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Rs 60

January 2008

2008 GOOD FOR AIR CARGO

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3rd National Quality Conclave

QUALITY FOR NATIONAL WELL-BEING 16 -17 February, 2008 New Delhi, India The conclave will be addressed by distinguished national and international speakers

Former President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the inauguration of Second National Quality Conclave in New Delhi on February 9, 2007

Sessions on: Quality in Food sector Public services Education Hospitals and healthcare services Environment, CDM Lean SMEs Sharing of experiences — presentation by award winning companies

Six Sigma practices

Economics of Quality

Special registration fee for full-time students (Management & Engineering) Last conclave was attended by over 800 delegates For further details on sponsorship opportunities and registration, please contact: Quality Conclave Secretariat Quality Council of India Institution of Engineers Building, 2 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi – 110 002 Tel: 011 2337 9321, 2337 0567, Fax: 011 2337 9621 Email: nbqp@qcin.org, sg@qcin.org

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S NOTE

Apply it equally!

T

ravellers, rejoice! Soon, you will have the option of landing at Palam airport in Delhi or at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh or at Jhajjar in Haryana! Wow, India is going the UK way. There are four other airports around Heathrow, so why not two around Palam?

Palam is already being modernised and the Greater Noida proposal is in the final stage of approval. It should take weeks, not months, for the government to clear it. What Mantriji wants, Mantriji gets. And he has been pushing real hard for this airport. But as I had written many moons ago, there is a bit of a “kahin pe nigahen, kahin pe nishana” subterfuge in this whole exercise.

The Greater Noida project is being pushed through for two obvious reasons. For one, it pleases Behenji Mayawati, who — for reasons altruistic and otherwise — wants the airport, just as she wants to connect Greater Noida with Varanasi by road! After all, she heads a political party and so too, does Praful Patel’s mentor and political boss, Sharad Pawar. So, why not have a few IOUs handy for future use.

Second, and more important, once the UP project gets the go-ahead, what’s to stop Jhajjar in Haryana from getting an airport of its own? Well, this township is a stone’s throw from Gurgaon where the Mukesh Ambani-driven ambitious SEZ is coming up and they want to set up their own airport. The Haryana Chief Minister has already written pushing for it and it is more than likely that he will get it.

To be fair to Praful, he has time and again said that he will be taking a hard relook at the 150-km rule, considering that other cities in the world have more than one airport, and it will help drive competition and expand the

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

market. So far, if he hadn’t done it, he stated, it was because, the government was bound by the ground rules. And in this case, the ground rule was that it wouldn’t approve of an airport within 150 km of an existing one.

That’s the reason why the GMR-led DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd) that — is modernising the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Palam — is crying foul.

Strangely, what applies in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, doesn’t apply to the south of the Vindhyas. So, you have a situation where the country’s two biggest airports in the private sector — the new airport at Shamshabad in Hyderabad and the one at Devanhalli in Bangalore — will open to traffic two months down the line and you will have the spectacle of Begumpet closing down for ever and HAL in Bangalore returning to its owners, the Air Force.

State Chief Minister Y. S. Rajashekar Reddy is already salivating at the prospect of a real estate bonanza. The land must be worth a huge, huge amount, running into thousands of crores and the idea is to commercialise it. This will be a monumental tragedy really. Logically, Begumpet is perfectly placed to be the country civil aviation training centre. Indian Airlines (now Air India) has its CTE (Central Training Establishment) in the city and all its Airbus simulators are parked there.

Why can’t Begumpet be converted into a world-class training centre? After all, aren’t we crying hoarse at the shortage of pilots, engineers and support staff? After RaiBareilly and Gondia, Hyderabad could be the next big hub for freshers.

Also, Mantriji, don’t you think the laws apply equally to either side of the Vindhyas?

So, if the airports will be approved around Delhi, how can you talk of closing down airports elsewhere under the same rule?

After all kahin pe nigahen, kahin pe nishana needs to be applied equally!

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Air travellers in New York state had something to celebrate on the New Year day as a new law was introduced to penalise the airlines if they failed to provide adequate services to passengers stuck on the airport tarmac.

According to PTI, the law — first of its kind in the United States — would obligate airlines operating in the state to provide water, snacks, fresh air and working toilet facilities to the passengers stuck on tarmac in a plane for more than three hours.

But it does not obligate the carrier to take passengers off the plane as ‘deplanements’ are not within the jurisdiction of the state.

It would also require the air carrier to explain to the stranded passengers their rights and the way to file a complaint. The carriers found violating the law could be fined $1000 per passenger.

The law also provides for setting up an Office of Airline Consumer Advocate within the Consumer Protection Board. The advocate would refer any violations to the state attorney general’s office, which can seek civil penalties.

The law has stood the test of judicial review. A federal judge in Albany, capital of New York state, has already rejected the challenge mounted by the Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, and that could encourage other states to write similar laws.

The lawmakers wrote the law following a series of lengthy delays during which passengers were confined in planes for several hours, in some cases without food, water and with overflowing toilets.

The incidents generally occurred when planes were diverted because of weather conditions from other airports.

The air transport industry says that the law is unnecessary as such incidents are a very rare occurrence.

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contents

WHERE IS MY PILOT? p24 As the airline business continues to heat up, India faces a critical shortage of pilots? Is there a way out of the shortfall or will it be an endless stream of expats flying over the Indian skies?

PERISCOPE NEWS DIGEST

p12

It is no surprise that SriLankan is right on top. A close look at the year’s top performers.

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

p4

In the aviation world of pilot shortages, women are becoming a force to reckon with and in India, they are keeping pace with men. Some facts and figures about Indian women aviators.

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

OFF THE RECORD p6 V. K. Verma has retired and Captain Sharma has arrived at the crease.

Will Deepak Brara be the next to take guard or will it be Anita? More tales from Air India.

CRUISING HEIGHTS K. SRINIVASAN Editor-in-Chief

TIRTHANKAR GHOSH Managing Editor

R. KRISHNAN Consulting Editor

AALOK SRIVASTAV

CARGO

Copy Editor

p32

Air cargo in the country has not lagged behind passenger traffic. Airfreight has not only registered around 20 per cent growth in the last three years but has gone far ahead of railways and shipping. But there is still a long way to go. A look at what’s in store in 2008.

