur is an important centre of trade and education... there is need for a high-standard airport with all modern facilities here,” Jaiswal, who is also a Kanpur MP, said in a statement.

The Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Nagpur has got interlinked with Jharsuguda ATC. Nagpur ATC, which was already linked to Bhopal and Hyderabad ATCs, can now monitor the air traffic of over 75 per cent of the country.

An outside view of the terminal at Nagpur airport.

VOICING CONCERN: An illuminated Airports Authority of India building during the centenary celebrations of Indian aviation.

whatever little AAI has with it. At present the airports at Chennai and Kolkata are delivering profits, that is crucial for their survival and expansion. The Planning Commission mandarins say that the new PPP arrangement will have to be fast-tracked as AAI is slow in decision-making. Perhaps, the new CAA (Civil Aviation Authority of India) as and when it comes could just lead to the closure of the Civil Aviation Ministry. Officials at AAI stated that the rigid checks and balances on AAI should be relaxed and it will become commercially viable. They asked what about the airport charges being levied by private opeators in the four other metro airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It must be pointed out that foreign carriers such as Lufthansa, BA and a few Gulf carriers have gone to Delhi High Court challenging the hefty increase in airport charges by nearly 350 per cent. The carriers argued that they were competing hard and managing on a very thin margin as India was a highly competitive market. Has AAI ever been allowed to raise any charges the same way as private operators have done? When AAI actual outlay goes beyond planned expenditure, it is hauled by various government committees. But when Delhi and Mumbai airports increase their original expenditure as agreed under the OMDA (operation, management and development agreement), the government not excluding the Planning Commission readily agrees to bail them out. While it can be said that it is AERA (Airports Economic Regulatory Authority) that took the decision, the question that is being asked is: Why is there a different CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

yardstick for AAI? Once the ANS is hived off, there will be nothing left in AAI and it will have to be closed down for rendering valuable service to the nation. On the issue of the Planning Commission wanting to get Chennai and Kolkata airports on the PPP mode after AAI spent days and nights to modernise them, AAI Chairman VP Agarwal said, “We can manage both the airports if we get cheaper interest rates. There has been no response to our request for floating bonds worth `4000 crore.” Media reports suggest that the possibility of PPP models for Chennai and Kolkata was discussed a month or two ago and it could move forward only if the respective state governments agreed to it. The Planning Commission is understood to have sought to limit the tariffs from both Kolkata and Chennai airports. The plea to limit the tariffs is to ensure that there is no re-run of tariff-related dispute that happened with the GMR-Delhi airport. AAI Chairman VP Agrawal told newsmen that a private player might soon take over operations of Chennai airport. "The Planning Commission insists on privatising the Chennai city airport. Once the Civil Aviation Ministry and the state government take a final call, we will float tenders to identify the private player." He said though AAI was not interested in privatising Chennai airport, when the need arose, the AAI could hold 51 per cent of the stake to own the airport and let the private party handle the operations. "Right now the whole issue is just in the concept stage and we are working towards commissioning the new terminals at Chennai airport," said the Chairman.

AI’s delayed dreams ir India's long-awaited acquisition of the Dreamliner Boeing 787 might have got little more delayed because of the vexed issue of compensation from Boeing to Air India for the inordinate delay in delivering these aircraft of which the national carrier had placed orders for 27 planes. As per the original schedule, the Dreamliners should have joined the Air India fleet by October 2008. Nearly four years after the deadline, the aircraft is yet to join the fleet. There is a little difference in the induction date. Boeing had offered to train Air India pilots for the Dreamliner in the expectation of its delivery in April 2012 but this got postponed for some reason. Later, it was agreed that Boeing would deliver at least three aircraft in the first week of June 2012 and a function had even been planned with the Prime Minister officially announcing the induction of the Boeing 787s into Air India fleet on June 4, 2012. But Air India International pilots had struck

work for more than 55 days and the 32odd pilots who had gone for training to Singapore in April 2012 had to be recalled and those from Indian Airlines were not allowed to train at all. Subsequently, following an intervention by the Delhi High Court, the strike by Air India pilots was called off and they joined the duties. But during the strike more than 100 pilots of Air India were sacked for absenting themselves from duty. Besides their union, the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) was also de-recognised. Now Air India pilots want re-recognition of IPG and re-instatement of the sacked pilots as part of no victimisation policy announced by the Air India management. The latter is, however, yet to take a call on this. Significantly, the strike and delay in inducting the Boeing 787s happened at a time when Air India was supposed to begin a new process of improving its performance as part of the new turnaround plan on which the `30,000 crore rescue plan spread over

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

ABOVE GROUND LEVEL ¨¨ Addressing a press conference recently, Airport Manager A K Verma said the interlinking was done by laying an optical fibre cable. “Jharsuguda ATC was commissioned a few days ago. Now, our area extends 960 km in the east, 890 km in south and 650 km in north. Mumbai was linked to Nagpur before the project was launched.”

AAI lauded for green effort The Airports Authority of India (AAI), that has its own paper recycling unit, has recently won the Golden Peacock EcoInnovation Award 2012 for its use of eco-friendly recycled paper within the organisation. The authority’s chairman, V P Agrawal, received the award from Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. The Golden Peacock EcoInnovation Award is given every year to the most environment-friendly

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ABOVE GROUND LEVEL ¨¨ innovative product developed. According to officials, the use of recycled paper has brought in a change in the corporate culture within the organisation as it promotes resource minimisation, recycling and reuse of waste.

Jaipur airport is No 1 Jaipur airport has emerged as the first among the 126 airports run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI),

DAWN OF A NEW ERA: An Air India Boeing Dreamliner 787 during its test flight.

The outside facade of Jaipur airport.

according to a survey conducted by the Airports Council International this year. Paul Manickum, Director of Jaipur airport, while talking recently to The Times of India, said: “The Airports Council International had conducted a survey of 126 airports, which are being run by the AAI in India. This survey was based on 33 parameters in which our airport has been rated as number one in the country. These 33 parameters include airport safety and security, immigration and customs, cleanliness, runways, facility of parking, catering, etc.” “Since 2009, when Terminal 2 became operational, various teams including air traffic control (ATC), immigration and security officers had been burning the midnight oil to give the best of facilities to air travellers,” added Manickum.

Fifth airport for Kerala A fifth international airport — which will be India’s first wholly private one — is coming up in a state where no highway is more than half as wide as

An inside view of the Delhi Airport

the next 10 years hinges. The authorised and paid-up capital of Air India Limited are `5000.05 crore and `2145 crore, respectively. The approved annual plan outlay of Air India for the current fiscal 2012-13 is `4928 crore including a budgetary support of `4000 crore. The issue is whether Air India will be able to utilize the plan funds earmarked and allocated for 2012-13. A report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture submitted to Parliament noted that Air India was allocated `4549.36 crore through IEBR (Internal and Extra Budgetary Resource) in the Budget Estimate for 2011-12 under the head Investment in Public Enterprises which was reduced to `1949.27 crore as per the Revised Estimate while the budgetary support remained unchanged at `1200 crore. In the current fiscal 2012-13, Air India will have `928 crore through IEBR and `4000 crore under budgetary support. Air India has stated that the additional equity infusion by the government would help it pay the interest on working capital loans, aircraft loans, payments to vendors, PSU oil companies, statutory dues and salaries to employees, etc. This would reduce the burden of interest and the requirement of working capital to bridge the gap between its revenue and expenditure. This needs to be seen in the context of Air India’s net loss of `7852 crore incurred in the fiscal 2011-12. Air India prepared a Turnaround Plan (TAP) in June 2010 and the same included an Operational Restructuring Plan combined with Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP). Since FRP involved a commitment from the government in the form of equity infusion and guarantee for loans, the TAP/FRP was presented to the Group of CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Ministers (GoM) on June 22, 1011. The GoM appointed a Ground of Officers (GoO) in the Finance Ministry to examine the TAP/FRP and furnish their recommendations/observations. After discussions/deliberations, the GoO recommended a moderated growth scenario VII with targeted PLF (Plane Load Factor or the Seat Factor) of 73 per cent by 2015 and 75 per cent by 2020. The recommendations of the GoO were submitted to the GoM in the meeting held on October 28, 2011. The GoM approved the FRP and then forwarded it to the CCEA for consideration. The CCEA subsequently approved the FRP of Air India on April 12, 2012, which envisaged a package of `30,000 crore. At a disaggregated level the details were as follows: Ê Induction of upfront equity of ` 6750 crore in the current fiscal 2012-13 including `1200 crore provided in the budget of 2011-12 and already released in the same year. Ê Equity for cash deficit support of `1539 crore in fiscal 2012-13, `1055 crore in fiscal 2013-14, `921 crore in fiscal 2014-15, `858 crore in fiscal 2015-16, `156 crore in fiscal 2016-17, `23 crore in fiscal 2017-18. All this adds up to `4552 crore. Ê Equity for already guaranteed aircraft loan of `18929 crore till fiscal year 2021, the break-up of which is as follows: `1786 crore in 2011-12; `1787 crore in 2012-13; `1802 crore in 2013-14; `1817 crore in 2014-15; `1833 crore in 2015-16; `2157 crore in 2016-17; `1861 crore in 2017-18; `1896 crore in 2018-19; `2611 crore in 2019-20 and `1379 crore in 202021. Besides, there would be a government guarantee for repayment of princi-

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ABOVE GROUND LEVEL ¨¨

Dreamliner compensation and more

the National Highways Authority of India’s standard minimum of 60 metres. No other state in the country has as many international airports. “It’s going to be the most state-of-theart airport in the state, with two runways and a taxiway,” said Gigi George, Managing Director of the Chennai-based KGS Group, the airport’s promoter company. George said the company had got every clearance in hand and 750 acres had been acquired for the project that was coming up at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district.

Faster take-offs at IGI There is good news for passengers travelling from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport as flights at the airport will take off in a much smoother and faster manner from this month or early September. The Airports Authority of India will upgrade the system of pre-departure clearances given to aircraft. At present, the clearance is given verbally by the ATC officials to pilots over VHF radio. The ATC will now use data link communication so that the clearance and the entire route to be taken are automatically shown on a screen in the aircraft’s cockpit.

3 airports may become bird strike free If the efforts of the Bird Strike Research Group of India reap fruits, the airports at Mysore, Hubli and Mangalore may well become the country’s first birdstrike-free airports. The research group has advised the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to implement certain methods to do away with such strikes. Speaking to Deccan Herald, K Ramachandra of the study group said: “We decided on the three airports as one (Mysore) is a new airport, the other (Hubli) is a mediumsized airport and the third (Mangalore) is a coastal airport.” The project is to begin with an examination of bird migratory habits around these airports before other essential factors are examined in order to develop counter-measures. Once the analysis of the migratory pattern is complete, the institution plans to deploy measures including

s we go to press, Cruising Heights has learnt that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) will be meeting soon to clear the acquisition of the Dreamliner Boeing 787. In fact, three of them are waiting to be flown to India. These aircraft could land in India between August 1 and 10, depending on when the committee gives the clearance. According to highly-placed sources in Air India, the Cabinet clearance would happen well before Dr Nasim Zaidi, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, retired on July 31. Some other important decisions that have been taken are: Air India's B777-200 LRs could be leased to Air Canada. At present, it is only Air Canada and Qatar Airways that are making money on 777-200 LRs. If the B777-200 LRs are leased out, Air India might have to stop the direct flights to the US. As for the Dreamliners, they would be put on the Melbourne and

pal amount and payment of interest on Non-Convertible Debentures (NCD) of `7400 crore proposed to be issued to Financial Institutions (FIs), Banks, LIC, EPFO, etc. which will be used to repay part of the working capital loans. The total equity interest on NCDs from fiscal year 2013 to fiscal 2032 will be `11,951 crore. Air India will induct the already contracted aircraft — 27 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and three Boeing 777-300s — but on Sale and Lease Back mode. Justifying the Cabinet clearance, it was stated that infusion of equity as per the FRP and TAP would ensure the following: (i) Improve the net worth of the company; (ii) Improve debt-equity ratio; (iii) Make operations viable in line with RBI and lenders requirements for the successful implementation of the FRP and TAP; and (iv) Return of Air India to the path of profitability. As a result of the FRP and TAP of Air India, two of its subsidiaries — Air India Engineering Services Limited (MRO Subsidiary) and AIATSL (Ground Handling Subsidiary) — would be hived off resulting in approximately 15,000 employees getting off the payrolls of Air India and migrating to AESL and AIATSL. As for the international market, the Air India international pilots have ensured that by the time they arrive there will be no cake left! It is in this context that the recommendation of the CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Sydney routes. Air India would fly them thrice a week on the Melbourne-Sydney route from Delhi/Mumbai and for four days on the Sydney-Melbourne- India route. The Indian Pilots Guild responsible for the recent strike was derecognised, according to highly-placed sources. The Air India management told those pilots firmly that former Indian Airlines pilots would be trained on the 787s. Asked if any of the 787s would have cockpit crew from both AI and IA, the source said that would not happen: either the 787 flights would be exclusively flown by AI crew or Indian Airlines crew. The compensation issue with Boeing for the delay in the delivery of Dreamliners has been settled though the exact amount has not been disclosed. The amount might not be a cash payout but could be adjusted in the payments to be made for the 27 contracted 787s. GOO regarding the plane load factor of 73 per cent and 75 per cent needs to be seen. Moreover, the final word on the recommendations of the Justice Dharmadikari Report is yet to be heard. It has created a lot of bad blood between the non-crew staff of both the airlines (see story Battleground of disgruntled employees, page 64 in this issue). The split in the merged carrier is visible from the cockpit to the tail. It may be pointed out that during the deliberations of the Standing Committee meeting in April 2012, the CMD of Air India was asked about the issue of withdrawal of services from profitable routes by Air India. The CMD in his reply stated that a study on withdrawal of services by Air India from 31 routes over a period of time was commissioned and a report on this had been received by the company. As per that the CMD informed the Standing Committee that all the routes were lossmaking and the report would be submitted to the committee for its perusal. As regards the status of Air India’s entry into the LCC segment, it was informed that there was a plan to convert the old fleet of A320s with 145 seats and 20 business class seats into all economy configuration of 168 seats to counter competition from LCC and gain greater participation in the low-fare market segment. But then this is yet to see the light of the day.

Will GoAir pave a new roadmap?

ABOVE GROUND LEVEL ¨¨ using Micro Air Vehicles (MAV), that resemble the winged vertebrates to frighten away birds. The micro vehicles are currently under development by the National Programme (NP-MICAV) for MAVs.

OTA-airport metro work on fast track

TOUGH TASK AHEAD: GoAir Managing Director Jeh Wadia at one of the Indian airports.

here is widespread speculation that the Wadia-controlled GoAir may either induct a new partner or look for private equity investors to shore up its finances and increase its borrowing strength to meet the new challenges. News reports suggested that GoAir could raise $200 million in equity to reduce debt and that the parent company Bombay Dyeing controlled by the Wadias had enough land and real estate to offer as a collateral. According to a filing with the registrar of companies by GoAir during the previous fiscal year 2011-12, the airline had accumulated a loss of `600 crore. The amount seems tiny compared to the losses incurred by Air India, Kingfisher, Jet Airways and SpiceJet. But this has to be viewed in the proper context: GoAir has only 12 A320s and connects on 22 destinations flying 200 flights a day. During a general meeting held in May 2012, GoAir sought an increase in its authorised share capital from `150 crore to `170 crore. It was also stated then that the airline would diversify its business. There is not much clarity on this expanded scope of business operations but the airlines’ Managing Director Jeh Wadia told the media that the airline was well-capitalised and was not actively looking for funds. The airline, however, would have to arrange for funds to meet the expenditure of buying new aircraft. With the falling rupee, it could become even more challenging for GoAir to meet its financial needs. GoAir CEO Giorgio De Roni said his airline was expecting two more A320s to join the fleet in the current fiscal 2012-13.

The airline was expanding in a big way but the operations would continue to remain domestic, he said. This brings to light another issue: GoAir shot off a letter to the Ministry of Civil Aviation recently stating it should be allowed to fly international routes as it has already completed five years but did not fulfill the mandatory criteria of a minimum fleet of 20 aircraft. GoAir has only 12 aircraft today. GoAir argued that when foreign carriers could be allowed to operate from India with lesser number of aircraft, why were Indian domestic carriers subjected to such restrictions? It is rumoured that Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh wants GoAir's proposal to be considered seriously. There is, however, one problem that the minister will have to overcome. It may be recalled that when the original decision was taken in December 2004, it was the Union Cabinet that had cleared the proposal of Civil Aviation Ministry, which among other things had mentioned that only those domestic airlines that have been in the civil or scheduled aviation transport business for five years at a stretch and had a minimum fleet of 20 aircraft with qualifying weight to be eligible for international flights. The minister then needs to go back to the same Union Cabinet to change the policy. The only silver lining of the Ajit Singh innings is that he is fully in support of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by foreign carriers in Indian domestic carriers — incidentally, a proposal that was totally rejected by his predecessor Praful Patel. CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

The 4.5-km metro rail work between Officer’s Training Academy (OTA) and Chennai airport has been put on fast track. While Phase I of the work between the Pallavaram-end and the international terminal exit has already started, underground tunnelling work near the OTA commenced mid-July, informed a senior CMRL official. “The underground stretch that is about a kilometre long will start from OTA and run parallel to the main runway before climbing at the Meenambakkam station, which will come up near the cargo terminal,” the official added.

Cochin airport to get radar facility

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An outside view of Cochin airport

The proposed radar facility at the Cochin International Airport (CIAL), which will augment the safety measures for take-off and landing, is expected to be fully operational by December this year. Once commissioned, the facility will control both take-off and landing, eliminating the need for any judgment by the pilot especially under conditions of poor visibility.

Gujarat to start flights In a move that is expected to boost trade and tourism in Gujarat, the state government has shortlisted three companies — Ventura Aviation, Deccan Charters and Meher Air Service — to provide offshore and onshore civil and cargo aviation service within the state. The government will now decide on allotment of routes to these companies.

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ABOVE GROUND LEVEL ¨¨ Tender for Mopa airport by October Outlining aviation and tertiary sectors as thrust areas, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the government would M Parrikar invite global bids by October for a new international airport at Mopa in North Goa, which would be ready in the next three years. The technocrat Chief Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party, who took over the reins earlier this year, was quoted as saying sometime back that the investment required for the new airport would be around `3,800 crore, with Phase-I requiring `2,500 crore. During his interaction with industrialists, Parrikar stressed that aviation was a key focus area for his tourism-driven state economy. He explained that the proposed Mopa airport, for which up to 90 per cent of land acquisition was complete, would increase the passenger carrying capacity by up to six times from the existing facilities at Dabolim. The CM also said that his government would be interested in teaming up with a private player if some proposals came along around education in the aviation sector and setting up cargo facilities. “There is a vast catchment area around Goa, in pockets such as Belgaum, Hubli, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri, which produce horticulture products that can be exported from the proposed international airport,” he said.

Dry run of new terminal at Chennai The Airports Authority of India (AAI) recently conducted a dry run of new domestic terminal at Chennai airport. More than 50 employees of airlines and the airport acted as passengers to test whether the terminal was ready to handle departures. AAI earlier wanted to conduct a departure trial by operating an aircraft from the new terminal. But, airlines opposed the move stating that passengers would be at risk because the new building did not have any basic facilities for food, water or medical assistance. “Dry run is to try out the terminal to handle departures which require more systems and procedures than arrivals,” said Airport Director HS Suresh.