BIRENDRA KUMAR Proof-Reader

RUCHI SINHA PRADEEP JHA Layout Artists

BHART BHARDWAJ Art Director

H.C. TIWARI Co-ordinating Photo Editor

RAJIV SINGH Gen. Manager (Admn.)

RENU MITTAL

GLOBETROTTING EXTRAORDINARY RAJASTHAN

p37

A special focus on the splendid fare that awaits tourists in Rajasthan.

SNIPPETS

p22

Aircraft that heal themselves and tales about the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin’s play-acting in the air and on the ground.

p42

Creative Travels wins top award, Deccan crosses the 15-million passenger mark, Jet celebrates the flying of over 75 million passengers in the last 14 years and more.

BACK PAGE

p48

Fifty years of jet flying. It’s the golden jubilee of the 707.

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

Executive Director

JAYA SINGH Subscription

Editorial & Marketing office: Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd. C-15, Sector 6, Noida 201 301 Telefax: +91-120-4257701-03 All information in CRUISING HEIGHTS is derived from sources we consider reliable.

It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. Opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract or in interviews are not necessarily shared by us. Material appearing in the magazine cannot be reproduced in whole or in part(s) without prior permission. The publisher assumes no responsibility for material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication, error or failure of advertisement to appear.

Owned and published by K. Srinivasan 4C Pocket-IV, Mayur Vihar Phase-I, Delhi 110091 and printed by him at Nutech Photolithographers, B-240, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi 110 020 Vol II No 9

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Thumbs up

PERISCOPE

“

We are very happy that Boeing is putting up its MRO at Nagpur. These facilities will be used by Qatar Airways… With over 120 airplanes in its fleet, we will always have the opportunity to use the facilities

Qatar Airways CEO AKBAR AL BAKER on using the facilities coming up at Nagpur

LETTERS TO EDITOR

YOUR COVER STORY (Stemming the losses, December 2007) rightly pointed out the losses made by Air India and Indian. Both Air India and Indian are passing through a dull phase, and incurring losses like never before. Though, both the carriers have a significant presence in the civil aviation arena, they are losing credibility as compared to other private airlines.

P. Dass, New Delhi December 2007

Rs 60

The cover story was an eye-opener. I was really pained to read about the troubles that passengers flying Air India have been going through. As a regular Air Indian, I can relate to the plight suffered by the passengers. The delays of flights by these airlines are much to the passenger’s discomfort and they are caught on the wrong foot, as they can't do much about that. As rightly pointed out in the story, Air India and Indian airlines are not new airlines but they are still grappling with simple problems like flight delays.

Surendra Puri, Patna

Illustrations: Rajeev Kumar

The story on the Dubai Airshow (Up, up and away, December 2007) presented some startling facts about the aviation scene in the world. The civil aviation scenario has undergone a sea change over the years, thanks to shows like the Paris and Dubai Airshows. The Dubai Airshow 2007 would certainly go down in history as a water mark.

Kunal Singh, Ahmedabad

4

Smart moves take SriLankan Cargo ahead (Cargo, December 2007) made interesting reading. As amply illustrated, SriLankan Cargo has broken new grounds.

Even though it is a tiny island nation, SriLankan has nurtured aircargo like its baby and has set an example for bigger nations to follow.

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

Multi-pound venture

There is going to be a joint venture with UnderFivePound.com and we are in the final stages of tying up with the UK-based online retailer. We would be adhering to the regulations governing retail in the country and would be having a majority stake of 51 per cent, while our exclusive partner would hold the balance. With this joint venture, we are making a foray into merchandising and would commence operations by next year

Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet SAMYUKTH SRIDHARAN on their new venture

Looking ahead We have to prepare a growth plan for the period 5-7 years after we receive the last aircraft in December 2011. The plan should ensure that we get aircraft from the beginning of 2012 itself. So we need to firm-up plans now Air India CMD V. THULASIDAS on the need for new aircraft

That’s not true!

The reports are factually incorrect and misleading. The proposed new airport is one of the various initiatives of the Maharashtra government for the development of Vidarbha region and not aimed at the convenience of the President.

The President is very much concerned about the farmers’ issues in the country, particularly of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra from where farmers’ suicides were reported A spokesman of the President on the proposed airport at Amravati for the convenience of Rashtrapati PRATIBHA PATIL

Mantrispeak We will not only penalise them but also make them refund the money collected on account of tax Civil Aviation Minister PRAFUL PATEL on the “cartelisation by airline companies” in collecting cash under the guise of tax

We have a committee which goes into all such issues before taking a decision... only the three service chiefs have been included... there is no question of opening a Pandora’s box on the issue PRAFUL PATEL on granting ‘frisking exempt’ to V V IPs

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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Woman power in the skies

India has the largest number of women pilots in the world: around 250 commercial pilots.

Sarla Thakral was India's first woman to fly an aircraft in 1966.

The first all-women crew flight took off with Captain Saudamini Deshmukh in command in November 1985 on the Calcutta-Silchar route.

Nivedita Bhasin of IA became the youngest woman pilot in the world civil aviation history to command a commercial jet aircraft in 1990 at the age of 26.

Captain Mamatha K., the first woman pilot from

HIGH FLIERS: Bavicca with mother Judith

Andhra Pradesh is also the first woman to set up an aviation academy.

Mumbai-based 19-year-old Bavicca Bharathi and her 40-year-old mother Judith, are possibly the only mother-daughter duo in the world to hold CPLs. Mukesh Ambani plans to employ only women pilots to fly most of his cargo planes.

Women pilots in the Air Force, fly non-combat planes and serve a shorter term than men.

Women have the advantage of logging in more jet hours, learning to fly heavier aircraft and preparing them for a career in commercial piloting.

COLD STATS

LOOKING GLASS

Ready for reverse merger...