Ranchi airport readies to go world-class terminal building will have a natural lighting system along with facilities for advanced online baggage inspection. It would also be able to handle 500 domestic and 200 international passengers with the facility of two aerobridges. The airport has also made arrangements for facilities to park as many as 600 cars. The new terminal FORGING AHEAD: An artist impression of the integrated terminal at building would be Ranchi airport. integrated with the existing he legacy of British rule that had one and would help maximise passengeraimed to develop air-connectivity in holding capacity as the present terminal this obscure tribal heartland of building can hold only 200 passengers. Ranchi decades back has apparently The facilities at the new terminal would contributed to transform the erstwhile include an apron area for three additional airstrip into an integrated airport. In fact, aircraft in addition to the present two. The during the Second World War, the online baggage inspection system would headquarters of the Eastern Command was ensure about six layers of online checking shifted temporarily from Kolkata to without the opening of baggage. The AAI Ranchi. Under Defence of India rules, master plan includes the construction of an invoking special powers, thousands of air cargo centre too that would enable the acres of tribal lands were acquired by the transport of perishable foodstuff such as British government for the purpose of vegetables, milk and fruits. building an airstrip at Ranchi. In addition to the existing 8,900 ft Subsequently, this makeshift airstrip was runway, 1,500 ft runway has been handed over to the Civil Aviation Ministry earmarked for the new terminal. A chunk in 1962 and it is known as the Birsa Munda of 178 acres of nearby Army land is to be Airport. handed over to the AAI for expansion of Against the backdrop of growing the airport. An air traffic control tower of political and commercial activities in 100 ft would be added to the existing 50 Jharkhand, the Birsa Munda Airport was ft tower. Though no international flights unable to cope with the multi-fold increase would be operating from the airport at the in the number of air travellers. present moment, the authorities are Consequently, the Airports Authority of hoping that international flights for India (AAI) decided to expand the existing Bangkok and Singapore will start airport. sometime in the near future. Although it was delayed by about a According to the media reports, the year, the Birsa Munda Airport is now Birsa Munda Airport has surpassed many poised to render services of international first-class airports in the country way standards. The upcoming integrated behind in terms of air passenger terminal will connect the tribal heartland percentage growth. The airport handled to major cities of the country that would, 35.2 per cent more passengers in 2011-12 in turn, enable even local passengers to as compared to 2010-11 and left behind hop across to any part of the world. As Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, per the AAI dossier, nearly one million Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other cities in passengers use the airport annually. terms of air passenger percentage growth. The new integrated terminal to be Also, the AAI in its annual report on constructed at a cost of `137.79 crore over traffic growth prodded the airport for a sprawling area of 1,9676 square metres witnessing a 100 per cent growth in the will boast of facilities of Customs and past four years. The report said a total Immigration apart from technological of 4,91,418 people flew from here in upgrades and other modern facilities for 2011-12. the convenience of travellers. The new — D P Sharan

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

COVER STORY

THIS YEAR’S FARNBOROUGH AIRSHOW WAS CRUCIAL FOR THE AVIATION INDUSTRY: FIRST, IT TOOK PLACE AT A TIME WHEN THE EUROZONE CRISIS IS AT ITS PEAK AND, SECOND, WITH THE WORLD WATCHING KEENLY, IT WAS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO PILE UP THE ORDERS. ON BOTH COUNTS, IT WAS A GREAT SHOW. ORDERS THIS YEAR WERE HIGHER THAN THOSE IN 2010. A SPECIAL REPORT FROM THE FRONTLINES.

Show CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

t the end it wasn’t really as bad as had been predicted. In fact, it was subdued, but for the rest it was business as usual. There were deals completed for about 800 aircraft worth $72 billion, which is substantially higher than 2010 when the deals totalled a collective $47 billion for about 835 aircraft. Nonetheless, it’s shorter than the red hot Paris Air Show last year when airplane makers made deals for about 1,336 aircraft. Orders and commitments announced at Farnborough this year totalled an official 758 aircraft, according to show organisers. As usual the Boeing-Airbus rivalry was a continuing theme at Farnborough. If it was Airbus last year, this edition in the English countryside belonged to their rivals from across the Atlantic. Boeing sold 427 aircraft, compared with Airbus, which sold 123. It was a turnaround from the Paris Air Show last year when Airbus took orders for about 910 aircraft worth $88 billion while Boeing announced orders for 141 totalling $22 billion. It was the Neo at Paris, but MAX took the cake this year. No surprise considering the two are in a takeno-prisoners contest for the future fuel-efficient single-aisle jetliner market with Boeing’s 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo.The big ticket order for Boeing was the 150 aircraft deal with United Airlines, involving 100 next-generation 737 MAX, 9

stopper CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

COVER STORY narrow-body aircraft as well as 737900ER long-range narrow-bodies. Last year, Airbus had scorched the runway at Paris with a sale of 667 A320neo aircraft worth a collective $60.9 billion. But this year the MAX was in the reckoning. Just months after Paris, Boeing had announced the re-engined 737 MAX aircraft with aerodynamic improvements to compete directly with the A320neo. Boeing sold 367 737 MAX aircraft at Farnborough, while Airbus sold 37 A320neos. For the record, it must be mentioned that more than 140 aircraft took part in the static and flying displays, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which flew on the first three days of the show — and the Airbus A380 in attendance for all seven days of the show. Flying display highlights included the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, a Saab Gripen fighter, and the Korean T50 jet trainer. The trade show portion of Farnborough involved far more than just the Boeing-Airbus rivalry. Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. sold 100 of its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) aircraft, while Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace sold 52 of the company’s Q400 NextGen, CRJ, and CSeries aircraft. Brazilian manufacturer Embraer and French manufacturer ATR sold 13 aircraft apiece, while US manufacturer Hawker-Beechcraft sold one King Air turboprop to the US Federal Aviation Administration. But its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft — Baron G58 ISR turboprop-

For the record, it must be mentioned that more than 140 aircraft took part in the static and flying displays, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which flew on the first three days of the show

SPACE ODYSSEY : The Virgin Galactic aircraft on display at Farnborough Airshow 2012.

attracted plenty of attention. Other aircraft manufacturers present at Farnborough, including Dassault Falcon, Sukhoi, and United Aircraft Corp (UAC) of Russia made no aircraft sales announcements at Farnborough. When Air Asia’s Tony Fernandes, announced that his airline was in preliminary talks with Bombardier to buy 100 of Bombardier’s 160-seat CSeries aircraft, it was the big high for the Canadian manufacturer. Many believed this was a make or break show for the CSeries programme: Bombardier managed relative success, winning 25 new commitments to the CSeries; five commitments to the 120-seat CS100 and 10 commitments to the 140 seat CS300 from an unidentified customer plus 10 commitments with 10 purchase options for the Riga-based low-cost carrier (LCC) airBaltic. The commitments brought the total order book for the CSeries to 183 orders from 13 customers, of which 138 orders are firm.

If AirAsia were to firm up it would literally double the CSeries order book and provide the momentum to the manufacturer who is dealing with dipping to the plane-maker. “We are taking this very seriously. It is an impressive aircraft and we have good feeling about it. The crew and engineers are very happy about it as well,” Fernandes said after a tour of the CSeries cabin mock-up. “The advantage is that the CSeries can get into a lot of airports to which we currently do not have access. And there is the price, and this looks like it could be a very affordable aircraft. We are a very big Airbus customer and so this is a very big decision.” Looking forward, Bombardier’s Commercial Aircraft Forecast 20122031 predicts deliveries of 12,800 new commercial aircraft with 20 to 149 seats, with Europe expected to take delivery of 2,240 units, or 18 per cent. Bombardier is the only manufacturer that offers three distinct families of turboprop and jet aircraft and each family is optimised for the market segment it is designed to serve. Thus the company is well-placed to satisfy its markets’ continuing requirements. Mitsubishi scored big time when US regional operator SkyWest ordered 100 Mitsubishi Regional Jets (MRJs). The order allows for SkyWest to split the 100 aircraft in a ratio of its choosing between the 60-78 seats MRJ-70 that is roughly comparable to a CRJ700 or E-170 and the 80-90 seat MRJ-90 that is roughly comparable to the E-175 and the CRJ900. The order represented a major coup for Mitsubishi, whose MRJ had come under increasing fire for possessing an order book of just 65 MRJs — 15

The Chinese C919 model got a huge boost when the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC) signed a memorandum of understanding with International Airlines Group (IAG)

from Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA), 50 from US-based regional operator Trans States Airlines, while announcing a one-year delay in planned entry into service (EIS) from 2014 to summer 2015 or between October 2015 March 2016, as well as delaying the aircraft’s first flight from the second quarter of 2012 to between OctoberDecember 2013. According to Embraer, demand for passenger airline service worldwide will increase by five per cent each year over the next two decades, which will require an additional 6,795 30 to 120-seat regional jets to fleets around the world. Presenting their Embraer Market Outlook report Embraer said: “The additional passenger jets necessary over the next 20 years will be worth about $315 billion. Replacing ageing aircraft will represent 53 per cent of new deliveries of regional jets, and the rest will support air transport growth. The world regional jet fleet in service of 30 to 120-seat jets will increase from 4,150 aircraft in 2011 to 7,375 by 2031.” The Chinese C919 model got a huge boost when the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd (COMAC) signed a memorandum of understanding with International Airlines Group (IAG). “I found it delighted to be able to sign this memorandum of understanding while we will work together to assist one another in development not just in C919, but hopefully future generations of COMAC aircraft,” Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of IAG told journalists. The C919 plane has so far received 280 orders from home and abroad. The orders are mostly from domestic users, but some are from the United States and

COVER STORY

Southeast Asian countries. The C919 is a 150-seat aircraft designed for short-haul commercial use. The project was launched in 2008 by the COMAC, which is a state-owned company. Russia’s presence at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow was more toned down than in the past. However, Russian companies still announced some major agreements with international firms. An Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 was on static display, showing that the craft is already in use by a commercial airline. Apparently, Sukhoi has “managed to recover from its loss of reputation” after May’s crash of a superjet in Indonesia, which killed 45. Examination of the incident concluded that the crash was due to human error, rather than any technical failure. The success of the SSJ100, a flagship project of the Russian aircraft industry, is crucial for all companies involved in the aviation sector. “We are confident in the success of the programme, not only from the standpoint of our customers — existing and potential — but also from that of our supplier team,” said Mikhail Pogosyan, Chief Executive of United Aircraft, parent of the Russian plane company. Avions de Transport Regional (ATR), owned by European aerospace group EADS and Italian company Finmeccanica, said it had received 24 orders this year. ATR now has over 200 aircraft in its backlog, adding it was now responsible for two-thirds of all regional aircraft to be delivered in the 50-90 seat range.

JOINING HANDS : airBaltic signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire 10 CS300 aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow 2012.

Avions de Transport Regional (ATR), owned by European aerospace group EADS and Italian company Finmeccanica, said it had received 24 orders this year. CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

“Airlines operating in highly buoyant markets such as Brazil, Indonesia and Russia are currently developing their short-haul routes ... and ordering (ATR aircraft) in tens,” Chief Executive Filippo Bagnato said. Virgin chief Richard Branson announced that he would be blasting-off into space in December 2013. Branson also announced that Virgin Galactic was expanding to include a satellite-launching service that would use a low-cost rocket system to propel payloads into orbit. Branson and his children, Holly and Sam, would accompany him on board the SpaceShipTwo on its pioneering two-hour voyage into sub-orbital space. “It’ll certainly be the most momentous moment of my life and my children’s lives,” Branson told the media and added: “It’ll be very difficult to ever cap it I think. Anyone who has ever been into space says the same thing.” Boeing’s new aircraft and innovative technologies had huge footfalls. The show saw the first flying display of the 787 Dreamliner in Qatar Airways livery (this is the first in many years as Boeing has consistently avoided flying at air shows) and the new Enduring Awareness Pavilion, a display of advanced command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities. The 2012 Pilot & Technician Outlook forecasts a 20-year demand for more than a million commercial airline pilots and maintenance technicians.

Engines steal the show A Lego Trent 1000 A replica of a jet engine has been made out of thousands of Lego bricks. The half-size replica of the Rolls-Royce

FINE START : A Lego Trent 1000 engine on display at Farnborough Airshow 2012.

Trent 1000 engine has been created to inspire young people to pursue careers in engineering. It was made by professional Lego builders Bright Bricks, with advice from a team of graduates and apprentices from Rolls-Royce. The inspiration for the model came from a five-year-old boy. Rolls-Royce brand manager Sarah Martin told the BBC: “He’d sat down and built a little engine out of Lego with his father, sent it in to me and that was the sort of seed of the idea.” The engine is normally used to power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, and the Lego version is more than 6ft 6in (2m) long. More than 160 separate engine components were built using 152,455 Lego bricks, then joined together to replicate a real jet engine. It took four people eight weeks to complete.

CFM gets big orders The momentum for CFM Internationals’ advanced LEAP engine family has continued to consolidate with the company’s order book reflecting 922 new engines (till the end of the Farnborough show) at a value of $12.6-billion at list price. It has doubled its 2012 order book that is now docked at 1,792 LEAP engines for Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX, and Comac C919. LEAPand CFM56 engines is a product of CFM International, a 50-50 joint company between Snecma (Safran group) and GE. CFM has delivered nearly 24,000 engines to date. Jean-Paul Ebanga, President and CEO of CFM International, spoke

highly of the engine the C919 used. Ebanga said that the engines for C919 is called the LEAP-1-C. It’s the brand new engine CFM has been developing and it uses the latest, cleanest technology found in the world. “So it’s really a game changer. It’s bringing two digital improvements in terms of fuel burn and increment requirements. It’s really the best COMAC can get in the engine industry.”

Jet (MRJ) aircraft. The agreement represents 200 PurePower PW1200G engines with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2017. Air Astana has selected Pratt & Whitney’s PW4000-94 engine for its order of three firm and one option Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft. The contract is valued at approximately $90 million. Delivery of the engines will start in 2013.

PW1200G completes first flight The Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1200G engine successfully completed its first flight test programme weeks before the Farnborough airshow following 23 flights and 127 hours on a specially designed stub wing aboard Pratt & Whitney’s Boeing 747SP flying test bed. The flight test programme, which began on April 30, successfully validated the PW1200G engine’s inflight performance, operability and control systems. To date, Pratt & Whitney has completed more the 1,500 hours and nearly 6,000 cycles in testing the PW1200G engine, which will power Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation’s Mitsubishi Regional Jet. Pratt & Whitney’s engine for A330: Pratt & Whitney will offer its PW4170 Advantage70 engine, the most reliable and fuel efficient engine available for the A330 aircraft, for the new Airbus 240 tonne A330 aircraft. “With its demonstrated reliability, outstanding performance and low cost of ownership, Pratt & Whitney is pleased to offer its PW4170 Advantage70 engine for the new Airbus 240 tonne A330 aircraft,” said Lou Quattrocchi, Pratt & Whitney Vice-President, Commercial Programmes. Pratt & Whitney and JetBlue Airways signed a definitive agreement for PurePower PW1100G-JM engines to power its order of 40 firm A320neo family aircraft finalizing the MOU announced in late 2011. The agreement includes 86 PurePower engines with a long-term PureSolutionSM maintenance service agreement. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2018. The engines will provide exclusive power for 100 Mitsubishi Regional

Aircelle and RR signs agreement for BA’s A380s Rolls-Royce and Aircelle (Safran group) signed a comprehensive services offering for Trent 900 engine nacelles on British Airways’ A380s, marking a long-term global care package commitment by these two original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on a key component of the A380. This contract — signed at the Farnborough Airshow — involves a 25-year coverage period beginning in 2013, during which Aircelle will provide complete support on the nacelles it produces and supplies for the Rolls-Royce Trent 900s that power British Airways’ fleet of 12 A380s.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

GP7200’s one million flight hours Engine Alliance announced a series of performance and durability enhancements to the GP7200 engine applicable to new engine deliveries that will begin to enter service later this year. “These improvements will give airlines even greater confidence that the GP7200 continues to be the best-performing engine for the A380,” said Engine Alliance President Mary Ellen Jones. “The GP7200 fleet recently surpassed one million flight hours. We’re very proud of this accomplishment and look forward to offering Engine Alliance customers these added advantages for millions more hours.” The refinements, to be released into production over the next 18 months, incorporate upgrades to engine clearances and sealing, introduce an improved turbine blade and offer a modest incremental weight reduction.

COVER STORY

Choppers buck the trend Finmeccanica’s big plans As part of new Chief Executive Giuseppe Orsi's group turnaround strategy, Finmeccanica Giuseppe Orsi expects international orders to overtake domestic market contracts in 2013 as the group focuses on emerging defence markets. Finmeccanica is counting on nations beyond its traditional markets such as Italy, Poland, the UK and the US to account for 52 per cent of new orders next year. Orsi acknowledged Algeria, Australia, Brazil, India, Libya, Malaysia, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the group’s principal markets.

AgustaWestland and Russian Helicopters team up AgustaWestland signed an agreement with Russian Helicopters at the Farnborough International Airshow to jointly develop an all-new 2.5 tonne class singleengine helicopter. The agreement was signed by Bruno Spagnolini, CEO of AgustaWestland, and Russian Helicopters CEO Dmitry Petrov. The overall programme will be shared on a 5050 basis, with the new helicopter being designed for the worldwide market and a wide range of applications. AgustaWestland and Russian Helicopters established the joint venture company HeliVert in 2010 to assemble AW139 helicopters. Also, the AngloItalian major reportedly took orders for 70 light- and medium-lift helicopters at Farnborough. The choppers, ranging from the AW 139 medium-lift twinengine helicopters to the AW189 and the AW169, will be used for diverse missions by clients across the world including the oil and gas, news, and the police. Its new AW189 is expected to create 1,500 jobs in the UK and rake in up to £2 billion in exports.

Sikorsky bags $8.5 bn US deal The US Army and Navy have signed an $8.5 bn contract with Sikorsky to buy a baseline quantity of 653 Black

hawk and Seahawk helicopters through December 2017. The five-year contract will yield significant savings for the US Government compared with purchasing the same quantity across five separate annual agreements. The five-year agreement also allows the Army and Navy to order as many as 263 more aircraft within the same contractual terms.

Bell displays Osprey, Relentless STRAIGHT TALK : ATR Chief Executive Filippo Bagnato during the press briefing at the show.

Sweeping away any safety concerns that have dogged the tilt rotor, Bell's President and Chief Executive John Garrison undertook a half-hour demonstration flight on the V-22 tiltrotor airplane at Farnborough. After the demonstration flight Garrison told the media: “I am pretty bullish, there is a lot of positive momentum at Bell Helicopter despite the challenging (Department of Defense) environment and the challenging world economic environment. As part of a joint venture with Boeing, Bell builds the V-22 Osprey, for the US military. The European debut of the Bell 525R Relentless was also made at Farnborough. First launched in February with great flourish at the Heli Expo the Relentless has a range of 925km and powered by two GE CT7-2F1 turboshaft engines.”