Foggy issues It’s a matter of policy that we have chosen to keep Delhi out of some of our airline routes. These include the DelhiAmritsar-Birmingham-Toronto and Amritsar-London-New York flights, which will not stop at Delhi since conditions during fog are not favourable Air India Executive Director (northern region) D. S. KOHLI on the fog and the Maharaja

All airlines have been told that only CAT III- trained pilots should fly during fog period slots. If a flight is cancelled due to unavailability of a trained pilot during such a slot without prior information to passengers, the airline will not be given a slot during the fog period KANU GOHAIN, Director, DGCA, on airlines and the fog

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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OFF THE RECORD

BRARA, ANITA AND VERMA — MORE TALES FROM AIR INDIA

F

inally, after close to a decade and three quarters of service at Air India, the engineer from the Indian Railways has retired. For those of you who are unaware, K. Verma who superannuated on December 31, spent years in the Indian Railways after graduating from their engineering college in Jamalpur and moved to AI during Madhavrao Scindia’s stewardship of Civil Aviation, has retired as the Director (Commercial) of the Maharaja.

No successor has been appointed and at the moment Chairman and Managing Director V. Thulasidas is handling the chore with some help from Executive Director Deepak Brara and Manjira Khurana. While Manjira is fine-tuning the in-flight services, Deepak is looking at the routes. Insiders state that big things are

likely to happen in February when exciting new plans will be unveiled. Will a new CD be appointed to oversee the job or will it continue to be under the charge of the CMD? That Thulasidas has chosen to keep commercial under his charge for the moment would signify that he wants to tweak the product as he sees it fit. It is no secret that both he and Verma weren’t the best of friends and theirs was a strained relationship — to put it mildly.

The general inference was that with one CD having retired, the other CD, in this case Indian’ Anita Khurana would get the top job. But for the moment, Thulasidas has chosen to have her continue at Cargo that, of course, she has handled for years.

Also, what happens to V. K.Verma Is it ‘finito’ as far as the airline sector is

CHALLENGING

TASK

For those of you who are keen

to know what the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s agenda for 2008 is,

here is some news. It is a pretty challenging menu of assignments that they have set up for themselves. In a note to his fellow civil servants, Secretary Ashok Chawla spelt out the agenda and said that “needless to add” the monitoring process will be under the watchful eyes of Mantriji and Secretaryji!

Ministry

Civil Aviation Policy Greenfield Airports Policy Establishment of Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) Cargo Action Plan 2015 ATF — Pricing and taxation issues India Aviation 2008 Follow up of deliberations of National Conference on Civil Aviation (18.1.2008) Environmental baseline study Carriage by Air Act Bilaterals— ASEAN Open Sky Agreement — EC ‘Horizontal Agreement’ — U.K. Open Sky Agreement

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The List (clockwise from top, left) : V Thulasidas, Deepak Brara, V.K. Verma, Manjira Khurana, Anita Khurana and Vishwapati Trivedi concerned? Is he now going to focus on the Commonwealth Games and his own position as the President of the Badminton Federation of India? Or, is there something else in the offing? If reports are to be believed, Verma will have an aviation-related assignment in the near future. For the moment, he wants to soak in his free time and take it easy for a few weeks, before picking up the reigns again.

Meanwhile, Captain A.K. Sharma, the Maharaja’s man in London for years, has finally been appointed as Executive Director (Ground Handling). Under the vigilance scanner for years, Sharma clearly has friends who support him and a minister who is sympathetic to him. Appointed as general manager at Delhi airport, he will now move to Mumbai in his new position. The beauty is that he gets his EDship from September 2006.

But there are several others too, waiting for justice and if reports are to be believed, the minister is keen to resolve all these issues in the next two months. But, there are others who believe that irrespective of ministerial intervention, justice isn’t possible and the only way out for them is a writ in the High Court.

Finally, what about the advertisement seeking a new CMD for Air India? Those in

DGCA

Reorganisation and strengthening of DGCA Identification of five main user interface parameters and their intensive monitoring [To be identified by JS (A) in consultation with the DGCA] Setting up of separate Air Accident Investigation Board/ Authority BASA with USA DGCA Bhawan

Kolkata and Chennai airport upgrade Targeted monitoring of nonmetro airports a) Air side b) City side

Airports Authority of India

Restructuring and strengthening of AAI

Air Navigation Services Roadmap 2010 (Phase 1)/ 2020 (Phase II) a) Hardware b) Software, including manpower c) Civil-Military cooperation for fIexi use of airspace d) Air Traffic Flow Management streamlining

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) Reorganisation/strengthening of BCAS BCAS building Security Training Academy

c) Call Centre d) Strategic Business Units (SBUs) e) Star Alliance f) ESOP

Airports Master Plan 2020

Air India

Focus on integration issues a) Network integration b) PSS

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

Identification of five critical parameters and their intensive monitoring [To be identified by JS(R) in consultation with CMD, AI].

Pawan Hans

Fleet expansion Heliports

Indira Gandhi Udan Academy

Management Contract

National Flying Training Institute, Gondia

JV formation and downstream activities.

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OFF THE RECORD

the know say that much mustn’t be read into the ad, considering that the ministry has a job to do: at least three months before a CMD’s term expires, the process of choosing his successor must be put in motion.

“But that doesn’t mean that you will necessarily have a successor,” said one officer with a wink.

So, what are the options?

The most obvious, and the one that seems to carry the most weight, is the continuation of Thulasidas at the helm for another year to contain the turbulence and stabilise the airline. Without a doubt, Thulasidas is formidably networked in the capital. He has friends both, in the ministry and in the power centre that matter. Most important, the minister apparently isn’t against his continuation.

But there is a small but powerful lobby of civil servants and Air Indians (if one may be permitted to use that word) who have sprung into action to lobby against any superannuated bureaucrat continuing on

extension. Many of them have spent endless months waiting to be secretary and they most certainly don’t want to continue to wait.

As far as the internal dissidents are concerned, their grouse is that the CMD has ignored them for long, that the airline isn’t getting any better and if anything is required it is a complete dose of fresh thinking and initiative. Many of them are also deeply upset at the manner in which transfers and promotions have been dealt with in the last few months.