Eurocopter shows off the EC175, X3 Eurocopter's exhibit presence was incorporated within the dedicated pavilion of its EADS parent company. On display at Farnborough, was the twin-engine EC175 one of the best medium-class helicopters for offshore oil and gas operations, search and rescue, VIP/corporate airlift missions. The company also displayed 1/5 scale model of the X3 high-speed hybrid aircraft. Recently on tour in United States, the X3 concept combines vertical takeoff and landing capabilities with fast cruise speeds of more than 220 knots.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

As for Airbus, it wasn’t the A320neo that was the star of the show. The A3501000 was the winner receiving a thumbsup from Cathay Pacific. The airline not only placed 10 new orders for the model but also converted 16 previously ordered A350-900s to the new larger variant. This represents almost $4.2 billion worth of business. The A350-1000 ordered by Cathay Pacific features the recentlyenhanced Rolls-Royce Trent XWB turbofan with 97,000lbs thrust. Another star at Farnborough was the A330 family which won 10 firm orders worth $2.3 billion from CIT Group. This order is additionally significant since it marks the launch of the new upgraded 240 tonne take-off weight A330. This version opens more routes and offers up to 400nm more range and nearly five tonnes more payload than the A330s being delivered. In addition, Synergy Aerospace ordered six A330-200s plus three A330 freighters, bringing the total commitments for the A330 family at Farnborough to 19 aircraft. Fabrice Brégier, Airbus’s Chief Executive Officer said: “The quality of orders at Farnborough has been high at the show, with significant endorsement from leading customers of our strategy to continuously innovate and improve our products.” He added: “With the recent announcement to build an A320 production line in America, coupled with the start of production for the A320neo in Toulouse, Airbus is cementing its leading global position.” Furthermore, Airbus sponsored the Farnborough Innovation Zone and Future’s Day. The Innovation Zone promoted inspiring R&T projects and a futuristic vision of a sustainable aviation sector in 2050 and beyond. Airbus experts discussed alternative energies, future solutions and future talent.

BUSINESSOFCINEMA.COM

FOCUS ON ‘COPTERS P40

P41

A GREAT GIFT

PHHL TO FLY NEW ROUTES

Daughter Suri gets a chopper ride from his doting father Tom Cruise.

Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited is planning new routes around Delhi

A heli-hop for help and more Although India faces a dearth of special mission rotorcraft, the situation could change with the advent of innovative new choppers that are not only faster but have more utility. Justin C Murik analyses the trends in helicopter design. ver since the successful fullscale production of the Sikorsky R-4 chopper by Igor Sikorsky in 1942, helicopters have had a ubiquitous shape — that of the main rotor to provide the lift, with the tail rotor at the back to provide stability. From the behemoths like the Mi-26, which are capable of lifting more than 20 metric tonnes — to the small dualseat Robinsons — all have had this basic configuration. In the past few years, however, the helicopter industry has witnessed an explosion of new technology that is set to change our perception of what a chopper looks like, and how it behaves. Some of these choppers might be prototypes, a few have been operating in adverse conditions like war and proving the worth of their design but a majority aim to incorporate the range and speed of traditional aircraft with the vertical lift capabilities of helicopters. These special-mission rotorcrafts can be used in a wide variety of roles in India, which present challenges to conventional aircraft that require a runway to operate. The geographical diversity of the country makes it an ideal proving ground for these new technological innovations. From providing round-theclock succor to victims of natural calamities like floods, to extracting accident victims stuck in inaccessible terrain, to the speedy search-and-rescue of fishermen along India's extensive sea coast, these innovative choppers have huge potential in India.

INDIAN AIR FORCE

Continued on Page 42 `

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

FOCUS ON ‘COPTERS Kamov Ka-62 debuts

recently unveiled its medium-category, multi-role Kamov ¤icalKamov Ka-62. This helicopter is meant for cargo transport, emergency medservices, offshore, search-and-rescue and corporate sectors. Made

EUROCOPTER

up of 50 per cent polymetric composite material, it features a five-bladed rotor with a secondary hydraulics unit, shock-absorbing seats and airframe/propellers. Power is derived from Turbomeca Ardiden 3G engines supplying 1,680 hp. With a first flight forecast for August 2013, initial deliveries are set to begin in 2015.

Eurocopter UK braces for Olympian task

Tom Cruise gives Suri chopper joyride

BLOGSPOT.IN

Control Centre. A total of 30 Eurocopter-built aircraft — including EC135s, EC145s and Puma MK1s — constitute the helicopter backbone for the Olympic Games' security, operated by the London Metropolitan Police, the adjoining cities' police forces, the British Special Forces and the Royal Air Force. Steps taken by Eurocopter UK at this operational centre for the Olympic Games include a doubling of such critical resources as the aircraft-on-ground hotline and technical services, implementation of a 24/7 maintenance duty roster, the management of vendor support for systems ranging from engines to mission equipment, and operation of 20 GPS-tracked mobile units. Located at Oxford Airport and operated by Eurocopter UK, the facility manages more than 2,000 maintenance events per year at Eurocopter bases in Oxford and Hawarden/Wales, as well as on customer operating locations in the UK and Ireland. The local Olympic support is further backed up by dedicated resources of Eurocopter's primary facilities in Marignane, France and Donauwörth, Germany. Eurocopter UK provides one-stop-shop solutions to more than half of the UK police air support units and to a large population of private, utility and air ambulance operators across the country.

KAMOV

During the Olympic Games, an estimated 7,000 ¤supported flight hours of police and security air units will be by Eurocopter's Maintenance Mission

¤In an effort to make the most of his precious time with his daughter Suri, Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise spent $6,200 on a round-trip helicopter ride. According to usmagazine.com, Cruise used a chartered flight out of New York for the short trip on a chopper that can seat up to six people. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes finalised their divorce in early July with Holmes retaining primary custody of their six-year-old daughter Suri, though Cruise has generous visitation rights.

China offers choppers to India, rubbishes espionage claim officer of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) has ¤India.Asaidsenior that China was keen to offer its Z9WZ helicopters to According to a report in the Hindustan Times Colonel Yu

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

BLOGSPOT.IN

Guo Yi said: “We are happy to sell these helicopters to India.” The Z9WZ is based on the Dauphin a medium-weight multipurpose helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter. The Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation manufactures the Dauphin under license in China. Meanwhile, in another development, China has denied reports that it has used sensitive American technology for its new attack chopper, the Z-10. According to Yang Yujun, a Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson, independent intellectual property rights had been used

to manufacture the Z-10, considered to be the first modern attack chopper made in China. This proclamation has come after a division of United Technologies pleaded guilty to illegally exporting software that American prosecutors say was used on the Z-10. US Attorney David B Fein said that: “Pratt & Whitney Canada exported controlled U.S. technology to China, knowing it would be used in the development of a military attack helicopter in violation of the US arms embargo with China.” Pratt & Whitney Canada has agreed to pay a $75 million fine related to the export violation. America has barred the export of all military-related articles to China since the since the Tiananmen Square massacre of peaceful protestors in 1989.

FOCUS ON ‘COPTERS LCH trials off Chennai

Mizoram chopper service on the anvil

¤ter connectivity to remote MOD

In an effort to provide bet-

Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), ¤Hindustan which is under development by the Aeronautics Limited (HAL), recently underwent sea-level trials off Chennai. These trials were aimed at assessing results of flying the chopper at sea-level. Up to 150 Light Combat Helicopters might be inducted for the Indian Air Force and the Army. A derivative of the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter the LCH is

a multirole combat helicopter being developed by HAL to incorporate stealth features. Powered by the HAL/Turbomeca Shakti turboshaft engine the LCH is capable of being operated at high altitudes. Other features of the chopper include helmetmounted targeting systems, electronic warfare systems and advanced weapons systems along with the ability to perform night operations.

Not under investigation:

areas, the Mizoram government is planning a twinengine helicopter with a capacity to carry a minimum of six to seven passengers. The helicopter is also being looked at for supervising developmental works, offering medical care during emergencies, facilitating visits of dignitaries in remote areas. The chopper will also help improve accessibility in remote, hilly and areas bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh during monsoon and emergency situations.

New routes, choppers for Pawan Hans

AgustaWestland's UK chief ¤denied Alberto De Benedictis has that it is under investigation by Indian authorities over alleged irregularities in a deal to sell helicopters. There were media reports that a probe had been ordered over the contract to purchase 12 helicopters in the 560-million euro deal. The reports alleged that government officials could have received kickbacks for altering the terms of the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.

MOD

FINMECCANICA.CO.UK

AgustaWestland

The country's premier chopper operator, Pawan Hans, is all set to receive all new ¤arrangement Mi-17 medium-lift helicopters. The two choppers will arrive in a dismantled with all the spare parts and components in a transport or a cargo aircraft to the Mumbai international airport. Russian manufacturer Kazan makes the Mi series of helicopters, which cost around $10 million (`50 crore) each. The base for the choppers is yet to be decided although it is speculated that a probable location is the Northeast, where the company has transport and passengers services for the villagers in inaccessible mountainous terrain. In yet another development, Pawan Hans officials visited two sites in Delhi, Pratap Vihar and Raj Nagar Extension, shortlisted for the setting-up of helipads to link Ghaziabad with neighbouring districts via a chopper service. Pawan Hans is also working on a project to have helicopter services to various pilgrimage centres such as Vrindavan and Varanasi in addition to commercial flights to Lucknow and Agra.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

FOCUS ON ‘COPTERS Continued from Page 39 `

A heli-hop for help and more Eurocopter X3 Recently on tour in the United States, the Eurocopter high-speed long-range hybrid helicopter concept combines vertical takeoff and landing capabilities with fast cruise speeds of more than 220 knots. Short span wings, each fitted

are gear driven from the two main turbo shaft engines, which also drive the fivebladed main rotor. Traditionally, choppers have used

EUROCOPTER

with a tractor propeller, are this hybrid chopper's most distinctive trait. These tractor propellers

Sikorsky X2/ S-97 Raider

SIKORSKY

The Sikorsky X2's most distinctive features are its twin contra-rotating main rotors and the pusher propeller in the rear. In 2010, the Sikorsky X2 achieved its design goal when it flew at a speed of 463km/h (250 knots) in level flight, an unofficial speed record for a helicopter, making it the fastest helicopter ever produced. Unlike traditional helicopters that tilt the main rotor to maintain level flight during acceleration and deceleration, the Sikorsky X2 uses the pusher propeller. In 2010, the innovative Sikorsky X2 won the prestigious Collier Trophy, an annual aviation award administered by the American National Aeronautic Association (NAA). The X2 has now been retired but its

the tail rotors to offset the torque of the main rotor. Eurocopter has used a different approach on the X3. Its starboard propeller rotates at a higher speed than the one on the port to counter the torque effect. As and when it goes into full-scale production, the X3 with its dual turboshaft engines will be one of the fastest helicopters at any airport. Potential uses include corporate transport, deep offshore oil and gas exploitation and medvac. Eurocopter thinks the X3 is also suited for border patrol, Special Forces operations, troop transport and search-and-rescue.

technology is being used in the S-97

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Raider programme that Sikorsky aims to build, design and fly out of its own funding. Like the Russian Mi-24 helicopter, the S-97 Raider will have troop-carrying capacity. It will use the contra-rotating rotors and the pusher propeller of the X2 along with fly-by-wire technology and the ability to carry six passengers. According to Sikorsky, the multimission capabilities of the S-97 Raider will meet both conventional army needs — specifically, its special operations’ future requirements in a variety of combat roles. The S-97 is a probable contestant for the US Army's requirement for the Armed Aerial Scout to change the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Other than military applications, the abilities of the X2 — like its record-breaking speed — can be leveraged for civilian applications like search-and- rescue and medvac.

FOCUS ON ’COPTERS to an emergency across large parts of the country at a maximum speed of 463 kmh. With refueling the range can be extended

A tilt-rotor aircraft uses a pair or more of powered rotors installed on rotating shafts or at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion. In the case of the AgustaWestland-609/Bell Boeing V-22, they use rotors to lift off vertically like traditional helicopters but can then tilt their rotors forward for propulsion. Tiltrotor technology combines the functionality of a traditional chopper with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. The Augusta Westland-609 and the Bell Boeing V-22 share the same technology but none of their parts are interchangeable. The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a multi-mission, military, tilt-rotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. After a protracted development phase, the Osprey has been deployed by the US Marine Corps and the Air Force in both combat and rescue operations over Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. According to media reports, India has also shown an interest in this tiltrotor design. Given its geographical scale and the need to provide speedy relief to victims of calamities, India could be a prime location for the V-22 to show off its special abilities. With its range of 722 kilometres with 24 troops, an Osprey based out of central India could respond

to nearly 3,892 kilometres. Its adoption by India could speed up the task of rendering of emergency services in areas without proper airfields. Sharing the technology of the V-22 military helicopter, the AW609 is almost twice as fast as a traditional helicopter and can fly two times further. Unlike the V-22, the AW 609 has a pressurised cabin and the AgustaWestland sees numerous uses in the corporate environment especially where the ability to land and take off in places where a traditional business jet cannot, can be exploited, like corporate campuses, isolated oil fields, and regional airfields.

FINMECCANICA.CO.UK/BOEING

AgustaWestland-609/Bell Boeing V-22

KAMAN

Kaman K-MAX

Though the Kaman K-MAX has been in existence for a while now, it is in its latest iteration as a pilotless transporter that it has found a unique niche, and reserved a name for itself in the modern aviation folklore. Although at first the K-MAX looks like a conventional chopper, a closer look reveals its unique intermeshing rotors. With each rotor mast mounted on it at a small angle to the other, in a diagonally symmetrical manner so that the blades turn in opposite directions without colliding, the KMAX does away with the need of a tail rotor. The 'aerial truck' has been designed for exterior load operations and is capable of hoisting a payload that is more than the helicopter's empty weight. Two of these drone choppers developed by Lockheed Martin have been to Afghanistan on resupply missions delivering more than a million pounds of cargo to remote Marine outposts. Their use cuts response time and also keeps the Marines out of harm's way as resupply missions usually run the gauntlet of insurgent ambushes and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Technological tweaking means that they are now capable of hot hooking — picking up cargo while hovering — without any need to land. A beacon the size of a hockey puck can now provide K-MAX with improved accuracy, allowing the aircraft to deliver critical cargo to remote sites within three metres of the designated drop-off point. In addition to being used in combat to deliver supplies to the battlefield, this unmanned rotorcraft can also be used in civilian situations involving chemical, biological, or radiological hazards. In the Indian context, with tweaking to compensate for altitude, this incredible unmanned truck could be used to resupply troops in the icy wastes of Siachen without endangering the lives of pilots.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

BUSINESS AVIATION

HC TIWARI

Penalty charges by MIAL leave BAOA livid

NEED OF THE HOUR : Business aircraft lined up during the display at India Aviation 2012.

he Business Aircraft Operator's Association (BAOA) has expressed its strong objection to what it described as “outrageously high penalties” levied by the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) on non-Mumbai-based private aircraft for overstaying their approved time slots at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai. BAOA has demanded an immediate rollback of these charges. It all started when MIAL recently introduced penal charges from July 1, 2012, on non-Mumbai-based private aircraft for unauthorised parking of private jets at the domestic airport beyond an agreed number of days. These charges, applicable only to non-Mumbai private airplanes, were introduced with the objective to enhance airside safety and decongest the already clogged parking space at the land-constrained airport, as per claims made by MIAL. The move, MIAL emphasised, is to deter private aircraft violating slots allotted to them beyond the stipulated time and discourage unauthorised parking at CSIA. Terming the step as completely “unacceptable” and “illegal”, BAOA said that increasing the penalty charges by MIAL was beyond the purview of the private airport developer. A press release issued by BAOA said that the penalty charges

ranged between `1000 and `15000 per hour, compared to `20 to `70 per metric tonne per hour charged by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) previously. A meeting between representatives of some private business jet operators and MIAL officials ended in a deadlock. Although it lasted for over one-and-a-half hour and saw some healthy discussions on the issue, it failed to arrive at any tangible solution, a representative from a private jet operator informed. Speaking on the issue, Rohit Kapur, President, BAOA, said: “To restrict the movement of aircraft by levying such penalties is completely unacceptable, illegal, and beyond the purview of Private Airport Developers, without the sanction of requisite government agencies, which have been appointed to oversee such levies. An aircraft registered in India can be used anywhere in the country and its movement cannot be restricted to limited airports, as this defeats the very purpose of private aircraft.” Technically speaking, all such penalties have to be approved by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) and cannot be levied by any private company like MIAL. “Solutions can be found, if there is a will to find them, but unfortunately private airport developers view general and business aviation as a hinCRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

drance, and keep coming up with such irrational solutions,” Kapur further said. Captain Karan Singh, Managing Director, BAOA, said, “Aircraft need heavy maintenance throughout the year. Some of the oldest MROs (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) in the country have operated at the Mumbai airport for over 50 years. They have specialised capability of handling dozens of types of small and big aircraft. Aircraft from all over the country come to the two MROs at Mumbai airport. Moreover, most of the pilot availability is also based in Mumbai to fly the sophisticated machines.” According to BAOA, the charter market is showing very slow growth and is working hand-to-mouth in terms of revenues due to the current economic slowdown. To put them out of the lucrative charter market of Mumbai will make it economically unviable for the operators and will mean a death blow that will dissolve many of these companies. BAOA has pointed out that CSIA has facilities such as Lima parking bay, which is a waste area of land in the premises of Mumbai airport. This area can be utilised for parking of private aircraft. In case any temporary taxiways have to be created to make these bays accessible, they can easily be done by MIAL.

200th Falcon 7X ready to take off The 200th large-cabin, long-range Falcon 7X busi ness jet has rolled off the production line at Dassault's Bordeaux-Merignac production facility in southern France, the French aircraft manufacturer announced at the Farnborough airshow. The aircraft is slated to enter final cabin completions, the French manufacturer announced at the show. “We are especially proud of this milestone,” said Dassault Falcon President and CEO John Rosanvallon. “The 7X is clearly the best seller in the current Falcon family and remains one of the most sought-after jets in its category.” To date, Dassault Falcon has delivered more than 150 fully-outfitted Falcon 7Xs, while another 80 are in various stages of production or cabin completions. The Falcon 7X fleet has logged more than 130,000 flight hours since the first aircraft went into service in 2007 and is in operation in 32 countries around the world. Rosanvallon said that in the five years since the business jet entered service, it had developed dozens of new options that gave customers a “wide range of desirable features”. In particular, the company has focused on developing features that increase cabin comfort, including a recently-added option for a shower aboard the trijet. A BMWdesigned interior

option, launched in 2009, introduced subtle curves throughout the interior, creating better flow and visually expanding the cabin. Dassault has also incorporated new features as standard equipment since entry into service, such as a Rockwell Collins cabin entertainment system equipped with an interactive 3-D moving map and an audio/video on demand solution that was first installed on a customer 7X in May. A service centre for Falcons: Expanding its capability in Asia, Dassault Falcon recently signed an agreement with Indian charter operator Taj Air to establish a Dassault Falcon authorised line service station at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. The facility, which is already operational, will provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and inspections for all Falcon 2000 models. Initially, the facility will serve Indian-registered Falcons. Approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is expected by early 2013. “This agreement emphasises our philosophy of enhancing the service experience by expanding our footprint of service,” said Jacques Chauvet, Senior Vice President for Worldwide Customer Service for Dassault Falcon. “Asia and India are rapidly expanding as they realise the benefits of business aviation. Additionally, transient traffic in Mumbai continues to increase, so this agreement is of vital importance to all of our customers.”