There is also a view that by leaving the field wide open to civil servants without necessarily any background of the subject, the ministry is keeping all its options open.

Maybe, it will find a suitable bureaucrat to succeed Thulasidas. In any case, it is unlikely that the entire process of short-listing, interviewing and approval from the ACC will come before the entire of the present incumbent’s term.

If there were Ladbrokes in India, the odds on Thulasdidas continuing would have

CELEBRATING SAFETY!

8

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

been one on ten. In other words, he continues to be frontrunner.

Finally, where does it leave the Joint Managing Director Vishwapati Trivedi who operates from the capital? When the two airlines were merged, a new job was created for the former CMD of Indian (Airlines) in the form of the Joint MDship. Logically speaking, and the number two in the airline, a former CMD and a man cleared just three years ago by the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) must be the frontrunner or the clearly defined successor.

That he is not being viewed in some quarters as that, has its own tale to tell.

There are many — insiders again — who are working against his candidacy and many in the ministry too, who are doing their best to stop him.

But Trivedi too, has his own band of supporters. And he has connections within the political system also. Clearly, he too realises that if he doesn’t get the top job, its ‘finito’ for him too, considering the JMD’s job is only there till March. It isn’t part of the NACIL memorandum and was a one-off ACC aberration.

Hold on! Considering this is the age of reality TV and wild card entries, do we see one in the form of Raghu Menon? Will the plain-speaking Additional Secretary apply for the top job? He did, when Trivedi was selected at Air India. But strangely, the PESB turned his case down saying he was a Joint Secretary, while short-listing Additional Secretaries from the states (which Raghu too, was).

Part of the jury (or the selection committee) will be Ashok Chawla. But the Secretary, Civil Aviation continues to be enigmatic, inscrutable and indecipherable as ever.

All good traits for a civil servant!

I

t must be a bit of an irony for the DGCA’s Kanu Gohain that during the seven days that he was busy with the Air Safety week, his minders caught a pilot drunk — the second such incident in three months, and found that airline personnel were lackadaisical when it came to preflight meetings. Here, one is not even going into the cross-runway operations and the near miss at Delhi-that came a week after the flight safety week or the Sushil Modi ‘back break’ that happened after safety had been reassured.

Nonetheless, the safety mission that the DGCA and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as service providers have initiated, is an interesting addition to the busy aviation calendar of the country. If you congratulate Gohain, he looks towards Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan and says unabashedly: “Sab Mantriji ka leadership hai.”

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The Airports Authority of India Chairman is more subdued: “The Honourable Minister has always expressed his desire for safe skies. We are one of the safest skies in the world and we want to make it better and better all the time.”

So, what happened during the flight safety week? Well, there was a day-long

seminar, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel addressed the valedictory, airlines got into the act and put their systems through the check and there was a huge media blitz to educate and inform the travelling public about all that the government was doing to improve our skies.

As Gohain candidly admitted: “With so

NEWS, VIEWS, INSIGHTS

many stories about near misses, jackals and dogs on the runway and drunk pilots… public perception is being constantly affected” The idea was to “illuminate” them about all that was being done.

To be fair, though, to Gohain, he is right in a sense. The media that swamped Praful soon after his speech, had everything to ask him — but not about safety — about the controversy between GMR and the government over the lease of land at the airport. And, that actually, was next day’s headline!

WAJAHAT HABIBULLAH Chief Information Commissioner

V N KAUL Comptroller and Auditor General

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NEWS DIGEST

Boeing B

oeing Company sold 1413 commercial jets in 2007 and delivered 441 planes during the year — its best performance in the last six years. Its star performer was the singleaisle Boeing 737 followed by mid-sized long haul Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is scheduled to begin test flights by spring this year. Airbus Industrie is yet to make its details known, though, till November 2007, it had delivered 410 planes and booked 1204 orders. If the Dubai air show orders are included, it is quite likely that Airbus SAS may go past the winning post.

However, Boeing’s numbers include cancellations and conversions. So, till we have those details for Airbus, a comparison will not be right. Notwithstanding this annual intellectual exercise, the delay in the delivery of Dreamliner Boeing 787 to Air India by five months, from September 2008 to February 2009, has forced the Maharaja to seek monetary compensation from Boeing and also expeditious delivery of 787s scheduled for later months. The exact nature of compensation to be sought by Air India is not yet known. However, Boeing company feels only the first batch of aircraft will get delayed and subsequent deliveries will be on time.

As it is, Air India is going to induct 20 aircraft in 2008 and these are five Boeing 777s, four Boeing 737s, eight Airbus A320s and three CRJs. The 27 Boeing 787s are now expected to be

12

Vs Airbus delivered between February 2009 and October 2011. Air India is planning to switch over to 787 from the present 747 on the India-Japan route. At least two, or may be three, of its long range Boeing 777-200 LRs may be delivered by Boeing company, with extra fuel tank, so that Air India can be a pioneer in flying non-stop from the Indian Silicon Valley of Bangalore to the original Silicon Valley in US: San Francisco.

While the legal merger of Air India and Indian is over, the integration process is on. So, as one heard, the new merged airline under the aegis of National Aviation Company of India CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

Limited (NACIL) is on a consolidation move and as a consequence, the earlier mighty plans of acquiring between 140 and 200 aircraft between 2012 and 2017, have been shelved. Though the Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla did not say so in so many words, he has indicated that the number of aircraft that Air India may actually be buying could be much smaller than earlier anticipated, and would be nowhere near the fancy USD 10 billion order.

At one stage it was being speculated that Air India would buy 10 Airbus A380s, 40 A350s, 59 A320s, 39 Boeing 737s and about 20 CRJs. This fancy plan has been buried because the Congress Party, as a leading coalition partner in UPA, does not want to get into fresh controversy. Separately, officials in Air India informed CH that the Airbus A350-1000, the Maharaja wants, will not be ready before, say, 2016-17.

In any case, the financials of the combined airline is so bad that it could no longer undertake a “financial adventure”. This observation of Air Indian is in line with what the bureaucratic boss had in mind when he said the order could be much smaller. Or else, the Ministry of Civil Aviation will not be considering the request of Air India for a huge Rs 1,000 crore financial package to keep itself afloat, if not in flight.

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NEWS DIGEST

Get me some controllers!

T

here is and will be, a shortage of 526 Air Traffic Controllers in India, in less than three months from now. The shortage will get accentuated as more airports manage to upgrade themselves with private or public-private participation. Obviously,

bigger and better equipped airport will attract more airlines and hence traffic that will get translated into the need for more ATCs. As against the sanctioned strength of 1707, there are 1504 ATCOs. In addition, 167 and 156 ATCOs will be required for the

INFRASTRUCTURE

NEWS New airport in President's hometown

new airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore that are scheduled to become operational in March 2008. The shortage arose due to sudden and unprecedented growth of air traffic in the recent years, according to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in an answer to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha, in the recently-concluded winter session of parliament, in December 2007.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already recruited 383 ATCOs and is in the process of recruiting 148 more. According to the recruitment plan of AAI, the shortage of ATCOs may be overcome by middle of 2009. However, the way air traffic is growing, not only domestically but also international movements — in and out of India — and with the possibility of more airports like Hyderabad and Bangalore, besides Chennai and Kolkata becoming international hubs for fast expanding domestic carriers other than Air India, the actual need for ATCOs could be even more.

Some in AAI think that the pressing into service of GAGAN may actually make the job of ATC easier and, therefore, increase the capacity to handle more aircraft movement. If the NDA government was an era of disinvestment, the UPA government has

Initially, the Airports Authority of India and the Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) had considered upgrading the existing airstrip of 1200 metres at Amravati, but found that NH no. 6 and the Yavatmal-Amravati highway were coming in the way. So, a decision was taken to build a new airport that would enable the President and her family to fly directly to their hometown.

Nagpur airport is only a three-hour drive to Amravati and there is no logic for such a huge investment. However, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel is supporting the proposal.

AAI to have mobile command posts

The central and state governments have decided to spend a whopping Rs 400 crore to build a new airport at Amravati, President Pratibha Patil's hometown.

14

Airports Authority of India (AAI) will establish Mobile Command Post (MCP), a high-tech safety service, at its 66 big airports to combat and co-ordinate all kinds of aviation emergencies, with an investment of around Rs 100 crore.

MCP will be ultra-modern heavy-duty trucks that will be mounted with satellite-enabled and wireless based communication systems to control post-mishap situations in coordination with civil authorities. It will serve as the single point of disaster management at these airports.

It is part of AAI’s safety upgradation programme to meet the higher safety standards at all international and major domestic airports, which have seen massive jump in air-traffic in recent years.

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

TOPPING THE CHARTS Name of the Airport / State 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Top Profit Making Airports (2004-07) 1 IGI Airport 34491.29 51453.27 48234.41 Rs. in Lakhs 2 Mumbai Airport 31552.33 49537.72 47521.43 70000 3 Chennai 14930.94 19161.08 30632.88 4 Bangalore 6204.53 12105.57 16282.02 60000 5 Kolkata 7482.47 5215.92 8079.93 6 Pune 639.94 1477.87 1992.58 50000 7 Juhu 874.52 1043.86 1196.17 8 Hyderabad 2665.34 7327.25 16151.79 40000 9 Goa 1326.64 2328.74 3735.6 10 Calicut 496.17 1404.09 1879.34 49537.72 47521.43

Pune

Juhu

Hyderabad

Goa

Calicut

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

496.17 1404.09 1879.34

874.52 1043.86 1196.17

Kolkata

1326.64 2328.74 3735.6

639.94 1477.87 1992.58

Bangalore

1

10000

2004-05

2665.34 7327.25 16151.79

14930.94 19161.08

Chennai

20000

7482.47 5215.92 8079.93

30632.88

31552.33

30000

6204.53 12105.57 16282.02

S. No.

Mumbai Airport

certainly injected more of private entrepreneurship in public management. For starters, the Ministry of Civil Aviation floated some time back, the idea of hiving of ATC from AAI and letting it be managed by a separate Air Traffic Control Corporation.

This was an idea that had been slowly gathering momentum since the last meeting of CANSO at Kochi in May 2007, and where bigwigs of global ATCs like NATS from UK had participated. The original idea of corporatising ATC came from the recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee set up by NDA. However, there was too little time for NDA to consider it.

So, obviously, some bright guys in UPA thought it would be a good idea to consider it now. But poor chaps had not thought of the Left who are present and exerting huge pressure on UPA but were nowhere to be seen during the NDA days.

So, when Praful’s men seriously thought of this idea, the Left came down on it by taking away Kolkata and Chennai airport modernisation and entrusting it to AAI. In a communication to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Left leader and Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Tourism and Transport, Sitaram Yechury stated that the proposal will have a negative impact on the growth and performance of AAI. Instead of implementing the recommendation of according ‘Mini Ratna’ status

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IGI Airport

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2005-06 2006-07

Would you believe there is another airport in Bombay apart from Chatrapati Shivaji airport, which makes profit, i.e. Old Juhu Airport? Listed above are 10 of the top profit-making airports in the country, over the last three years. For your information, five other airports that are also profit-making include Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Jammu and Port Blair.

to AAI as recommended by the Committee on Infrastructure headed by the Prime Minister, his government was trying to split AAI to form a separate ATC Corporation.

This would further weaken AAI and dry up

Each of the truck will have a GPS based satellite navigation, satellite phones and wireless sets, faxes, TV cameras and monitors to aid safety measures. Initially, MCP will be installed at the key airports — Kolkata, Amritsar, Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai and will later be standardised at all the 66 airports, all of which are equipped with AAI’s fire safety services.

The new service is likely to be incorporated at the airports by mid-2008 and AAI is in the process of finalising tender quotations for MCP. The equipment is also expected to come up at the Delhi and Mumbai airports, which are being modernised by private consortiums, where AAI is also a major stakeholder.

Volvo to Devanahalli airport and Shamshabad Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has announced a tentative traffic plan to operate Volvo bus service from eight points in the city to the international airport at Devanahalli and invited suggestions from the public about the plan.