Embraer’s Phenom 300 earns Canadian-type certificate heTransport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) granted a type certificate to Embraer for its Phenom 300 light jet. The aircraft, which received its initial certification by the US and Brazilian aviation authorities in 2009, is now certificated in more than 40 countries. “Transport Canada's certification strengthens our position in Canada, a market which is already exhibiting strong potential for Embraer,” said Bob Knebel, Vice President, Sales, for North America, Embraer Executive Jets. “We have delivered more than 300 Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 executive jets worldwide, 50 per

cent of which have gone to the North American market. The certification paves the way for even more success for this award-winning executive aircraft. The success of the Phenoms can be seen in the diversity of our customers, which include private individuals, corporations, universities, fractional ownership programmes, charter operators, flying schools and motor racing executives.” The move comes as the company adds a new seating configuration — with a two-place divan — which increases customer options and is in response to customer requests. Canada had certificated the entry-level Phenom 100 in 2010. CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

The Phenom 300 light jet accommodates up to 11 occupants and is one of the fastest aircraft in the light jet category, reaching 521 mph (839 km/h, or 453 knots). It can fly at altitudes of up to 45,000 feet and has a range of 1,971 nautical miles (3,650 km), including NBAA IFR fuel reserves, which means the aircraft is capable of flying non-stop from Toronto to Calgary and Vancouver to Toronto. Unveils expanded design centre at Melbourne: Embraer Executive Jets recently unveiled its expanded design suite at its Melbourne, Florida-based customer centre, offering another bestin-class experience for customers designing the interiors of their Phenom, Legacy

and Lineage aircraft. “Adding interior design for the Legacy 600, Legacy 650 and Lineage 1000 to the comprehensive Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 design suites is part of our effort to provide world-class design immersion on our complete line of aircraft,” said Jay Beever, Vice President, Interior Design. “Our showrooms are an integral part of the Executive Jet Customer Centre, which opened in December, and they provide the ultimate, stateof-the-art visualisation technology for an integrated design experience.” The Embraer Executive Jets Customer Centre is designed to facilitate customer sales, design and delivery, all conveniently located in a single building. The design centres were developed by The Highland Group and designed by Julie Mandrell, owner of Viaggio Lux, which specialises in luxury design of aircraft and yachts. Hebei Airlines to expand E-Jet fleet with Embraer 190s: China's Hebei Airlines acquired five more Embraer 190s jets to join its E-Jets fleet by the end of 2013. The total value of the deal, at list price, is $226 million. The order has been registered in the company’s backlog for the second quarter of the year. “The approval by the Chinese government for Hebei Airlines to acquire five more E190s indicates their confidence in the E-Jets' performance and the jets' contribution to the development of China's aviation industry,” said Paulo Cesar Silva, Embraer President, Commercial

STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY: An inside view of expanded design centre unveiled by Embraer at Melbourne.

Aviation. “The E-Jets are market leaders in their segment in China and recognised for their versatility and passenger appeal, and will help Hebei Airlines expand its network by exploring new markets and adding frequencies on existing routes.” Based in Shijiazhuang, China's Hebei Province, Hebei Airlines currently has two E190s in service, covering eight destinations with around 70 flights per week. The two jets have maintained healthy operations since their revenue service began in January 2012, with an average schedule reliability of 99.5 per cent and 100 per cent completion rate, while the daily utilisation hours keep increasing.

“It is exciting to have the government's approval for five more E190s. The two jets in operation have maintained exceptional performance. The approval demonstrates the recognition by the authorities in Hebei Airlines for its contribution to the development of the Hebei Province aviation industry and economy,” said Luo Zhanling, Vice Chairman and CEO of Hebei Aviation Investment Group. To date, Embraer has over 60 E190s in service in China since the jet entered this market in 2008. The company forecasts that 1005 jets up to 120 seats will be demanded in the Chinese market in the next 20 years.

ExecuJet Aviation, Angkasa Pura sign agreement ExecuJet and Angkasa Pura 1 have signed a Memo randum of Cooperation to design, construct and manage general aviation terminals at as many as 13 of the Indonesian airports under the management of Angkasa Pura 1. The agreement was recently signed by ExecuJet Asia's Managing Director, Graeme Duckworth and the President Director and CEO of Angkasa Pura 1, Tommy Soetomo. “The signing of this agreement is a wonderful opportunity for ExecuJet to establish operations in Indonesia, which we view as an important and strategic location

for ExecuJet’s South East Asia expansion,” said Graeme Duckworth. “Business and private aviation in Indonesia are undergoing significant and exciting growth and ExecuJet is proud to be at the forefront of providing worldclass infrastructure and customer service to local and visiting aircraft.” “This exciting opportunity creates a new business portfolio that will enhance our customersatisfaction level and will cater to the increasing trend of private aircraft movements in Indonesian airspace requiring special handling from the airSMILING FACES: (L-R) President Director and CEO of Angkasa Pura 1, Tommy ports”, explainedTommy Soetomo, and ExecuJet Asia's Managing Director, Graeme Duckworth during Soetomo. the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Cooperation. CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

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Cleartrip technology

MakeMyTrip covers total Smartphone apps gamut

MakeMyTrip has announced the launch of mobile applications for Android devices and iPhone, and an upgraded HTML 5-based mobile site for smartphones. This makes it the first Indian Online Travel Agency to introduce iPhone applications. Amit Somani, Chief Products Officer, MakeMyTrip.com, said: "India is amongst the top five countries in the world in mobile search queries, growing at 170 per cent year-on-year. MakeMyTrip became one of the top five mostdownloaded travel applications in India, with only the Blackberry applications on offer. This overwhelming response encouraged us to extend our product offering to other popular mobile platforms." With an impressive interface, the application allows users to search and book flights. Passenger details are stored on the device to avoid having to type-in the details every time. (See detailed interview with MakeMyTrip’s Deep Kalra overleaf).

makes world shrink

Seville-Barcelona. The online travel portal is expecting a huge traction in terms of traffic with this new feature. In response to one of the key customer ‘pain points’, the company had launched Quickeys in June, a special feature only for last-minute hotel bookings that can be accessed through the web as well as mobile phones. The service offers rooms available only for the same day or the next day of booking, which can be booked as late as 11 pm for check-in on the same day. There is no restriction on the length of stay and the customer can use a discount code or other offers made available on the site. In addition, customers are entitled to refund as per the hotel’s cancellation policy. However, the point to be noted here is that most hotels do not refund money for rooms booked as late as 11 pm or even a couple of hours before the check-in time. All Quickeys hotels have been handpicked for their quality and service and are available at a 30 per cent-discount on the ‘Best Available Rate’. The hotels have been selected from across 50 cities and the range varies from unrated to five-star deluxe.

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INSIDE> HEMANT RAWAT

echnology is certainly making the world shrink and placing ecommerce in your palms with handheld devices. Taking this phenomenon to the next level on its sixth birthday, online travel booking site Cleartrip has introduced a new feature on its existing mobile platform, which allows customers to book international flights on the go. It is the only Indian mobile travel product with a comprehensive international offering. The new feature is designed in a way that those who want to book international tickets can choose from various flight options appearing on the split screen on their smartphone. This application is available on all OS platforms. “We have tied up with almost all international carriers for this facility and it is available in all major markets across the globe. Cleartrip is targeting more than 15 per cent revenue from international booking through its added feature. No other travel sites offer this kind of a facility,” said Cleartrip Senior Vice President for Product Management, Subramanya Sharma. With an unprecedented network of both

HEMANT RAWAT

GOING GLOBAL: Cleartrip’s new innovative application allows customers to book international flights.

full-service and lowcost carriers that covers Europe, Asia/Middle East, United States/Canada and Australia, the search is highly optimised for speed, with a record search time of less than 10 seconds. Cleartrip offers access to lower fares internationally along with access to routes and airports that are not currently serviced by full-service carriers, as the portal has over 40 low-cost international airlines. This enables bookings on low-traffic sectors such as AhmedabadLondon, Milan-Paris or

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NO MORE LOST BAGGAGES SITA technology has made bag transfer much more efficient

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GURU MANTRA ‘Cloud Computing will enable creation of market trends’

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AIRASIA GOES FOR CHROME Guests can now book their flights via new chrome application .

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When you started, you were the pioneering entrepreneur in the field of OTA business. But today, with a market that is almost full to the brim, how are you reinventing to deal with competition? The e-commerce industry continues to be on an upswing. Improvements in technology have not only enabled a more seamless user experience but also enhanced data security, abating customer concerns regarding the privacy of their confidential data and card-related information. Ecommerce is not just about making the product available for purchase online, but also about generating confidence and trust in the user to complete the transaction. When MakeMyTrip was set up, we attracted travellers with a best-deal value proposition. People, who log onto MakeMyTrip, also receive the option to compare and make an informed decision. While airline websites offer air-tickets of their own carriers only, MakeMyTrip comprehensively caters across categories (Low-Cost Carriers and Full-Service), thereby offering greater choice flexibility to customers. MakeMyTrip continues to be the leading online travel agency that offers all comprehensive transport/travel solutions for flights, rail, bus and hotel accommodation. We also offer multiple payment options to suit the needs of different users. We recently launched 'InstaBook' so users need not re-enter their credit card details once they have made the first purchase. This furthers our efforts to provide a personalised and painless flight-booking experience. With newer technology and platforms being introduced rapidly, more e-players are flooding the market. The competition is going to be strong but it will only push us to innovate and better ourselves. Now, with people becoming more internetfriendly and high-speed browsing capabilities available on hand-held devices, the trend is moving towards mcommerce, i.e. consumption and transaction via mobile phones. We are also gearing up to reach out to travellers in this new channel-of-choice.

Â&#x153; Importantly, OTAs are now diversifying their portfolios because simply ticketing business is not as lucrative. What are your views and what measures is MakeMyTrip taking? We have been strongly focussed on diversifying our product offerings for the past few years now. Consequently, we have been steadily increasing the contribution of non-air product category

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(hotel and holidays) in the overall revenue mix. So apart from flight-tickets, we offer bundled products such as flight+hotel and holidays, etc. that provide greater savings to the customer. In order to build customer confidence on online purchase of high-involvement categories such as hotels and holidays, we have created innovative promotions. Our latest 'Money Back' guarantee on hotel bookings offers 100 per cent money-back if the customer finds the services delivered as short of those promised. We are committed to consolidate MakeMyTrip's reputation as the one-stop-travel shop offering the broadest selection of travel products and services in India. How have the recent economic crisis and the fall of rupee, that have led to

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international travellers are willing to bear this additional cost. Therefore, the impact of rupee depreciation would not be evident immediately as most people make their travel plans for summer well in advance. In addition, leveraging the efficiencies and cost-saves of an online booking model, or even a hybrid booking model that we have in key markets, allows us to pass on incremental advantage to the customer, who is bundled into his/her package cost. We are also able to leverage our relationships with partners through special contracting with airlines and hotels across popular international holiday destinations to create great-value packages. Can you explain the issue of IndiGo Airlines and Jet Airways, who together constitute over 50 per cent market share

COMPETITION WILL ONLY PUSH US TO BETTER OURSELVES”

A pioneering entrepreneur in the field of Online Travel Agency business, MakeMyTrip’s Founder and CEO Deep Kalra in an email interview explained how the growing competition would motivate the brand to reinvent and emerge stronger reduction in international travel, affected the business? As per industry estimates, the depreciating value of the rupee has made outbound travel at least 15-20 per cent more expensive. We have not seen any slump in our bookings so far — on the contrary, our consolidated holiday bookings have gone up by 20 per cent already. The surge in both domestic and international travel is due to the fact that a majority of Indian travellers still plan their annual holiday around the key holiday seasons, i.e., summer and winter breaks. As far as the rupee depreciation is concerned, one has to bear in mind that a partial component of international holidays is paid in advance while booking, and the bookings in turn happen much in advance. So the impact is on the partial cost of the holiday and most

in domestic flying, pulling out content from your site because they felt MakeMyTrip was showing favouritism to some of the participating airlines like Go Air, SpiceJet and even Kingfisher Airlines? As conveyed earlier, all fares displayed on our site are as per the guidelines received and approved by airlines. We remain committed to providing comprehensive product offerings to our customers, and both Jet Airways and IndiGo Airlines have resumed sale of tickets on our portal. How do you see the future of online travel and do you think they also need to have a strong offline presence (few OTAs are doing that) in a scenario where travel agents still play an important role and CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

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customers want personal interaction? Indians have embraced technology and are open to buying online — be it flight or movie tickets, clothing, books to even everyday groceries, and even some really expensive purchases. The spurt of various e-commerce portals is a testimony to this. Increasing numbers of consumers prefer to make inquiries and book holidays and tickets online due to faster gratification and fulfilment as well as value deals. According to the 2011 comScore report, visitation to online travel sites had increased by 32 per cent from 2010-2011, implying that Indians prefer to book travel and holidays online. Customers today are smart and realise the benefits of transacting online. Besides, online can scale up much faster than offline presence and is cost-effective as well. While MakeMyTrip is primarily an OTA, we also have a strong offline presence in India. Retail service is provided for the convenience of our customers, who may not be comfortable booking online, even though it is our constant endeavour to eventually shift them online. What are MakeMyTrip's expansion plans? We are aiming to grow between 30 and 32 per cent for FY 13 on account of the initiatives for both organic and inorganic expansion. With $88 million on the balance sheet and with zero debt, we will look at acquisitions that complement the business. Over the next four years, we intend to grow the revenues from hotels and packages to nearly 50 per cent of our overall revenues. What inspired you to what was a totally new and adventurous venture in the form of MakeMyTrip? I've always had entrepreneurial ambitions and was interested in a couple of sectors including travel. Having observed the growth and evolution of the internet in other markets, I gauged that the India opportunity was just about to get realised. After studying various verticals that could be well-suited for the Indian-online market, I found that the travel industry — being a service industry with wellautomated processes at the supplier-end and undergoing significant changes at the consumer level — lent itself seamlessly to the Internet. Being a travel bug myself, this choice was closer to my heart. The sector had tremendous potential — a vast gap in the delivery standards of service levels for the average consumer left much to be desired, and thus MakeMyTrip was conceptualised to provide travellers with greater choice and flexibility.

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No more lost O bags, thank you

SITA

Last year may have been one of the best years for baggage-handling, as per SITA's annual baggage report, but there is need for improved data-sharing and new-and-innovative IT services to get even better results

here is good news, but one that does come with a note of caution. Last year was, perhaps, the best year for baggage-handling by the air transport industry, according to SITA’s annual Baggage Report. Over 99 per cent of the checked baggage was delivered on time to passengers in 2011. There was a healthy reduction of 25.8 million in the total number of lost and mishandled bags globally. Simply put, it means a 20.3 per cent decrease from 2010. There had been, therefore, a 52.4 per cent improvement in costs per passenger carried over the past five years, leading to the best-ever annual baggagehandling performance since SITA started publishing the annual report in 2005. The report states: “With each mishandled bag costing an airline $100, the overall bill has slimmed down to an estimated $2.58 billion from $3.23 billion in 2010. For the air transport industry, it translates into a critical $650 million worth of savings over 2010. Nevertheless, even at the lower figure, this overhead is equivalent to a lost profit opportunity of 33 per cent.” “The number of mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers went down to 8.99, a fall of 25.5 per cent. What’s more encouraging is the five-year trend: the mishandled rate has more than halved since 2007. Even though passenger numbers rose to 2.87 billion during this time, the industry mishandled 6.5 million fewer bags than that in 2010.” The combined efforts of airlines, airports and ground-handlers, along with

YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE IN MISHANDLED BAGS 2008

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IATA’s Baggage Improvement Program (BIP) and the Airports Council International’s increased focus on standards and best practices can be given the credit for this feat. The report explains that such improvements rest on investments in baggage-handling automation and the use of sophisticated baggage management solutions, such as SITA BagManager. IATA proposes to launch the Baggage Quality Program in

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

2013, once BIP closes in 2012. There is more good news in store for the aviation industry in terms of baggagehandling. “There has been a very healthy 26 per cent reduction — to 1.3 days — in the time it takes to resolve a delayed bag incident compared to performance in 2010. Further good news includes major reductions in lost or stolen bags per 1000 passengers — down 48.4 per cent, and an 18.4 per cent reduction in the number of

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TRANSFER BAGS REMAIN THE NUMBER ONE CONCERN In terms of the reasons for delays in baggage-handling, the trends are subtle. Tagging continues to be a small contributor, as do loading errors – and both are reducing as contributory factors. But mishandling at arrival, failure to load a bag, and issues at transfer are all slowly increasing. Together ‘Not Loaded’ and ‘Transfer’ make up 68 per cent of all problem bags today.

53% Transfer mishandling 15%Failure to load 5% Loading error 4%Arrival mishandling 7% Airport/Customs/Weather/ Space-weight restriction 13% Ticketing error/Bag switch/ Security/Other 3% Tagging error

Delayed Bags

2011 damaged or pilfered bags. In 2011, therefore, 85.6 per cent of all mishandled bags were delayed, 11.9 per cent were damaged or pilfered, and 2.5 per cent were claimed stolen or lost.” All may be well, but the note of caution is that as a percentage of the total, the number of mishandled transfer bags is growing. The airlines have to strive for controlling this as they have to pay a high price if bags go astray, or are damaged. There are real, significant costs to reunite passengers with their bags, besides customer goodwill and loyalty. Transfer bags were the largest contributor in 2011 to mishandling, and accounted for 53 per cent of all delayed luggage, costing the industry at least $1.36 billion a year. The report further states: “Typically, these bags go astray when passengers and their luggage are moving from one aircraft to another, and often from one carrier to another, to reach their final destination. If this trend continues, by 2020 transfer bags will represent over 60 per cent of all delayed bags.” The air transport community has undertaken initiatives to tackle the problem of transfer bags. For example, Star Alliance is working on the baggage processes between its member airlines. The future appears optimistic with 54 per cent of airlines and 49 per cent of airports confident of increased IT budgets in 2012. The empowerment, which technology brings, can be clearly seen from the following statistics. About 95 per cent of passengers carry a mobile phone when they travel, giving airlines and airports, at the very least, a potential opportunity to contact them via

SMS notifications. The number of passengers who carry smartphones jumped to 54 per cent in 2011, up from 28 per cent in 2010 and 16 per cent in 2008. In the US alone, according to a TripAdvisor study, six out of ten mobile phone users had downloaded a smart phone travel application. Passengers are eager to embrace greater levels of self-service and now that self check-in is becoming the norm, they have baggage processing firmly in their

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MISHANDLED BAGS PER 1,000 PASSENGERS (DOWN FROM 12.07 IN 2010)

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MILLION TO THE INDUSTRY US$

FIVE-YEAR STATS: INDUSTRY IMPROVEMENTS SINCE 2007 TOTAL SCHEDULED PASSENGERS CARRIED UP 15.3%, TO 2.87 BILLION TOTAL BAGS MISHANDLED DOWN 45.1% TO 25.8 MILLION ANNUAL COST TO THE INDUSTRY PER PASSENGER CARRIED DOWN 52.4%

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sights, with: Æ 62 per cent willing to tag their own bag Æ 65 per cent keen to use self-service bag drop Æ 63 per cent interested in tracking the location of their bags via their mobile phones. The future vision is to give the customer better control over the baggage process. As part of the online check-in process, passengers will be able to print their own bag tags off-airport. Or they may use radio frequency identification bag tags. For example, frequent flyers of carriers like Qantas offer Q Bag Tags. At the airport, a self-service bag-drop machine will scan the printed tags or read the RFID tags to match the bags with the passenger’s flight details, weigh the luggage and process any charges for overweight or oversized items. It may even take a picture of the bags and send it to the passenger’s mobile phone as a receipt of acceptance. Behind the scenes, more and more airport baggage-handling and reconciliation systems will send automated updates on the bag’s progress from screening to being loaded into containers, with additional updates, once loaded onto the plane to all the service stakeholders. Where appropriate, information will also be sent to the passenger’s mobile device (phone, smartphone, or tablet). On arrival, another message on their mobile device will direct them to the baggage carousel for collection. In the near future, if a bag is mishandled and is not on the same plane as the passenger, the system will alert the ground-handlers at the originating airport, who will then initiate the bag recovery and process it in the WorldTracer system. On the other hand, the baggage-handling system may automatically route the bag onto the next available flight to the destination airport, and generate an advisory message to the airline. Or the airline cabin crew may be updated via air-ground communication links so they can inform the passenger. In the event of a mishandling incident, passengers will also be alerted via their mobile devices, eliminating unnecessary wait time at the baggage carousel on arrival. Ground staff will have access to the detailed baggage information via mobile devices and will be available to offer assistance to passengers. The report states: “Nearly a quarter of the world’s airlines offer bag-tag printing at kiosks, which is expected to reach 64 per cent by the end of 2014.”