Meanwhile, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), which is developing the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, where over 92 per cent work is already completed, has awarded airport shuttles concession to Shree Raj Travels & Tours Limited for a period of seven years.

Once the airport is commissioned on March 16, 2008, 125 air-conditioned airport shuttle buses will ferry passengers to the airport at 15-minute intervals during peak hours and at 30minute intervals at non-peak times. The price per trip is expect-

its profits. “Airspace management and provision of ATC is a sovereign function of the government, due to security of air space and should, therefore, continue to be with a government organisation,” Yechury said.

ed to be below Rs 100.

India Aviation 2008 at Hyderabad Hyderabad will host ‘India Aviation 2008,’ the first international exhibition on the civil aviation sector, in October this year. Begumpet airport will be the venue for the biennial air show, which will be conducted along the lines of the biennial Bangalore-based Yelahanka defence air show.

The four-day event, beginning October 15, 2008, would provide a perfect business platform for aviation companies to leverage on the booming aviation sector in India.

A joint statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), joint organisers of India Aviation 2008, said that Hyderabad was well connected to all international destinations, had a strong presence of IT companies and many star hotels.

According to the statement, Farnborough International Limited of UK would be the overseas partner for the event.

The exhibitors’ profile would include aircraft, aircraft machinery and equipment as well as aircraft interiors, airlines, airline services and air cargo, education, training and skill development, airport infrastructure and airport city-side developers.

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NEWS DIGEST

I want an airport !

I

Praful Patel

Bhupinder Singh Hooda

f sharing of river water caused interstate disputes and discomfort to the Centre, location of airports has become the new cause for such differences. When the Union Cabinet decided in 1997 that there should be a distance separation of 150 kilometres between two airports, no one thought it could become a bone of contention between two contending states. A full ten years later in 2007, that it has become so, is evident from the fact that the present UPA government is now examining ways by which the earlier cabinet decision of 1997 can be changed without inviting legal trouble.

Way back in 2001, the UP government represented to the then NDA government

Parkash Singh Badal

that it should be allowed to develop a Greenfield airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, which is about 72 km from the present site of IGI airport being modernised by GMR. GMR did its best to impress upon the powers that be that it would be against the official policy of not locating a new airport within the 150 km radius; but the Ministry of Civil Aviation thought otherwise and brought about enormous pressure on the Prime Minister to get its Greater Noida airport project, now a pet of Behanji Mayawati, sanctioned.

In one of the meetings of the Committee on Infrastructure, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram stiffly opposed the pleadings of Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. But,

Rehab for Mihan-affected people The multi-modal international passenger and cargo hub at Nagpur (MIHAN) is likely to get a major boost with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh stating that the government would offer a rehabilitation package for the projectaffected persons (PAPs).

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh The MADC is developing MIHAN project and a special economic zone over 4000 hectares around the Nagpur airport. Of this, the SEZ is coming up on 2000 hectares. The state government has formed an SPV between the MADC and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to implement the project and an MoU has also been signed between the two agencies to facilitate transfer of all assets of the Nagpur airport to the MADC. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry has refused to hand over Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur to the newly-formed joint venture company between the Maharashtra government and the ministry, throwing a damper over aspirations of investors in the ambitious Multimodal International Hub Airport and Nagpur (MIHAN) project. The matter is now in the court where a local NGO, Vidarbha Economic Development Council, has filed a public interest litigation demanding the

16

how could we expect the FM to support when he, as one of the key members of the UF government in 1997 and as Finance Minister, supported the decision of the 150 km separation plan. The never-say-die Praful Patel brought enough pressure through his boss Sharad Pawar and got the Union Cabinet to accord in-principle approval to Greater Noida Airport.

While doing so, the Prime Minister has constituted a small GoM with three of his legal eagles to sift through the proposal.

They are FM Chidambaram, Law Minister H. R. Bhardwaj and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, besides, of course, Praful Patel. This group is supposed to submit its findings/recommendations within four weeks so that we will know then whether Mayawati and her BSP is in a position to play ball with a debilitated Congress after poll defeats in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

But as if this controversy was not enough, Praful Patel managed to create another politically hot situation for the Congress-led Haryana government. On January 4, 2008, he visited Chandigarh to preside over the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new Mohali International Airport in Chandigarh. Everything was fine between Praful Patel and Akali Dal Chief (Minister) Prakash Singh Badal till Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda made a dramatic entry into the function.

He wanted that Haryana, which shares

reasons for the delay in the handover.

Replying to a notice by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, the Civil Aviation Ministry had, at first, given an assurance to ensure the smooth transfer of the airport and employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to the new joint venture. However, it failed to give a time frame in which the operation would be completed.

Now, on the court's demand for a time frame, the ministry has, in a detailed affidavit, expressed its inability to spell out any such time limit and maintained that it required the Union Cabinet’s nod for the same. It has stated that the transfer was a “policy matter beyond the scope of judicial review”. The ministry has pointed out that the Union Cabinet is the lone authority with powers to decide on the handing over of assets owned by the Government of India.

Mumbai to have an LCC terminal by 2012 Triggered by high growth of passenger movement recorded by the no-frill airlines, the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) will be setting-up an integrated low-cost terminal for the Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) by 2012 at an estimated cost of more than Rs 250 crore. The MIAL consortium, which is carrying out upgradation and expansion of the

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

I PAY MORE Name of Airline Srilankan Emirates Singapore 16 Lufthansa Thai 14Airways

2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 7.68 9.14 9.21 13.84 4.61 7.9 4.53 5.84 6.36 8 4.57 5.96 7.6 3.82 4.69 13.84

Top Five Airlines Rs. in Crores

12 10

7.6

8

2005-06

3.82

2

4.69

2006-07

5.96

4.57

6.36

5.84

4

4.53

6

2004-05 7.9

8

4.61

the Capital Chandigarh with Punjab, should also be allowed to share the new airport and which should rightly be called the “Chandigarh International Airport”. We do not know if the inscription on the foundation stone was changed from Mohali to Chandigarh.