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‘Cloud Computing will enable creation of market trends’

Steve Singh, CEO, Concur, which provides integrated travel and expense management solutions to more than 15 million users worldwide, says that Cloud Computing would be the prime enabler of on-line businesses, in an interview with siliconindia. His take on the future course of on-line travel. “We think there is a tremendous opportunity for technology companies which serve the enterprise to leverage

mobility and combine that with the trend of consumerisation of applications. When done right, you will see enthusiastic adoption by endusers/employees, who will use these tools to solve real business needs, in turn helping their companies to streamline processes and drive down costs,” says Singh. Talking about trends and opportunities in the market today, Concur has identified four key trends — mobile, local, social, and personalisation — and is focused on delivering continued innovation around these areas. But enabling all these is

Cloud Computing. Says Singh: “The chatter about cloud computing was started by the likes of giants like Salesforce, Concur in the mid 2000s, but it was still pretty nascent back then. Here, we are half-a-decade plus later and at this point, people get cloud computing, but just as important, they see it as central to the next evolution of the technology industry.” “As far as entrepreneurship opportunities are concerned today, the level of engagement that exists between individuals and computing,” says Singh, “is a magnitude above and beyond anything I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Qatar Airways and Batey Singapore, a Grey Group company, have come together to launch the first Twitter race across the world, Tweet-a-Meet, by a global airline. Its spokesperson said that the social media campaign involved a team of two turning their virtual connections into real ones by receiving tweet miles with every tweet they sent containing information on their selected

destination. The first three teams with the highest number of tweets at the end of the race will each win a pair of business-class tickets to a Qatar Airways’ destination of their choice, according to the spokesperson. “Most of our passengers are social media savvy. Qatar airways is eager to use different types of technology to reach out to them,” he said.

Qantas enters online accommodation with ‘Hooroo’

With the launch of its new social travel website, Hooroo, on July 18, Qantas has jumped into Australia's competitive online accommodation market. “Hooroo is a new kind of travel website,” the airlines said. “Untold stories, inside tips and thousands of places to stay in

Australia at awesome rates... and that's just for starters. We’re here to inspire travel and to help you find the perfect place to stay on your next trip.” The site will allow potential travellers to sign up to an email subscription to receive “cool hidden deals”.

BLOGSPOT.COM

Qatar Airways, Batey Singapore launch Twitter race AirAsia goes for Chrome

AirAsia guests now have an easier and faster way to book their flights via the newly-launched AirAsia for Chrome Application. The new application allows guests to book their AirAsia flights directly through their Google Chrome web browser. To book flights, guests will need to go through four simple steps — choosing the destination and dates of travel; deciding on add-ons such as baggage allocation and meals; filling in their personal details; and finally proceeding to make their payment via credit card. Apart from this simplified booking process, the AirAsia for Chrome application also features the Discover button where guests can search for available flight options based on their budget.

SITA’S new e-commerce platform

Air transport IT specialist, SITA, and Datalex (DLE:I), the provider of travel distribution software and solutions, have partnered to revolutionise airlines’ online sales with the Horizon E-Commerce platform. This platform provides a sophisticated airline sales and service portal. The technology allows airlines to drive their direct distribution strategies by enabling them to offer new shopping and merchandising features directly online. Horizon E-Commerce is used by more than 30 airlines worldwide. With the newly

updated sales and service portal, the airlines can now meet the changing passenger demands. The updated portal works in real time to provide flexible CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

searching and suggests relevant offers to passengers by continually monitoring their input into an airline’s website. Passengers will be able to see the right fare at the right time and will be able to purchase all their travel requirements in one place. They will be able to shop not only by origin and destination, but also by calendar, their desired experience, travel budget, or by using a map. In addition, they can purchase all their travel requirements, including car hire, insurance and hotel reservation in one transaction.

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SHANGHAI SHOWPIECE

DHL opens its biggest express hub in Asia and emphasises the fact that China will continue to dominate international trade AFSs to the rescue

Financing freighters

Looking for Amelia

The demand for off-airport cargo stations is rising

It is time to move on from belly cargo to dedicated freighter services

FEDEX helps in the search for Earhartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lost Lockheed Electra

LAST IN/FIRST OUT

WCS 2013 to be staged at Doha

The seventh World Cargo Symposium (WCS) will be held at Doha from 12 to 14 March, 2013. Hosted by Qatar Airways, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) meet’s theme will be “Action for Sustainability”. Announcing the Doha meet, Des Vertannes, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo, pointed out that the discussions would focus on improving the sustainability of air cargo through an agenda for improving safety, security, efficiency and quality. The last WCS was held at Kuala Lumpur this year. Around 1,000 air cargo decision-makers are expected to be in Doha for the WCS — a unique event that brings together the entire air cargo

TRENDS

value chain at one venue to foster cooperation and build consensus. Key decisions on global cargo issues are made at the IATA cargo committee, in the plenary sessions and workshops, through the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG) and the Cargo Executive Summit. Among the major issues expected to top the agenda are: Increased efficiency: With the potential to cut transportation times by up to 24 hours, the advantages of moving to a paperless cargo system are significant. IATA is progressing towards its target of 100 per cent eAir Waybill utilisation by the end of 2014. Security: Security issues for cargo are high on the agenda following the printer cartridge bomb plot in October 2010. The provision of Advanced Electronic Information to customs agencies requires close coordination and global harmonisation. And the roll-out of Secure Freight continues. Secure Freight is a programme, which ensures cargo is protected from the start of the shipping chain, raising security levels and preventing bottlenecks at airports.

ICAO pushes for stringent air cargo security

SECUREAVIATIONSOLUTIONS.COM

A recent conference organised by the Singapore Ministry of Transport and Singapore Customs in cooperation with ICAO and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in Singapore which was held to strengthen air cargo security. The conference between the WCO and ICAO — incidentally, the firstever between the two bodies — was held to further coordination between aviation security and customs authorities. The Secretary General of ICAO, Raymond Benjamin highlighted that it was possible to strengthen air cargo security further.That should be done with the use of technology and advance information on cargo shipments. Speaking at the conference, Benjamin said that customs authorities and security regulators could boost air cargo security by deciding on how advance cargo information could be collected, assessed and used to mitigate risks. He also pointed out that the industry needed to promote seamless operations by avoiding unnecessary duplication of security measures. The two-day conference, attended by 300 aviation security and customs authorities from 40 countries, could be a starting point of enhanced cooperation between Customs authorities and air cargo stakeholders in the future.

“It’s very clear that the door-to-door Express segment is growing, the movement of goods on the water is growing and traditional airportto-airport commodity airfreight is not growing.” ) Fred Smith

FedEx CEO Fred Smith predicting that a fundamental change in global freight business was underway

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When in trouble, turn to the net. That is what SiriusBusiness is all about. The California-based company is ready to launch its CgoXchange, an online portal to get quotes for ad hoc shipments and make booking. SiriusBusiness has a range of on-line services for small to mid-sized businesses. The system will allow forwarders to provide details of shipments that will then be sent out to a selected group of airlines. The carriers interested in the business will send the rates via the portal and the forwarder can pick from competing bids and make a booking. CgoXchange founder Craig Ruess said that trials for the service would starting in August with a view to start selling it in September. The portal will work on a subscription basis for forwarders, truckers and shippers. Perhaps, what is important is that CgoXchange expects to make the services global leaving it to the airlines to decide whether they want to tie up at a regional or a global level. However, for global operations, CgoXchange will require a number of regional servers and though Reuss is reported to have not yet decided where they will be, he was quoted aa saying:“Maybe there will be some just for individual countries, like China.” However, though no forwarder or carrier has applied for subscription, Reuss said that many had shown an interest in the portal. Here’s an opportunity that our entrepreneurs can take note of and given the potential in the air cargo sector, certainly one that could be a beneficial concept for all in the air cargo sector.

CARGO

he rising cargo volumes at Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s metro airports have time and again raised questions about congestion at the cargo terminals. To add to the problem, the lack of infrastructure has raised road connectivity issues. It is not that stakeholders had not raised connectivity and congestion problems: in Mumbai and Delhi, forwarders, exporters and many others connected with airfreight had protested. Now, however, air cargo stakeholders as well as the Ministry of Civil Aviation

have been seriously toying with the idea of setting up air freight stations (AFS) away from the airports. The concept of the AFS was, in fact, tried out in Chennai way back in 2007. One such station was established at the Central Warehousing Corporation in Virugambakkam (around 15 km from the Chennai international airport). The AFS or off-airport cargoprocessing facility had to be abandoned because the airport operator believed that it would lose revenue from the storage and handling if air

cargo was processed at an offairport location. That, however, was an erroneous belief from the past; erroneous, because some of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ports have experienced success using off-port container freight stations (CFS). Air cargo stakeholders are now pointing out the CFS experience with a simple demand: establish similar stations for air cargo. The ball was set rolling almost simultaneously in the two metros of Chennai and Mumbai. While the Chennai Port Trust decided to set up

an AFS near the airport in the public-private partnership mode on the 2.13 acres of land, it owns barely two kilometres from the Chennai airport, in Mulund East near Mumbai, an AFS was launched. Set up by the Cargo Service Centre in partnership with CONCOR (Container Corporation of India), the AFS, according to Chief Customs Commissioner Vineet Kumar, would change the way air cargo business is done in the country. For the first time, the AFS would offer exporters and forwarders the

Stations for air cargo It has been a long-standing demand of aircargo stakeholders to establish Air Cargo Stations near major airports in the country. The concept is not new but it had not gained acceptance. Now with the suggestions from the Working Group on Air Cargo Logistics in India to set up such stations around the country, air cargo stakeholders have been demanding action. A report from Tirthankar Ghosh MOVING ON TRACK: A worker moving the cargo to the aircraft

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opportunity to have their cargo processed through Customs without the necessity of going to the congested airport. The AFS has the capacity to handle 70,000 tonnes of cargo and would be able to relieve Mumbai airport’s cargo terminal. Cargo traffic at Mumbai airport has been on the rise: between April 2011 and March 2012, the air cargo complex handled around 5,00,000 tonnes of cargo. There is very little space within the complex and this often results in long-traffic snarls. Perhaps, what is more important is the fact that the Mulund AFS is conveniently located. It is easily accessible from the industrial centres of Pune and Nasik. Said Radharamanan Panicker, “Our Air Freight Station (AFS) at Mulund (Mumbai) is a new breakthrough in the air cargo Industry. AFS has evolved through the concept of minimised multiple handling thus reducing the

resultant damages. The AFS at Mulund is cost effective, efficient and permits an increased reach to airports.” As an integrated link, Panicker mentioned that the AFS was the better alternative for customers who could avail the services through a facility that was closer to their industrial bases enabling a reduced dwell time. The Mulund AFS is one of the five such air freight stations that have been planned in the country and air cargo stakeholders hope that when all five are ready and operational, air cargo will be cleared faster and in a more systematic manner. According to Air Cargo Agents Association of India’s (ACAAI) G Raghu Shankar, “The air cargo fraternity and the country failed to take advantage of AFS. Our airport cargo terminals face space constraints, shortage of equipment and manpower.

ON JOB: The inside of a cargo warehouse at CSC in Delhi airport

An AFS can solve all these problems and enhance turnaround times.” In fact, the working group that had been set up by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to suggest measures for the enhancement of the air cargo logistics industry, in its recent report had emphasised on the establishment of AFSs. The group had even gone on to suggest that the major hurdle — permitting Customs to work 24x7 — in the operation of AFS be removed. Citing the example of Chennai port’s

CFSs: Key enabler for growth T

he report of the Working Group, Air Cargo Logistics in India, mentions the success story of the ICDs/CFSs (Inland Container Depots, Container Freight Stations) in decongesting Indian seaports. Pointing out that it was an example worth emulating by the air cargo sector, the report states that ICDs/CFSs are common user facilities with public authority status. They are equipped with fixed installations and offer services for handling and temporary storage of import/export laden containers carried under customs transit by any applicable mode

of transport. All the activities related to clearance of goods for home use, warehousing, temporary admissions, re-export, temporary storage for onward transit and outright export, transshipment, take place from such stations. The report also mentions that the establishment and operation of CFSs in the country have been the key enabler for the rapid maritime cargo growth in the country. The CFSs in Chennai demonstrate the success of CFSs, where off-port container facilities were created. The move led to containerisation/standa rdisation of the cargo,

which played a vital role in the smooth and seamless multi-modal connectivity of the seaport with other modes. Today, more than 70 per cent of the total cargo volume is transported in containers as compared to 30 per cent, ten years ago. Further, the consolidation of cargo through containerisation led to reduction of transit time by more than two-thirds and cut the cost of ocean freight by almost half during the past 10 years. Container throughput at Chennai seaport is reported to have increased by five times to reach 15 lakh containers in five years.

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container operations — it has around 30 CFSs around the city’s suburbs — it urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation to emulate the concept and set up AFSs. Other influential groups like ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) has also asked Ajit Singh, the Minister of Civil Aviation, to upgrade the present airport infrastructure. ASSOCHAM, in fact, submitted an action plan to help the civil aviation sector from the current financial crisis. In addition to enhancing infrastructure, the plan has pointed out that it was essential for the sector to grow annually by eight per cent and raise freight traffic to 70,00,000 tonnes from its present 23,00,000-odd tonnes in the next ten years. The ASSOCHAM action plan details setting-up of AFSs in the hinterland to decongest warehouses at airport terminals and these should have facilities for palletisation, Customs examination and X-ray screening. The setting-up of AFSs apart, if India wants to turn into a global transshipment hub, ASSOCHAM pointed out that there was need to simplify procedures like electronic approvals. Further, links with airlines, airport operators and air-freight stations, Customs, banks, clearing house agents and other allied agencies for greater mobility of processes should be started.

CARGO

DHL’s biggest express hub opens at Pudong The international air express major has chalked out detailed plans to invest $132 million in China and Asia. In addition, it will enhance the dedicated capacity of its Asia air network by deploying eight freighters between Shanghai and North Asia, Europe and the US. A report.

HL opened its biggest express hub in Asia - the $175million DHL Express North Asia Hub (NAH) — at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China. The company also announced plans to further invest $132 million to add eight more dedicated aircraft to service high-demand routes between Shanghai and North Asia, Europe and the US, by 2014. Commenting about the NAH, Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL, said: “DHL Express North Asia Hub is a logistics milestone in DHL's Asia Pacific network and the culmination of a multi-hub and aviation strategy that cements our leadership position in terms of connections, convenience and cost-effectiveness. With Asia's leading economies fast integrating and free-trade agreements reducing barriers to international commerce, logistics companies need capabilities that are ahead of the curve and offer simplicity, speed and service.”

Spread out over a land area of 88,000 square metres (roughly equivalent to 13 football pitches), DHL Express' North Asia Hub can process up to 20,000 documents and 20,000 parcels an hour. The facility has outstanding environmentally-friendly features, such as energyefficient T5 lighting and a solar-powered system for hot water. The hub's sortation system is also designed to automatically detect components that are not in use and switches them to an energy-saving 'sleep' mode until they are needed again. The completion of the North Asia hub caps an

Frank Appel

CEO of Deutsche Post DHL

unrivalled multi-hub Asian network. Together, DHL Express' four hubs in AsiaPacific — Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore — link to over 70 DHL Express gateways located throughout the region. DHL's infrastructural network is served by a comprehensive air network of over 40 aircraft covering 40 countries and territories and utilising approximately 690 commercial flights per day in Asia Pacific. Over the next two years, DHL's planned investment of $132 million will increase the dedicated capacity of its Asia air network by deploying eight freighters between

DHL Express North Asia Hub is a logistics milestone and the culmination of a multi-hub and aviation strategy that cements our leadership position in terms of connections, convenience and cost-effectiveness.

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Shanghai and North Asia, Europe and the US. The planned flights will be operated by partner and equity-held airlines such as Polar Air, Aerologic, and DHL Air UK along with other providers as well. DHL also unveiled details about its plans to build on its unparalleled presence in the Asia-Pacific region and to further expand its market-leading position in China. While Asia-Pacific already accounts for almost 20 per cent of the company's revenues today, CEO Frank Appel projected the group's growth target for the next five years: by 2017, revenues generated in Asia-Pacific should contribute around one-third to the DHL top line. “Over the past three decades we have established a second to none platform in the Asian markets, which sets the foundation for the continued success of our DHL divisions,” Appel stated at a press conference in Shanghai recently. “We are well positioned for prolonged profitable growth

DHL inaugurates service centre D

DHL is continuously HL is investing in working with customs infrastructure and officials to improve inaugurated a new, clearance procedures to modernised service achieve best-in-class service centre facility in for its customers. All of the Coimbatore. Spread over investments promote the an area of over 4,500 sq power of DHL Express’ ft the new facility has service network to meet and been set-up as per exceed our customers’ international standards expectations. which will process higher To invest `2,100 crore in volume of shipments India in the future: The with improved transit company will concentrate time. The facility was ONE LEAP AHEAD: (L-R) T Ramanathan, General Manager, Exports, Elgi Tyre and Tread, Coimbatore; K Shanmugha on building up free trade inaugurated by Malcolm Sundaram, Managing Partner, Bharat Flow Controls, Coimbatore; houses, establish Monteiro, CEO, South Malcolm Monteiro, CEO, South Asia, DHL Express; and R S specialised industry Asia, DHL Express. Subramaniam, Country Manager, DHL Express India inaugurating the new modernised service centre in Coimbatore. verticals, reach out to the Commenting on the SMEs with made-to-order occasion, Monteiro said, products, crosssell DHL brands electronics and electrical sectors “Over the last three decades, DHL and to attract talent. In an and major financial institutions. has consistently invested to build interview to Business Line, he “We are witnessing a double-digit network infrastructure and said: “DHL is committed to India growth in Coimbatore and with a capability to serve our customers and will continue to invest in strong presence in other key cities better. The new service centre will infrastructure, network and like Tirupur, Karur, Salem, bring in better operating people to augment growth.” Madurai, Cochin and Calicut we efficiency for our customers in Explaining the importance of continue to be the dominant Coimbatore and reinforce DHL’s Indian operations to DHL player in South India.” leading position in the Express, Monteiro said the India Last year DHL introduced a international time definite is a prime market for the new freighter service in delivery.” company and would continue to Bengaluru. The additional Coimbatore is one of the be a key growth segment. He said capacity and improved fastest growing cities, with a the focus areas for the company connectivity provides DHL’s highly developed industrial in India would be investment in customers in South India with the sector. DHL Express services a air capacity, distribution and flexibility and reliability that wide variety of exporters and industry-specific product business demands. DHL’s importers in the textile and innovation such as aviation and enhanced network operations is apparel, manufacturing and life sciences. able to offer faster processing as engineering, rubber and plastics,

across the region.” Building on existing direct connections between the DHL Express North Asia Hub in Shanghai to Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, and DHL's global hubs in Leipzig and Cincinnati, the planned investments in the next two years will enhance capacity on these routes and also include new connections between Shanghai and East Midlands, UK. DHL further plans to increase capacity on routes between the DHL Express North Asia Hub and other cities in China and Taiwan. Over the next few months, DHL will add direct connections to Incheon,

Taipei and Chinese cities such as Dalian and Qingdao, with Beijing and Xiamen likely to come on stream in 2013. Ken Allen, Global CEO of DHL Express, said: “DHL pioneered express services in the region 40 years ago and was the first international express company to enter China 32 years ago. Shanghai is one of the key commercial centres of China and gateway to the Yangtze River Delta, which accounts for almost 39 per cent of China's total value of imports and exports. The DHL Express North Asia Hub will play a critical role by supporting growth, improving transit times and

network reliability, and providing a foundation for later pick-ups and earlier deliveries for customers across North Asia. New facility bolsters DHL's multihub Asian network, giving businesses faster access to international markets.” “DHL's latest NAH launch and upcoming planned flight investments follows from continuous enhancement in its Asia Air network. In 2011, DHL added two B747 freighters operated by Polar Air to serve Japan, Korea, and Eastern China. We also upgraded our capacity on the Beijing to Hong Kong route with new

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Airbus freighter services, and improved the Shanghai to Hong Kong route with a new B747 freighter service. In support of China’s ‘Go West’ growth strategy, DHL Express also launched five flights per week between Hong Kong and Chengdu,” added Jerry Hsu, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific. Complementing DHL's Central Asia Hub in Hong Kong, the North Asia Hub enables shorter routing options for customers shipping within North Asia, which could ultimately result in savings of up to four hours airtime, later pick-ups and earlier deliveries.

COLUMN/FULLY LOADED

Challenges of financing freighters D J GHOSH

Airline passenger volumes have exploded and cargo volumes carried in passenger bellies have grown so large that a whole new industry has evolved around their movement on dedicated freighter aircraft, comments D J Ghosh ost business gurus and authors of self-help textbooks will tell you that the key to succeeding in business and in life is a burning desire to succeed, backed up by an iron-clad determination and persistence. They will tell you that with this state of mind, you can beat all the odds and emerge a winner, outpacing the most educated and qualified. After all, in the race of life, unrewarded talent, genius and education is so commonplace, that the world is awash with the detritus of talented and educated geniuses. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. While all of this is inspiration for the soul, the realities of the business of financing aircraft are a lot more complex. In the heady days of the postWorld War II era, a tightly-regulated airline environment insured that almost every airline in the country, and in most parts of the world, made a respectable, if not handsome, return on capital, with enough money left over to buy new planes. Fast forward this scenario to the late eighties and nineties and the first decade of this century, and we find ourselves in a business with very little profits, if any, and an overt dependence on external financing structures that reflect the poor balance sheets of airlines and their almost total dependence on the markets for capital. Most passenger airlines, excluding the dying breed of state-sponsored carriers, have tottered through the last few decades of their existence on almost full life support, trudging perilously from one quarter to the next. Strapped to their seats by high legacy costs, they have watched aghast, as the new breed of low-cost carriers with brand new aircraft have eaten their lunch, one market at a time. They have responded by cutting costs, filing for bankruptcy, and in more recent times, devouring one another. Strangely enough, through all this period, passenger volumes have exploded, and cargo volumes carried in passenger bellies have grown, so large, that a whole new industry has evolved around their movement on dedicated freighter aircraft. Power Point presentations by Boeing and Airbus at various cargo trade shows and conferences have indicated that the air cargo pie may now be evenly split, with 50 per cent of the freight moving on passenger bellies, and the

Most passenger airlines, excluding the dying breed of statesponsored carriers, have tottered through the last few decades of their existence on almost full life support. 60

remaining 50 per cent moving onto the main decks of dedicated freighter aircraft. While the large bellies of passenger aircraft such as the B777 and the A340 may still provide a steady supply of cargo capacity to the cargo departments of passenger carriers, they will be dependent on the route structures of the passenger airlines and will thus have some built in inflexibility for the air cargo trade. While cargo carrying passenger bellies are part of a passenger airline's fleet, and thus governed by the financing structures put in place by passenger airline CFOs, dedicated freighter aircraft operators will have to live and die by a new set of rules. Exceptions are, dedicated freighter aircraft owned and operated by passenger airlines such as Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Korean and Lan Chile, which are usually financed under the umbrella financing structures in place for their corporate parents, and which can ride on their coat-tails while enjoying their stronger credit ratings. Another notable exception is an airline like British Airways, which wet leases aircraft from a lessor like Atlas Air, thus taking the onus of ownership off its balance sheets. Outside of this old boys’ club, the financing for dedicated freighter operators gets very muddy indeed. All of a sudden, new freighter operators become “highly risky”, brand new businesses, with very little legacy airline operating experience that nobody wants to invest in. They usually have no track record, and no proverbial “rich uncles” or “corporate parents” to support them in their dreams and aspirations. It is not surprising that aircraft financiers continue to ignore this market year after year, even though they do make their token appearances at a few industry forums. The fact of the matter is that in spite of what they profess to know, they have done little or no research to understand the dynamics of this exploding market segment. Senior officers in the aircraft-lending departments of leading banks in the US, Europe and Asia, refuse to discuss this subject. While most of the world's largest operating lessors play it very safe by sticking to their easily marketable B737s and A320s with their stable lease rates, very few dare to enter the cargo market, unless they “defensively” have to convert an ageing aircraft, which has no further use in their passenger fleets.

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The captains of the freighter aircraft leasing divisions of giants like GECAS or Guggenheim Aviation Partners are likely to differ, citing their large orders for B747 and B777 deliveries as proof that aircraft financiers understand this market and have committed the resources to pursue it. They will counter any skeptics by arguing that the leasing model is ideal for startup cargo airlines that need the proverbial “off balance sheet” financing, that is both sustainable and which provides a new business with the flexibility to upsize and downsize with the rise and fall of world trade, and induct different types of aircraft at a moment's notice. The reality is a little more startling. Most freighter-leasing activity is concentrated around the “old boys' network” with legacy passenger carriers or with dedicated freighter airlines, which have been around for a significant period of time. The aircraft financing community, represented by the likes of the GECAS's and Guggenheim's of the world have failed miserably in providing innovative financing structures and solutions that can spur the creation of new freighter operators. The high failure rates of new startup carriers speak volumes about how aircraft financiers have failed to understand and provide sustainability and innovation in this volatile business. In fact, not only do they continue to “superimpose” their outdated passengerdriven leasing models onto the cargo sector, but they routinely avoid contact with aspiring air cargo entrepreneurs at air-finance forums. When all is said and done, aircraft financiers like any other industry specialists need to innovate their products. Their fundamental assumption that “metal is metal”, whether it be used and financed in the passenger or cargo sector is fundamentally flawed. While the rest of the air cargo industry continues to move forward with research and innovations to build air cargo into a dedicated and sustainable science, distinct from the passenger business, aircraft financiers continue to foist outdated passenger-driven financing structures onto the cargo sector. If they refuse to innovate, they could soon become the “dinosaurs” of this business. Dedicated research into the air cargo business model will provide the curious to discover why this business is so different from the passenger side, even though the airframes that they use are very similar. For one, while most passenger traffic is fairly homogeneous and easily classifiable into first class, business class or economy class segments, the air cargo business moves thousands of different items, each with its own characteristics and dynamics. While many industry veterans have tried to mistakenly consolidate many of these items into a single general classification of “general cargo”, either through ignorance or sheer laziness, the fact is that distinct pricing structures and revenue opportunities exist by segregating commodities for special treatment rather than by consolidating them. The special classifications for “pharmaceutical products” and for “dangerous

goods” are prime examples of how air cargo carriers can profit handsomely by offering a bespoke transportation solution. Secondly, most passenger airlines are able to deal directly with the final customer, the passenger, either through the internet or through the services of a travel agent. Thus, it can be said that their “revenue opportunity risk” is low, and fairly well diversified. Cargo carriers, on the other hand, have a much more risky customer profile, since on most flights, five or six large air cargo forwarders buy up over 75 per cent of all the space through “block space” agreements with the airline. Unfortunately, while aircraft financing contracts are usually for durations of 7-10 years, these forwarder contracts can be as short as 3-6 months, making running an all-cargo airline inherently risky. Forwarders can achieve this “cartel style” booking by acting as consolidators for smaller shippers with less pricing power. The end-result of this “block spacing” is that cargo airlines have little or no pricing power compared to the forwarders, who have a greater say in how these airlines are operated. A newer and more innovative revenue model that passes down the risk to the forwarder's customer, the final shipper, while creating a long-term revenue stream for the airline to pay its leasing costs seems to be more appropriate. A third issue that financiers need to be cognizant of, is that unlike the passenger business, where a passenger who flies out, usually flies back on the return leg, in the cargo business, most cargo flows are uni-directional. Thus, in many sectors, cargo aircraft fly back virtually empty. While traditional aircraft financiers might shrug these off as problems that the air cargo industry must solve on its own, the innovative financier, if one exists at all, will find an opportunity in this adversity. After all, despite all the world's problems, air cargo has grown on an average of 3-5 per cent a year with revenues of almost $70 billion, more than 10 per cent of all airline revenue, and as IATA's Cargo Head likes to point out, more than all first class passenger revenue worldwide. The problem with this industry is not in the business itself, which has evolved and grown by leaps and bounds, and will continue to outpace the passenger business in the future. The challenge for aircraft financiers is to develop models that can help re-align and re-balance the way this business is conducted, providing cargo airline operators with the necessary stability to innovate their business, while inducting many new players into the game. At the end of the day, while perseverance is a key ingredient to success, it never hurts to have an intelligent long-term fin ancier by our side. (The columnist is President, American Friendship Cargo. Web address: www.aircargopedia.com) CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

Unfortunately, while aircraft financing contracts are usually for durations of 710 years, these forwarder contracts can be as short as 3-6 months, making running an allcargo airline inherently risky. 61

CARGO JOTTINGS Lufthansa Cargo: A Facebook success Just six months after the launch of its official fan page, Germany's biggest cargo carrier has chalked up a total of more than 10,000 fans. The figures show that the airline is running one of the strongest growing business-to-business Facebook platforms at www.facebook.com/lufthansacargoag. The

AHEAD OF THE TIMES: A grab of the Lufthansa Cargo page on facebook.

GACAG ups ante for air cargo security The Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG) has sent out a cautionary note about adhoc directives on the utilisation of advance electronic data for airfreight security. GACAG has requested governments to take a look to the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) pilot programme that Michael Steen is being used by the US for guidance. GACAG also urged that authorities be provided with goods declarations and pointed out that governments provide electronic notifications about security concerns, whenever possible. “We are a global industry and it is critical that we work with regulators to develop a global, harmonised approach in this area,” GACAG Chairman Michael Steen said. “We believe there will be great value from our industry members’ participation in the ACAS pilot in the US, and on drawing lessons from that pilot toward a globalised and harmonised outcome.” Steen said it’s an unfortunate trend that has been occurring in the airfreight industry. He pointed to the increase in the number of nations seeking to implement advance electronic data for cargo security without consulting World Customs Organization (WCO) standards.

EU forms group on European transport The European Union recently convened the first meeting of the 14-member High Level Group on Logistics. The group will be responsible for advancing European transport policy measures and is headed by European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas. The gathering in Brussels also discussed transport bottlenecks, ways to create a sound business environment and strengthen the bonds between the EC and the supplychain industry. Among the group members are Frank Appel,

airline's fanpage has given Facebook users direct access to the company since it came on stream in November 2011. It features informative newsfeeds on airfreight topics, photo reportages of airports around the world and entertaining games. In launching its fanpage, one of Lufthansa Cargo's principal concerns was to communicate with users. “We provide an array of options designed to initiate direct dialogue, with our pilots, for example, who deliver fascinating reports on freighter flights,” said Matthias Eberle, Lufthansa Cargo (Director-Communications). “That our fan total has risen to more than 10,000 within six months without any boost from advertising is an incentive to further develop our Facebook options and thereby strengthen the Lufthansa Cargo brand.” Achieves high load factor in a challenging market: Lufthansa Cargo transported 864,490 tonnes of freight and mail in the first six months of 2012, representing a year-onyear decline in volume of 9.2 per cent. Throughout this period, market conditions in all the traffic regions remained challenging. However, Lufthansa Cargo succeeded in maintaining utilisation rates for its aircraft at a high level.

CEO of Deutsche Post DHL, Hjoerdis Stahl, Executive Vice President of LUXAIR Cargo and Marie-Christine Lombard, CEO of TNT Express. Others include academics and supplychain executives. The main purpose of the High Level Group, Kallas said, was to recognise the importance of logistics to the EU economy and work to promote supply chain issues. “Logistics is a crucial business for the EU,” he said. “It is an inseparable part of the European transport policy and major contributor to business success. It is therefore paramount that we discuss the challenges ahead together with the stakeholders in order to fully unlock the potential of the European logistics and freight transport sector.” One logistics challenge to supply chain companies outside the EU continues to come in the form of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The US House of Representatives recently approved an amendment to their transportation appropriations bill for 2013 that barred the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Department of Transportation from imposing the EU's emissions regulations on US carriers.

Etihad Cargo flies high Etihad Cargo carried a record 175,000 tonnes of cargo in the first six months of 2012, a 21 per cent increase over the same period last year. The jump represents an extra 30,000 tonnes compared to 2011, with revenues 13 per cent higher. Etihad Cargo operates to 87 destinations internationally. Etihad Cargo reported strong second quarter results for 2012, with tonnage up 22 per cent to 90,000 tonnes, contributing to revenues of $183 million, up 11 per cent. Kevin Knight, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “On the back of strong passenger network growth, freighter fleet expansion and an increase in the number of cargo REAPING THE BENEFITS: Etihad Cargo is riding high on its past performance. routes, Etihad Cargo

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Compared to the same period last year, the load factor slipped marginally, by 0.7 percentage points, to 68.4 per cent. “There can be no talk as yet of a real crisis,” stressed Executive Board Chairman and CEO Karl Ulrich Garnadt. Relies on lightweight containers: Lufthansa Cargo reduced CO2 emissions by more than 700 tonnes through the use of lightweight containers in May and June alone. For the first time, more than half the LD3 standard containers utilised for freight and baggage transports were made from light composite materials. By reducing weight, the composite materials lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Being 13 kilos lighter than the conventional type, the aluminium containers make a weighty difference in close to 70,000 container movements over the two months. Germany's biggest cargo airline is currently engaged on a major exchange programme, in which around 5,000 new lightweight containers will be brought into service in the coming years. “Reducing weight on board our aircraft is a key factor in lowering the fleet's fuel consumption and emissions,” emphasised Bettina Jansen, Head of Environmental Management at Lufthansa Cargo.

experienced an all-time record first half of 2012. Cargo traffic into and out of Asia and the subcontinent remained particularly strong for us over the period, and we are pleased to have maintained a performance lead there and elsewhere at a time when many cargo carriers are cutting capacity.” June in particular was an exceptional month for Etihad Cargo, when the airline achieved eight of its ten best ever performance days for transporting cargo through its Abu Dhabi hub — on average over 2,000 tonnes per day being processed.

JAL fined $2.3 million for cartelisation Japan Airlines (JAL) has been fined $2.3 million for breaches of the Commerce Act. The fine, incidentally, was recommended to the court by the Commerce Commission and JAL as part of a pre-trial settlement and was imposed by the High Court in Auckland, New Zealand. JAL admitted that it had received surcharges for both fuel and security in Europe, the US, and Asia for flights into New Zealand, as well as for cargo shipped out of New Zealand to Asian destinations. The carrier got a 35 per cent discount on the fine for admitting its involvement and cooperating with the Commerce Commission’s investigation.

Airbus suffers six freighter cancellations Airbus SAS (EAD) lost six A330-200F freighters from its order tally as a shrinking air cargo market prompted a spate of cancellations. Airbus’s order and delivery figures for June omit the contract from US investment firm Matlin Patterson Global Advisers LLC placed in 2008 and listed in May numbers from the Toulouse, Francebased manufacturer. The order book for Airbus’s only new-build freighter has declined from a high of 72 planes in 2008 to 52 last month, of which 13 have been delivered. Cargo traffic fell 1.9 per cent in May, the most recent month for which data is available, according to the International Air Transport Association.

FedEx continues support for Amelia Earhart FedEx recently teamed up with The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) in donating in-kind services for the organisation’s tenth expedition searching for evidence of Amelia Earhart’s long-lost Lockheed Electra aircraft. To assist in the expedition, FedEx donated logistical support, shipping high-tech search equipment from the continental United States to Honolulu. The transportation started with FedEx Custom Critical shipping the underwater Remote Operated Vehicle, and control unit from Patterson, Louisiana to Los Angeles, California. From there, the FedEx Trade Networks arranged to have the equipment shipped via ocean freighter to Honolulu. Meeting the shipment there HONOURING LEGEND: Infographic showing FedEx’s contribution to the Earhart project. Amelia Earhart attained the iconic status when she was was an additional 2000 pounds for equipment that included attempting to become the first woman to circumnavigate the the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle flown by FedEx Express globe when her Lockheed Electra disappeared in the South from Massachusetts. TIGHAR will use an undersea robot and Pacific 75 years ago. The aircraft was also carrying her other sophisticated equipment to search the waters around the navigator, Fred Noonan. reef in hopes of finding Earhart’s plane.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

FOCUS

HEMANT RAWAT

BATTLEGROUND OF DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEES

THE DHARMADHIKARI COMMITTEE REPORT HAS OPENED THE PROVERBIAL “PANDORA'S BOX”. NO ONE FROM EITHER OF THE CARRIERS — AIR INDIA OR INDIAN AIRLINES — IS HAPPY. WHILE A SECTION OF THE AIR INDIANS WANT RESTORATION OF PRIDE AND DIGNITY, THE OFFICERS FROM THE ERSTWHILE INDIAN AIRLINES HAVE DEMANDED THAT ARREARS AMONG OTHER DUES HAVE TO BE SETTLED FIRST. CRUISING HEIGHTS TOOK A LOOK AT THE REPRESENTATIONS SUBMITTED BY THE TWO GROUPS TO THE ANOMALY RECTIFICATIONS COMMITTEE FOR THIS REPORT. he Air India management may have been able to bring the striking pilots in line but it has another problem — perhaps, a bigger one — on its hands. The General Cadre of the erstwhile Air India has in a representation sent out in the beginning of July 2012 to Sayed Nasir Ali, Chairman, Implementation & Anomaly Rectification Committee, pointed out that it has “serious objections to the (Report of Expert Committee on HR