Last heard was that the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is supposed to build the airport, will work out the appropriate share of the two states in the new airport.

However, all this may not be the last word on the battle royal for “our own airport”.

About two months ago, Deepinder Singh Hooda, a Member of Parliament and son of the Haryana CM shot off a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, seeking his intervention in granting permission to set up a Greenfield airport-cum-cargo air complex within the NCR region falling in Haryana.

In a DO, Hooda Jr sought permission for construction of a brand new airport catering to lower cost passenger services, air cargo, private operators, helicopter services and aircraft maintenance services, at a site covering 4347 acres in Jhajjar. He said the PM should review the current rule of no two airports within a radius of 150 km from each other clause of 1997 airport infrastructure policy.

“Sir, this clause is completely out of sync with the ground realities of aviation industry. The very nature of such restraining policy is anti-competitive and against consumer interests”, he wrote. It may be of interest to know that Jhajjar is 42 km from

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Emirates

Singapore

Lufthansa

Thai Airways

While one thought it was Emirates, which was topping the charts as far as dishing out revenue to the Airports Authority of India as landing and parking charges at various Indian airports is concerned, it is Emirates’ country-cousin SriLankan which actually tops the charts, as you will see from the graph above. One is not surprised that Thai Airways also figures in the list, considering the number of Indians who want to go to Bangkok for massage, sight seeing and what have you.

IGI airport. Significantly, Mukesh Ambani’s Haryana SEZ spanning over 10000 acres, has also been seeking permission for a cargo airport complex in its SEZ and recently one heard officials in MOCA backing the idea of a cargo airport complex and its exception or exemption from the 150 km rule.

So, if all of these do happen then we will have within a 110 km range, not one, not two, but three airports: Jhajjar, IGI and Jew-

Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) plans to shift the existing domestic terminal at Santa Cruz to the international terminal situated at Sahar to make a dedicated low-cost terminal.

The proposed LCC terminal will have 150 check-in counters, 15 rapid taxi-bays, parking slots for more than 60 aircraft and car parking space to accommodate over 5000 vehicles.

MIAL is planning to acquire more than 75000 sq m of land by rehabilitating the adjoining slums to develop rapid taxiways and parking slots.

In the light of the current trend of air traffic at the CSIA, the MIAL consortium had reviewed the blueprint of the upgradation and expansion project and decided recently to have a separate terminal for LCCs. At present, the traffic movement at the CSIA is more than 600 flights per day, that service 50000 passengers daily. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is also the stakeholder in the project, will decide the kind of incentives for the LCCs at the dedicated terminal.

Puducherry, here I come Puducherry (earlier known as Pondicherry) Chief Minister N. Rangaswamy has indicated a keen desire to develop the state's airport at the earliest.

Several information technology majors had evinced interest in setting up shop in Puducherry, provided the airport was operational.

The Airports Authority of India would soon start work to

ar in Greater Noida and, of course, capping it all, the Mohali, nay, Chandigarh International Airport. The real beauty is, Chidambaram, as a member of the UF Cabinet in 1997, did not realise that India in 10 years, will witness a boom in civil aviation, unheard of in global history and that land distances will become an even more constraining factor, notwithstanding the death of distance in this digital age.

expand the runway on the 20 hectares of land handed over to them by the administration. The Tamil Nadu government has also started the process to acquire 70 hectares of land within their jurisdiction, as requested by the territorial administration for further expansion of the airport.

Mr. Rangaswamy said he had taken up the airport expansion project with the Central Government at the recent 54th National Development Council meet. The cooperation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to coordinate the efforts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Governments had been sought, he added.

Gondia, Lucknow expansion moves ahead The Airports Authority of India has awarded expansion projects at Lucknow and Gondia airports to two joint venture companies.

The construction of a new integrated passenger terminal building at Lucknow Airport in Uttar Pradesh has been awarded to a joint venture called IPL Brahmaputra Infrastructure Ltd formed

by Indu Projects Ltd, Hyderabad, and Brahmaputra Consortium Ltd, New Delhi. The contract, valued at Rs 80 crore, is expected to be completed in 18 months.

The work for the construction of a new passenger lounge at Gondia Airport in Maharashtra has also been awarded to a joint venture called Parnika Vishal Consortium Ltd formed by Parnika Constructions Pvt Ltd of Hyderabad and Vishal Constructions of Belgaum, Karnataka. The value of the contract is Rs 41.57 crore. The consortium has already started civil work, which is expected to be completed in 12 months.

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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September 2007

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CRUISING HEIGHTS The right stuff, all the time, on time Get your copy today. Call 91-120-4257701-03 or SMS SUB CH at 53030

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CRUISING HEIGHTS The right stuff, all the time, on time Get your copy today. Call 91-120-4257701-03 or SMS SUB CH at 53030

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NEWS DIGEST

Air India is now in Star Alliance

A

ir India is now part of the 19-member strong Star Alliance network. The CEOs of the Star Alliance member airlines voted to accept Air India’s application at their annual Board Meeting held in Beijing on December 13, 2007.

Welcoming Air India, Glenn Tilton, Chairman and CEO of United Airlines, in his capacity as the Chairman of the meeting, said: “India has long been on the radar of Star Alliance; after all, it is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and aviation markets. Having now come to an agreement with Air India makes us the first airline alliance to secure a member in India, which will enable our customers to receive more benefits when travelling to, from and within India in the future.”

According to V. Thulasidas, Chairman and Managing Director, Air India: "Air India is delighted in being invited to join Star Alliance. This invitation comes in the wake of Air India’s

merger with India’s leading domestic carrier Indian Airlines, thus making Air India the prime player in the Indian subcontinent. In addition, the recently announced fleet expansion of over 100 aircraft will help Air India serve the travelling public better in terms of global reach and services. In being selected as a future Star Alliance member, Air India will add value to passengers patronising member airlines of the alliance.”

The specialised teams at Air India, Star Alliance and its member carriers will now be working on the integration process, which once completed, will make Air India a part of the Star Alliance network, currently consisting of 19 members.