T 64

issues of Merged Air India that was submitted to Ministry of Civil Aviation on January 31, 2012 headed by Justice D M Dharmadhikari) Committee's recommendation on level mapping and career progression”. The representation makes it clear at the very beginning that the General Cadre employees “have no personal grudges against our colleagues from erstwhile IC, although they have been getting higher salaries /promotions/career progression, CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

etc” but what will be “difficult to accept” would be the loss of dignity and status. There are “several facts that have been misrepresented in the report”, the representation states, “raising our apprehensions regarding the impartiality and independent viewpoint adopted by the (Justice D M Dharmadhikari) committee” and goes on to mention that “it is matter of regret that even the review committee set up by the Ministry has shown little sensitivity to the unacceptable recommen-

dations made in the report”. The current proposal, complain the General Cadre employees, would make those with comparable seniorities from the erstwhile Air India to those from the erstwhile Indian Airlines junior in status — and the difference could be as much as two grades lower. As for the payscales, the level mapping has been incorrect since the “two companies did not follow similar guidelines”; a fact that the Dharmadhikari Committee has recognised in its report. The committee has mentioned that the payscales were the same in 1990 and deviations started appearing after revisions in 1992 and 1997. Since the two companies — Air India and Indian Airlines — had common payscales till 1990, was it not prudent to level-map employees based on their position and grades in 1990, the employees have asked. Complaining that the Dharmadhikari Committee report was a one-sided affair — leaning more towards Indian Airlines — the representation raises, what it terms “a disturbing fact”. “The same level mapping chart which was circulated and uploaded on the AI intranet in September 2010 by the then Director HR/Executive Director HR, both of them from the erstwhile IC -- which was much before the Committee came into existence i.e. May 2011, has been recommended by the Committees verbatim”. At that time, Air India employees had protested and sent out representations all over the network but it was “shocking to see that the same proposal has now been authenticated by the Hon'ble Committee, leading to the suspicion and doubt whether the Committee actually delved into such a serious and sensitive issue”. Citing examples, the Air India employees have mentioned that “IC has nine grades in the officer cadre, whereas AI has eight grades” and questioned: “How can the Committee merge two unequal cadres, thus giving advantage to officers of a certain company only?” Citing the example of Grade 9A from Indian Airlines who were not even considered part of the “IC officers association”, the Committee has recommended equating 9A of IC with Assistant Managers of AI. Another example in the representation is that of Grade 16A in IC. AI, according to the representation, created the posts of Assistant General Managers in 1996, while IC created that of Chief Managers in 2003. “Before 2003, all IC Senior Managers were directly promoted as Deputy General Managers (DGM): hence, the huge disparity between IC-AI officers. IC officers of batch 1992 are in DGM grade whereas AI officers of 1988

still languish as Senior Managers”, said the representation. The aggrieved Air India employees — many of them have spent between 15 and 30 years with the company — have sent out a fervent appeal to the management to “safeguard our dignity and not to create a rift between the two factions by implementing the level mapping as suggested”. For them, their “pride and dignity is far dearer to us than any monetary benefit”. In fact, the representation agreed with the fact that the observations of the Dharmadhikari Committee would cause “some bruises in any merger”. That would be acceptable but in turn “mass-scale injustice would be inflicted upon Air Indians if the recommendations are implemented in the current form”. However, even before the Air India representation was sent to Sayed Nasir Ali, the erstwhile Indian Airlines officers represented by the Indian Airlines Officers Association, also sent off a note to protest about the Justice Dharmadhikari report. Starting off with the non-payment of arrears to Indian Airlines employees, the note signed by the association's President K R Chidambaram, pointed out that “our Association's claim on the arrears due to our members for the period 1.1.1997 up to 31.7.2006, though mentioned has not been addressed by Justice Dharmadhikari Committee”. Any recommendation to revise the officers' association members' pay effective 1.4.2007, without resolving and settlement of the pay revision arrears, then “is unacceptable to us”. As such, the note mentioned, “An inequitable position as on 1.4.2007, between cadres of erstwhile Indian Airlines, represented by us, and similar cadres of erstwhile Air India, already exists”. An important point raised by the Association concerns the “recommendation that the pilots and engineers are allowed to have their future gross pay outside the DPE (Department of Public Enterprises), whereas all other employees would draw their gross as per DPE, is bewildering”. It was, perhaps, the first in any public sector company, where a certain category of employees were guided by the DPE while others were outside the scope of the DPE. This would disturb the ratio of existing parity between employees, the note states and goes on to request the Implementation and Anomaly Committee that the present gross pay of the Indian Airlines employees be, fully protected, and that the employees be allowed to further draw incentives, based on the parameters recommended for pilots and engineers. CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

According to the Justice Dharmadhikari report, the erstwhile Air India employees had benefited through “a stagnation-based time-bound promotions in December 2006 and earlier, too”. The officers' body states that its claim had gone unnoticed in the report and had been left to be decided by the implementation committee. “We hope for equitable justice and implementation of such a 'stagnation -based time-bound promotion' for all employees of erstwhile Indian Airlines (who had) stagnated and (were) not promoted similar to the policy followed and implemented in erstwhile Air India,” the note said. On its part, the Indian Airlines officers have gone a step ahead and suggested that the retirement age in the merged AI be increased to 60 years, in line with DPE; “however, the recommendations of the (Dharmadhikari) Committee has only been to consider giving a contractual appointment to selected employees up to 60 years… Our claim is based on reason”, claimed the officers. Like their brethren in Air India, the Indian Airlines Officers too have expressed their willingness to ensure the turnaround of Air India. “We reiterate,” their note mentioned, “that the 'Turn Around Plans', financial restructuring, etc., have been the need of the hour ever since the merger”. These, the noted stated “are management restructure plans, which have recently been put into place. We extend full cooperation towards this endeavour, achievement of goals, targets to ensure that projected commitments receive our members performances”, and then are quick to add that these “plans have come almost five years after the merger and thus we the employees are in no way responsible for the affairs of the company between 1.4.2007 up to date”, and that “the current financial situation is not due to cause of the employees. The recommendations of the Justice Dharmadhlkari Committee report, thereby to relate the yearly increments, PLI (Productivity Linked Incentive) etc., to the financial condition of the company, is thereby inappropriate. We once again assure of our members commitment to ensure Air India regains the pride in our country”. With such dissatisfaction brewing among employees from the erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines, one wonders if the country's national airline will ever be able to get back its glory days. For the moment, however, the tussle among the staff over seniority and a whole range of issues will continue to have a deep impact on the functioning of the carrier.

GLOBETROTTING

I AM WITHOUT TICKET z

Piloting the passenger z All strange things happen up in the air. A female pilot of a Brazilian airline Trip Airlines tossed a passenger off a flight as he was making sexist comments about women flying planes. Trip Airlines said in a statement that the pilot booted out the man before takeoff as he made loud, sexist comments upon learning the pilot was a woman. The jet continued on to the state of Goias, Brazil after a one-hour delay. The passenger involved in the incident was not identified. He was met by police at the plane and escorted out of the

Belo Horizonte airport, Brazil. Meanwhile, Trip said it won’t tolerate derogatory remarks made about any of the 1400 women working for the airline.

A potential threat z

Believe it or not, a French woman caused a security scare on a USbound flight after she claimed to have been fitted with some kind of device. It all happened when Marigot gave the flight attendant a note in French saying she was a victim of a group of doctors and that she had an object in her body that was out of her control. When the flight attendant asked whether the object could hurt her or others, she replied that she did not know. An examination by two doctors on board determined that she had no visible scars indicating any kind of implant. Also, the plane and luggage was searched but no explosives or dangerous items were found. After investigations, no criminal complaint was filed against Lucie Zeeko Marigot, a French citizen and a native of Cameroon, who caused her flight from Paris to North Carolina to be diverted to Maine. Later, Marigot was taken into custody by US border officials and sent back to France.

In a strange incident, a recent parolee hooked onto a flight without a ticket at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field. Marc Rory Duncan, who was reportedly just released from jail, was able to walk through a fire door onto the tarmac, drop off a bag and board the flight to Los Angeles. Duncan set off an alarm when he went through the emergency door, and was caught on camera. However, once inside the plane he was able to blend in with other passengers and take a seat. The plane’s crew realised something was

Pregnant cargo onboard

n amusing incident happened at Amritsar international airport, India. The authorities at the airport had to deal with an unusual cargo — pregnant buffaloes. The story goes like this: ten buffaloes from Punjab, all pregnant, were delicately lifted into specially-made crates, were shipped to United Arab Emirates. As a result the incident was a treat to watch for the visitors at the airport as the jet-black buffaloes, with a redband around their necks, trudged from one counter to another, on their one-way journey to the foreign land. Transporting such a big cargo,

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

each weighing about 500 kg, yet delicate on account of pregnancy, had the airport officials in a spot of bother. As Cargo Incharge of Amritsar airport, I L Bhatia, stated, “We transport medicines and garments generally. Transporting live cargo was done on trial basis, which was successful. Specially-made crates, which ensure that the buffaloes don’t run into each other, were used. We had also held a thorough medical examination of the buffaloes.” Interestingly, a specially-chartered plane of Air Shagun shipped the buffaloes from Guru Ramdass International Airport, Amritsar.

Indulging in blasphemy z

wrong when they did a head count and saw it was off. Flight Attendants found Duncan on the flight and he was arrested without incident after police and K-9 units stormed the plane. Airport authorities said they are working with the TSA to investigate the incident.

In a startling revelation, an unidentified woman missed her American Airlines flight because staff found her choice of clothing offensive. That’s because it carried a statement, “If I wanted the government in my womb, I’d f--k a Senator.” The woman said of the incident, “When I got on, I was one of the first groups to board (did not pass by many folks). I was wearing my shawl loosely around my neck and upon sitting down, the lady next to me, who was already seated, praised me for wearing

Mentally unwell z

A flight steward with Qatar Airways was jailed for bribing a cop over an incident of outrage of modesty. Rinosh Joseph Noble molested an undercover policeman in the toilet of The Verge shopping centre, Singapore. He offered $100 to the cop and two other officers, who were on an anti-crime operation at the mall, to keep quiet about the incident. The court sentenced him to one month in jail and a fine of $10,000 for bribery. He also received a stern warning for molesting the officer. His lawyer, Subhas Anandan, said that his client was an exceptionally talented individual, who graduated with a first-class honours degree in engineering in India. He was also a very good singer and had qualified for vocal training at the London School of Music, UK. Noble’s wife from India was present at the hearing. The couple has no children.

A cockpit in danger z

A confused Canadian man was arrested for attempting to rush the cockpit of an American Airlines plane at the Miami International Airport, US. Ryan Snider was subdued by two first-class passengers as he tried to break into the cockpit. One of the passengers, who restrained him, Malik Cann, told ABC News’ Miami affiliate WPLG how they grabbed Snider and held him down. “We weren’t going to allow him to harm anybody or get to the cockpit,” Cann said. “He was screaming. ‘Get me off the plane. Get me off the plane.’ That’s all

the shirt.” A flight attendant told her that she needed to speak with the captain before making her connecting flight because the shirt was offensive. The captain informed her that she shouldn’t have been allowed to board in the first place, and would need to change before her connecting flight.

he wanted to do.” An American Airlines representative told ABC News that Snider moved quickly toward the front of the airplane, but did not make it to the cockpit before being restrained. He may have bumped the door as he was being subdued. “We had what appeared to be a ‘disoriented’ male passenger who stood up at his seat in the main cabin after landing in Miami as the flight was taxiing in,” an American Airlines representative told ABC News. “He did not obey crew member instructions to sit down and then moved toward the front of the aircraft where he was subdued. He was turned over to police upon arrival at the gate.”

Silky slumber z

Kim Kardashian once again showed off her starry tantrums. This time around the reality star was pictured making her way through Los Angeles International Airport clutching a luxurious oversized silk pillow. The reason: Kim complained of feeling unwell after a few weeks of jetsetting around Europe for work, so perhaps she wanted to ensure a proper sleep on her cross-country flight from Atlantic City back to Los Angeles. As a result, she carried her own luxurious oversized silk pillow on board. Later on she tweeted: “I knew all of this travelling and no sleep would make me sick (gonna be a loooong flight home!)” She only flies first class, but even the bed linen up front isn’t good enough for Kim Kardashian. The reality star was pictured making her way through Los Angeles International Airport week clutching a luxurious oversized silk pillow. In a series of tweets, she again wrote, “Very disappointed in British Airways for opening my luggage and taking some special items of mine! Some things are sentimental — replaceable. What happened to the days when you could lock your bags! We need to get back to that. There’s no sense of security and no trust!”

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

SNIPPETS

DOMESTIC AIRLINES Jet plans to launch aviation academy PRIVATE CARRIER Jet Airways has plans of setting up a marketing services firm and launching an aviation training academy, with a total investment of rupees one crore. The proposal, however, is subjected to regulatory approvals, including those from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Reserve Bank of India, Jet Airways said in a notice to its shareholders ahead of the company annual general meeting scheduled in early August. The Naresh Goyal-owned airline would be the second domestic carrier to foray into the aviation education segment after Kingfisher started a similar training institution in 2007. The proposed academy would be based in Mumbai and offer certificate courses in in-flight services, ticket reservation and check-in services, according to a brochure brought out for the institute. The move is aimed at boosting the Jet group’s revenue through ancillary activities at a time when high taxes and jet fuel prices are resulting in mounting losses of the domestic carriers, a source informed. Unveils India’s 1st Disney-branded plane: The TV channel Disney India and Jet Airways unveiled a Disney-themed

CONFIDENCE HIGH: IndiGo recently ushered the first ever Required Navigation Performance approach in a regular airline operation

IndiGo first to use fuel-saving navigation IN YET another innovative move, no-frills carrier IndiGo recently conducted the first-ever Required Navigation Performance (RNP) approach in regular airline operations while landing at Kochi on June 23, 2012 a scheduled flight from Bengaluru, making it the country’s first airline to

STRATEGIC TIE-UP: The Disney-themed aircraft at the Mumbai Airport.

aircraft decorated with the images of Disney cartoon characters at the Mumbai International Airport. At the unveiling of the aircraft, several children were invited, who even posed for photos with the aircraft painted with Disney characters. They were welcomed by Mickey and Mini at the event. The plane is scheduled to fly to Hong Kong Disneyland as part of a unique marketing initiative ‘Jet Set Go’. Shruti Seth and Cyrus Broacha were spotted frolicking with kids at the event. “We take a lot of pride in creating memorable experiences. Jet Set Go is one such initiative which has seen phenomenal response from all corners of the country,” said Vijay Subramanium, Executive Director, Disney Kids Network .

SpiceJet strengthens Delhi-north connectivity EXPANDING ITS network in north India, SpiceJet recently announced the launch of new flight services connecting the cities of Amritsar, Chandigarh and Srinagar to Delhi. MP Navjot Singh Sidhu inaugurated the launching of the service. “Amritsar is an important destination for us. A lot of pilgrims visit the holy city daily. With the launch of these new flights, we are kicking off our major expansion plan in north India,”

SpiceJet Chief Executive Office Neil Mills said. In the first phase of north India expansion, SpiceJet will connect to Amritsar, Chandigarh, Srinagar and Indore to Delhi, a press release stated. Plans on to start Hubli operations: SpiceJet and Pegasus, both two low-cost airlines, are keen to operate flights from Hubli to Bengaluru and other metros. Neil Mills According to sources at Hubli airport, both airlines have sent a letter to the airport authority, expressing their interest to start services, and have got the green signal. Top officials from SpiceJet visited Hubli airport a few days ago to check the infrastructure facilities available and held talks with airport officials. SpiceJet is said to be waiting for official clearance from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), said sources. Plans to launch flights from Chakeri: SpiceJet is planning to launch its services from Chakeri Airport. The flight between Delhi-Kanpur-Delhi is in offing. According to the sources, the airline has already done a survey to know about the passengers need and what all destinations they would like to fly. Airport Director R A Kushwaha said that SpiceJet seemed to be interested in launching flights from the city. “They have gathered technical details and given hints of starting flight between Kanpur and Delhi. Later, they can plan flights for other destinations. The Kanpur-Delhi flight is likely to commence from the last week of July,” Kushwaha added.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

implement this effective, fuel-saving practice. IndiGo has been working with Airbus and the government to develop and implement the RNP procedure, which brings great benefits to both the authorities and IndiGo. The system allows an aircraft to be guided by a sophisticated on-board navigation system instead of ground-based equipment. It also shortens the distance on each approach by 75 km and leads to fuel saving of 400 kg on each landing. Elaborating on this milestone, Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo, said: “This new technology will enable tangible cost savings which in turn will have a positive impact on our overall operational efficiency. But more importantly, we are excited about partnering in this significant step towards improving Air Traffic Management in India and making it an even safer and greener environment to fly in.” IndiGo was the first airline in India to test and develop this approach in 2011 in partnership with Quovadis, an

Airbus subsidiary, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Ties-up with American Airlines: IndiGo Airlines tied up with American Express as anchor partner to offer card members travel and lodging rewards and benefits. Card members can also redeem their Membership Rewards points, earned from regular spending, for miles in more than 65 leading international and domestic airlines. The American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card offers one of the ‘fastest ways to earn complimentary travel’ by combining everyday spending and accelerated spend based rewards. Card members will get a welcome gift of 5000 bonus Membership Rewards points (worth IndiGo voucher of `4,000) that will be credited to their account on the first charge and another 7500 bonus Membership Rewards points (worth IndiGo voucher of `6,000) on reaching the spend threshold of `1,90,000 within a renewal cycle. Once card members reach the spend threshold of `4,00,000 in the same renewal cycle, they will get another 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points (worth IndiGo voucher of `10,000). Shailesh Baidwan, Country Manager and Head of Consumer Cards business, American Express, “The marketing alliance with IndiGo Airlines have helped us create a valuable proposition with the best spend-linked benefits which would help those who enjoy travel and value quality. The card has been tailored to meet an underlying customer need for a complete travel product which offers value and flexibility backed by American Express’ best-inclass Platinum Services.”

Air Mantra to start passenger flights RELIGARE GROUP’S Air Mantra recently started passenger services. Initially, it would operate daily flights between Amritsar and Chandigarh. Through its services, Air Mantra plans to connect cities that are out of the radar of most airlines. With further expansion on the cards, the company foresees Jammu and Dharamshala entering its fold soon. Sanjay Godhwani, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive, Air Mantra, stated, “Better service and connectivity is our primary objective. Every possible detail has been taken into consideration to ensure our passengers have a wonderful experience, with safe and comfortable flights.” Air Mantra is part of Religare Voyages, set up about five years ago with the launch of air charter services. It has a fleet of 12 aircraft, ranging from five-seater turboprops to 17-seater corporate luxury jets.

Airports ‘most stressful factor’ for Indians According to a global survey done by travel search site Skyscanner, more than two-thirds (67 per cent) of Indian travellers find their airport experience the most stressful part of their travel. The survey was done on over 20,000 respondents from 12 countries wherein respondents were asked about their most stressful experience with travel. Brazilians and Britons joined Indians in voting airports, with their queues and security checks, as the number one stress factor. For the Germans, Italians and Spanish, it’s the hunt for cheap flights that tops the stress chart, and for Russians, it’s organising visas and travel documents.

STARTING A JOURNEY: The scene at an airport in India. Airports in India witness heavy passenger traffic on a regular basis.

“With travel and tour operators, international tourism boards and airlines catering to the varied preferences of the discerning Indian traveller, choosing a destination has become more difficult. The stability of the Indian economy resulting in higher disposable income as compared to the bleaker situation in Western Europe and the US has meant that more destinations now vie for the Indian traveller. Moreover, a depreciating rupee is also an incentive for them carefully choose their destinations with cheap flights without burning a hole in their pocket,” said Kavitha Gnanamurthy, Skyscanner’s Market Development Manager for India. As a worldwide average, the most stressful element of a trip was deciding where to go, which took 30 per cent of the vote, followed by the airport experience (25 per cent), and the search for cheap flights with 24 per cent.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

SNIPPETS

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES Emirates twice daily to JFK airport

On the western side of the globe, five weekly flights will EMIRATES STARTED a second daily A380 service to New be operated by Emirates to the French city of Lyon from York JFK. “Emirates is experiencing very high demand for its December 5. From February 6, 2013, Emirates will launch New York flights and the start of a daily flights to Poland with a daily service to A380 service to JFK will enable us to the capital, Warsaw. offer more choice for our customers to Tie up with MasterCard: Emirates benefit from the Emirates A380 Airline and MasterCard recently experience,” said Thierry Antinori, announced their joint collaboration to Executive Vice-President of Passenger offer top-notch packages for Emirates Sales Worldwide, Emirates. “Given the First Class and Emirates Business Class popularity of this giant aircraft, we are passengers who use their MasterCard confident that this news will be well cards to purchase flights on received by our customers travelling to WORKING TOGETHER: JetBlue and Emirates www.emirates.com before September 17 destinations in the Middle East, 21 aircraft lined up at one of the airports 30, 2012. For every Emirates top class African destinations including major hubs in east Africa, 20 round-trip ticket purchases, MasterCard cardholders visiting destinations in the Far East and Australasia and 10 destinations Dubai from around the world will receive complimentary stays in India.” at Dubai’s top hotels, in addition to complimentary visas and Expands network: Emirates has embarked on a major tickets to ‘At The Top’ in the Burj Khalifa. expansion of its route network with three additional Emirates, JetBlue launch joint frequent flyer destinations to be launched in the next six months, in partnership: Emirates and JetBlue Airways recently addition to 12 new routes already rolled out in 2012. From announced the launch of a joint frequent flyer partnership. November 1, Emirates will launch four weekly flights to Emirates’ Skywards members can now earn Skywards Miles Adelaide, rising to a daily service from February 1, 2013. on JetBlue’s network throughout the Americas, while members Adelaide will be the airline’s fifth destination in Australia, of JetBlue’s customer loyalty programme TrueBlue can earn which is currently served with 70 flights per week. The TrueBlue points across Emirates’ network of more than 120 airline’s current double-daily service to Perth will grow to 19 destinations worldwide. The partner airlines plan to introduce weekly flights from December 1. a redemption agreement in February 2013.

SpiceJet flies to Afghanistan SPICEJET RECENTLY announced the launch of flights between New Delhi and Kabul, setting a milestone by making it the first private carrier from India to start services to the Afghan capital city of Kabul. Bookings have been opened and commercial flights would start from August 14, 2012. As a low-cost carrier, SpiceJet would be offering affordable air connectivity between the two capital cities. SpiceJet would be initially operating flights on the DelhiKabul route three days a week. Kabul is the fourth international destination for SpiceJet and the announcement came within a fortnight of its launch of flights to Dubai. SpiceJet currently operates in three international destinations with four routes: DelhiKathmandu, Chennai-Colombo, Delhi-Dubai and Mumbai-Dubai. Speaking on the occasion, SpiceJet Chief Executive Officer, Neil Mills said “Kabul is a very important destination for us. India and Afghanistan have ancient cultural connections and the launch of new services would bridge the distance between the two countries and help enhance this old relationship. It is our endeavour to offer and maintain a competitive and affordable price structure to make SpiceJet a preferred carrier for inbound and outbound passengers.”

Partnerships boost Etihad’s revenues ETIHAD AIRWAYS recently announced a 31 per cent increase in its Q2 2012 revenues, which amounts to $1.25 billion as compared to $957 million in 2011. Passenger numbers leapt to 2.55 million in Q2, up by 34 per cent, and to 4.89 million in the half year, thanks to the increased overall capacity and improved seat factors. The record results were boosted by the airline’s growing network of codeshares and strategic partnerships, which together fed 800,000 passengers into Etihad Airways’ network in the last six months, contributing $281 million.

During the quarter, Etihad Airways took minority equity stakes in Aer Lingus and in Virgin Australia, adding to its minority shareholdings in airberlin and Air Seychelles. Together these five airlines carried 72 million passengers on 376 aircraft in 2011, generating combined revenues of more than $14 billion. Expands partnership with Abu Dhabi Organics Farms: Etihad Airways has purchased 200 hens which are being raised free-range at Abu Dhabi Organics Farms. Supporting the airline’s commitment to offer customers the finest and freshest GOING ORGANIC: Eggs purchased by Etihad are being raised at Abu Dhabi Organics Farms products, eggs produced by the hens will be used in Etihad Airways’ Diamond First Class dishes, including the hugely popular “eggs any style” breakfast option, prepared fresh by the Etihad onboard chefs. In addition to the hens, Etihad Airways has purchased three bee hives, which are also based at Abu Dhabi Organics Farms. Honey produced by the bees will be served exclusively to Etihad Airways passengers and used across an array of dishes. The airline is also developing a line of signature pickles that will be made from entirely organic items including paprika, chilli, onion, capsicum, and dates. They will be served with warm bread and a range of cheese.

Virgin launches new upper class cabin AS PART of its £100-million investment plan, Virgin Atlantic unveiled its redesigned upper class cabin on the new A330, which has been introduced on the London-Delhi route. The state-of-art cabin boasts of the longest bed in business class, an even more spacious and comfortable seat, a 2.7-metre long

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

onboard bar — the longest in the sky — an innovative touch screen entertainment system, unique mood lighting, stylish uplifting interiors and in-plane mobile and GPRS connectivity. STYLE REDEFINED: The redesigned upper The upper class class cabin in Virgin Atlantic’s A330 cabin, which has taken four and a half years to design and build, will also feature the new upper class suite, Virgin Atlantic’s most sophisticated and comfortable bed to date — incorporating a revolutionary new comfort system. The new espresso leather seat is one and a half inches wider and reclines up to 50 per cent more. Each seat has an innovative touchscreen entertainment system JAM loaded with the latest Hollywood and Bollywood entertainment and has a new technology hub that allows passengers to connect their smartphone, USB stick or tablet to JAM, watch desired content.

Malaysia reveals A380 in full special livery THE FIRST A380 for Malaysia Airlines was unveiled bearing its special celebration livery, ahead of entry-into-service on the Kuala Lumpur-London route. The livery was designed by Malaysia Airlines specifically for its new A380 flagship and was applied post-delivery by Airbus in Toulouse. The Airlines has ordered six A380s with a premium layout seating 494 passengers in three classes. This aircraft will be used to operate thrice weekly for Kuala Lumpur — London and the return flight departing the next day. The first five flights out of Kuala Lumpur are fully booked for First class. It is likewise for three of the seven flights out of London. By August 2012, with the delivery of the second aircraft, Malaysia Airlines will operate daily A380 flights on this route.

Biman Bangladesh selects Kale’s solution KALE CONSULTANTS recently announced that Biman Bangladesh Airlines had selected Finesse Mbstm solution to streamline its miscellaneous billing processes. Commenting on the occasion Mizanur Rashid, Deputy General ManagerRevenue, Biman Bangladesh, said, “Being the flag carrier airline of Bangladesh, we have considerable inward and outward billing volumes for miscellaneous services. Therefore, getting SIS compliant was a priority. We found Finesse Mbstm an ideal fit because it not only helps us achieve SIS compliance but also enables us to automate our current manual billing processes and enforce appropriate financial

controls.” Speaking on this occasion, Neela Bhattacherjee, Head-Airlines SBU, Kale Consultants said: “Biman Bangladesh is a welcome addition to our growing list of customers. I am confident of the value the solution will deliver to the airline. We look forward to a long term partnership with Biman.”

AirAsia helps endangered art form AIRASIA recently marked its latest ASEAN-level Corporate Responsibility sponsorship by showcasing the endangered Cambodian art form of Sbaek Thom, or the Cambodian large shadow puppet theatre, for the first time in Malaysia. In support of Cambodian Living Arts (CLA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to reviving endangered Cambodian art forms, AirAsia facilitated the performance of Wat Bo Troupe from Siem Reap before an international audience through its participation in the George Town Festival 2012. “This sponsorship correlates with AirAsia’s new regional strategy. We see our extensive route network as sky bridges linking cities, communities and cultures. We want to help bring ASEAN together as one, where values and cultures are shared, appreciated and respected together as a community,” said Tony Fernandes, AirAsia ASEAN Group CEO. Apart from return flights and complimentary baggage allowance, AirAsia supported the troupe by drumming up excitement ahead of the July performance at Penang’s magnificent Khoo Kongsi clanhouse. Unveils Fly Thru service: AIRASIA X recently launched its new Fly Thru service across AirAsia’s domestic sectors in Malaysia. The launch of the new service across the domestic sectors will facilitate a more convenient transit process for connecting guests across all AirAsia X destinations via its hub in Kuala Lumpur to its selected domestic network in Malaysia. The enhanced Fly-Thru service is available for all AirAsia X destinations departing from its long-haul destinations from China, Taiwan, Australia, Korea and Japan to domestic destinations in Malaysia: Penang, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Similarly guests from the new domestic Fly-Thru destinations may also book Fly Thru and connect directly to their final destinations across Australia, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan via its hub in Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Terminal. “Our aim is to ensure seamless travel for connecting guests who prefer to transit in Kuala Lumpur and travel with us to other destinations between the AirAsia X and AirAsia network,” said Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X.

APPOINTMENTS Mohammed Asif Ali has been named as the Sales Manager for Tamil Emirates strengthened its commercial Nadu. operations in India with the “This move comes as part of the appointment of Sales Managers in airline’s strategy to deliver lasting three key markets: Maharashtra, Delhi value to our customers in India by and Tamil Nadu. The airline has also hiring the right people and to Neeraj Newton M A Safi Vikram Paul restructured its South India team in develop and enhance our employees’ keeping with its continued focus on India. capabilities by providing them with new and challenging Emirates appointed Vikram Paul, Neeraj Newton and markets to lead. India is a market that is constantly evolving Mohammed Abdul Safi as Sales Managers for Maharashtra, and we remain committed to looking for new ways of Delhi and Andhra Pradesh, respectively. KP Venugopal has improving our services,” said Orhan Abbas, Vice President, been reappointed as the Sales Manager for Karnataka, while India and Nepal, Emirates.

Postings in key markets

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SNIPPETS

TRAVEL & TOURISM Sarovar’s all-suites in Bengaluru

with satellite channels, tea/coffee maker, 24-hour room SAROVAR HOTELS recently announced the opening of service and butler service for long stayers. The introductory Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites at Koramangala in stay offer starts at `4990 onwards and includes buffet Bengaluru. This 132 all-suite hotel located within Davanam breakfast and wi-fi. Plaza is the company’s fourth property in the city after Radha Hometel, Savannah Sarovar Premiere and Park Plaza. Anil Madhok, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels, said, “The upbeat business environment of Bengaluru will complement our product and its business facilities. With three successfully operational properties in the city we are confident about the success of Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites.” Located within 10 km of the South Bengaluru business hub, the hotel offers spacious suites of 650 sq ft to 1200 sq ft with a separate kitchenette along with comfortable beds, premium furnishings, a wellstocked mini-bar, electronic safe and wi-fi UPBEAT ENVIRONMENT: Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites at Davanam Plaza in connectivity. Other room amenities include LCD TV Koramangala, Bengaluru,

VFS Global launches facility for agents DUBAI VISA Processing Centre (DVPC), a part of VFS Global, recently launched the service offering to provide travel agents across India a convenient solution for submitting Dubai visa applications for their customers. The new service allows travel agents to submit visa applications on a 24x7 basis from their own offices, thus eliminating the need to visit the application centres, resulting in considerable time and cost savings. This new service requires travel agents to complete a onetime registration with DVPC for this service to get their individual login IDs, after which they can simply login online on www.dubaivisa.net to submit their Dubai visa applications. Pradeep Suvarna, Global Head, DVPC, VFS Global said: “It is a boon for travel agents selling Emirates Airlines. For customers who would either want to take a holiday or stopover in Dubai during their transit, travel agents can now complete all the visa requirements from their own offices. I would like to further add that it is our continuous endeavour to augment our services along with customer experience and to bring economic benefits for our partners by making the application process simpler.” Iqbal Mulla, Chairman, Treasure India, and the President of Travel Agents Association of India, and Ajay Prakash, CEO, Nomad Travels, and the President of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), are amongst the first users of this new service, having registered with DVPC on June 20, 2012.

Celebrating the mango at Pinjore HARYANA TOURISM and the Horticulture Department, Haryana, jointly organised the recent Mango Mela at Pinjore Gardens. Addressing the press, Roshan Lal, Principal Secretary, Agriculture Department, Haryana, stated that the objective of the two-day Mango Mela was to encourage mango growers to adopt the latest practices to increase their production and quality, so that they would get maximum returns for their produce by tapping the domestic as well as international market. The Mango Mela also gives the mango growers an opportunity to sell their mangoes and mango products, besides providing a common platform to the

PROVIDING ENCOURAGEMENT: Officials addressing a presss conference on the occasion of the 21st Pinjore Mango Festival.

artisans and self-help groups to display and sell their handlooms and handicrafts products. A food court was also set up, which offered a variety of food and beverages items for the visitors. Stalls were put up by various hotel management institutes. Similarly, a crafts bazaar had also been set up for the display and sale of the handmade handloom and handicraft items.

ITC awarded for Business and Development IN A PRESTIGIOUS development for India at the Rio+20 United Nations Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Indian multi-business conglomerate, ITC Limited, was presented the 2012 World Business and Development Award for its transformational rural initiatives in social and farm forestry programmes in India. The only Indian company to receive this honour at the ongoing historic Rio+20 Summit, this award has been instituted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) in partnership with the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the UN Global Compact. ITC was among five large global companies to win this honour. YC Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC received the award at a ceremony which was presided over by Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP, Georg Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact, Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for International Development Cooperation, Sweden, and the CEO of the IBLF, Clare Melford.

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012

A great wildlife gala affair THE WILDEBEEST Migration in East Africa, also known as “The Great Migration” can be watched in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on the planet. Termed as 8th new wonder of the world, the Wildebeest Migration is a dramatic story. It takes place within Kenya and is the greatest wildlife show on earth. Each year around 1.5 million Wildebeest and 300,000 Zebra and various species of Antelope gather up their young and start their long trek from Tanzania’s Serengeti plains to Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. The Wildebeests go in search of food and water. It’s a tough journey, and every year an estimated 250,000 Wildebeest don’t make it. But still every year, the cycle is repeated, with the animals following their strong migratory instinct and attempting to defy Crocodile-infested rivers, wild currents, and flocks of predators lying in wait. From July to October, the grazing animals take a four-monthlong trek towards the Mara River. In desperate need of water to drink and grass to graze, the countless herds need to cross the river to reach the lush, green grasslands in Maasai Mara. The world’s most spectacular sight is the mass crossing of the swollen Mara River. Maasai Mara is located in the South-western of Kenya, 290 kilometres from Nairobi. The abundance of wildlife and the

INTERVIEW

WILDLIFE SPECTACLE: Wildebeest migration is a sight to watch for wildelife lovers

remoteness of the reserve implant memories that no money can buy. Wildebeest Migration is a sight to behold when on your wildlife safari and it’s even more awesome watching it on the ground or with Mara balloon Safaris. Watching this wonder from the sky is a life time experience. Maasia Mara Balloon safari is known as one of the best safari experiences in the world and watching the migration there is simply great. The wildebeest migration phenomenon is so huge that satellites miles away in space are able to capture the surge as a black moving mass on the plains of East Africa.

“Bottom-up approach has done us wonders”

After the Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) won the Golden Peacock Award for environmental management, Hari Kumar, Vice-President, Engineering and Maintenance, explained to Nidhi Sharma how staff and management involvement and specialised measures have helped the airport become a green airport. Bengaluru International Airport has recently won the Golden Peacock award for its environmental efforts. We would like to know about BIAL’s vision for the environment. Bengaluru airport is the gateway to not just Karnataka, but South India as well. To achieve our ambition of being an environment-friendly airport, we follow the bottom-up approach, where there is total involvement of staff and management. There are weekly meetings and we absorb ideas and utilise the good ones. We are looking at the examples of various reputed international airports like Schipol, Amsterdam and following their example of specialisation at every step. This is required to achieve a high standard of quality and performance. Our present terminal is being expanded and revamped. We will have a second runway and taxiway by 2015 and the new terminal should also follow these developments. Ours is the first company to get a green company award and we have spent 20 per cent more to make the airport a green building. Importantly, we have no boring and through our water management scheme, we have raised the ground water level by 1.5 metres. However, we are making efforts to manage more quantity of water for our requirements. We have 315 recharge wells for the purpose. Moreover, the nearby villages are also now coming in our support of our green endeavour.

Q. A.

Ê The Bengaluru airport is certainly one-of-its-kind, but

many complain that it is far from the city… Yes, distance is a problem, but one that will be soon solved. A 20-km stretch of the National Highway 7 between the Hebbal

AWARDED: Hari Kumar, Vice President, Engineering and Maintainance, BIAL, receiving the Golden Peacock Award for environmental management by Dr Karan Singh, MP, in the presence of Jury Chairman, Former Chief Justice of India PN Bhagavati.

flyover and the airport is being widened to create a service lane and accommodate the high-speed rail link project by Bengaluru Metro Rail Corp. Ltd (BMRCL). This project aimed at shortening travel time between Bengaluru’s city centre and the airport to as little as 25 minutes will become operational most probably by 2014. Ê Are you facing any difficulties in the process? There are small challenges like waste management which costs `80 lakh annually. Waste in airport has a different meaning as it can cause damage to aircraft and also wildlife later. The nearby villagers could not understand the environmental repercussions of this, but now they have been guided into the right mindset. Moreover, when the nearby area will develop, we will face certain practical problems. Ê Is the government supportive of your efforts? The government has been supportive, although finance is a problem with it presently. In fact, we have tried helping it where we can.

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WHAT IS IT? A BIRD,

PLANE, OR YVES ROSSY?

LIKE A BIRD: The Jetman flying in formation with a pair of jetplanes

FLYING HIGH: Yves Rossy soaring the skies with his hi-tech jet backpack

f Icarus were alive today, he would not be too happy with Yves Rossy. Try as hard as he could, poor Icarus crashed to earth in his lone attempt to fly. But our 53-year-old Swiss pilot is not one to take no for an answer and has been time and again proving to the world that man can fly — with wings and on a jet. Yves Rossy has been creating history by soaring through the skies with a system developed by him that comprises a back pack with semi-rigid airplane-type carbon-fiber wings, with a span of about 2.4 metres (7.9 feet), powered by four attached Jet-Cat P200 jet engines modified from large-model, kerosene-fuelled, aircraft engines. These unique feats of Yves have earned him nicknames such as Airman, Jetman, Rocketman and Fusionman. He has featured in an episode of Stan Lee’s Superhumans and appeared on the BBC’s Top Gear. The adventures of this Swiss pilot’s taking to the skies over various locations are very engrossing and they started in November 2006 in Bex, Switzerland. Then in 2008, he successfully flew across the English Channel and Swiss Alps. Rossy made an attempt to cross the Strait of Gibraltar in November 2009, but strong winds and cloud banks forced him to ditch into the sea. He was picked up ten minutes later by his support helicopter three miles from the Spanish coast. Demonstrating the increasing level of control Rossy has with his fourengined wing, the Swiss pilot, on November 26, 2010, performed a series of aerial acrobatics above the Alps and flew in formation with a pair of jetplanes. It was on May 7, 2011, that Rossy flew across the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Recently on May 2, 2012, the Jetman once performed an incredible act by flying over the Rio De Janerio skyline and landing on Copacabana beach. About his achievements, Rossy claims: “I have the approach of a professional pilot with the respect of a pioneer in front of Mother Nature.”

CRUISING HEIGHTS August 2012