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer customers worldwide reach and a smooth travel experience. Star Alliance was voted ‘Best Airline Alliance’ by Business Traveller Magazine in 2003, 2006 and 2007 and by

Skytrax in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

The members are Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, THAI, United and US Airways. Regional member carriers Adria Airways (Slovenia), Blue1 (Finland) and Croatia Airlines enhance the global network. Air India, EgyptAir and Turkish Airlines have been accepted as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 17000 daily flights to 897 destinations in 160 countries. level, which is at present, about 20 frequencies per week. New services to Bangalore, the IT base in India, and Chennai will also be possible.

The two sides have also exchanged new fifth freedom rights. For example, Indian airlines will be able to operate services to points in North America via Hong Kong under the new arrangements. Hong Kong airlines will be able to operate services to points in Europe, beyond India.

One of the first to take advantage of this new bilateral is Jet Airways that is planning several flights, to the US West Coast from the Chinese city of Shangai.

There are other flights that are likely to be mounted from Hong Hong.

HK, here I come

F

inally, Hong Kong and India have opened the skies with substantial liberalisation of the bilateral air services arrangements. Under the new arrangements, the airlines of the two sides will be able to increase services to Delhi and Mumbai by more than double the existing

20

Jaan Albrecht, CEO, Star Alliance, with V. Thulasidas in Beijing after Air India got the nod to join Star Alliance

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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GLOBETROTTING

AT A GLANCE

Fogged out — in London

Plane, heal thyself

HEAVY FOG CAUSED the cancellation of more than 200 flights at London area airports during the 2007 Christmas rush.

Heathrow Airport was the worst affected, with 169 incoming or outgoing flights cancelled, according to British airports operator BAA. In fact, no flights were able to take off or land at London’s City Airport on the last Sunday of December, due to the fog, forcing about 30 short-haul flights to be cancelled.

Dada’s doings

T

HE FILM The Last King of Scotland, shown in cinemas earlier this year, won an Oscar for Forest Whitaker, the actor playing the role of the notorious Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

It seems that the real Amin was no slouch himself when it came to a bit of play-acting. On June 7, 1977, he caused quite an amount of excitement, both in the air and on the ground, in a number of European capitals.

The previous July, Britain had broken off

22

diplomatic relations with Amin’s Uganda.

As a result, he was not invited to Queen Elizabeth’s silver jubilee celebrations and the Commonwealth conference that was to follow them in London from June 7 onwards. However, he announced that he was going anyway.

In newly-released state papers, a cabinet file shows the government was told Amin would attempt to land in Dublin en route.

No notice had been given to the Irish authorities of General Amin’s intention to come to this country. The Irish government directed that the plane should not be allowed to land except in case of emergency for refueling. The government instructed the airport authorities that in case of an emergency landing, the plane should be sent to a remote part of the airport and no one should be allowed to leave or enter it.

Who was the source of the information that Amin’s plane would land in Dublin?

The most persuasive theory was that the Irish embassy in Paris alerted Dublin, following a message from the French embassy in the Ugandan capital Kampala, which looked after Irish interests there.

There is general agreement that the whole affair was a hoax. An Irish Independent article pointed out that Amin “had the security forces of at least five nations running round in a tizzy, set the wires of European diplomacy humming for more than 12 hours and, most important, distracted the world’s gaze from the glittering London ceremony marking Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee where he had been snubbed’`.

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED technology that will enable airplanes to heal their own skins while the engine parts can

Go ahead and quit

SIR RICHARD BRANSON told Virgin Atlantic staff to quit the airline if they want more money, as cabin crew prepared to strike in January 2008. The Virgin Atlantic founder warned in a letter to 4800cabin crew that “dangerous” pay demands would not be met and disgruntled workers should look elsewhere if they wanted a bigger wage packet.

Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, said: “For some of you, more pay than Virgin Atlantic can afford may be critical to your lifestyle and if that is the case you should consider working elsewhere.” Referring to the most likely destination for disgruntled Virgin Atlantic crew members, Branson admitted that arch-rival British Airways often offered a better basic salary but did not provide the benefits that came with working for a “smaller, more friendly” company.

A spokesman for the Unite union, which represents Virgin Atlantic cabin crew, said the letter was “insulting”.

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protect themselves from hazardous materials. University of Illinois researchers are working on a process where a damage triggers the repair mechanism in epoxy-based materials. Imagine a composite fuselage that always looks pristine. When a crack forms in the epoxy material using this approach, microcapsules containing chloroben-

zene shear. The solvent disperses into the matrix, where it finds pockets of unreacted epoxy monomers. The solvent then carries the latent epoxy monomers into the crack, where polymerisation takes place. This restores structural integrity. In fracture tests, self-healing composites recovered their original strength by 82 per cent.

Behave yourself, you are on the Net SEAT 17D IS yapping endlessly on an internet phone call. Seat 16F is flaming Seat 16D with expletive-laden chats. Seat 16E is too busy surfing porn sites to care. Seat 17C just wants to sleep.

Welcome to the promise of the Internet at 10000 metres — and the questions of etiquette, openness and free speech that airlines and service providers will have to grapple with as they bring internet access to the skies in the coming months. Technology providers and airlines are already making decisions. Some will block services like internet phone calls altogether while others will put limits and install filters on content. And traffic management tools that are frowned upon on terra firma could be commonplace in the air. Panasonic Avionics Corp., a Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. unit testing airborne services on Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd, is designing its high-speed internet services to block sites.

Top 10 travel trends DAVID STEMPLER, President of the Air Travellers Association (America) has put out a list of the top ten airline passenger trends and issues for 2008.

1.The battle with the government over delayed flights versus high fares will continue.

2. The airline system will continue to operate at or near capacity.

3. The start of the next generation air traffic control system will continue to be delayed.

4. There will be more reports of near collisions in the air and on the ground.

5. The battle over the Passengers’ Bill of Rights versus passengers’ rights to get to their destination will continue.

6. Watch for domestic airlines to merge or accept foreign carrier investments.

7. Expect more regional jets in our future.

8. There will be continued service problems with airlines with labour problems.

9. The competition between the super-jumbo Airbus A380

A UNITED AIRLINES flight bound for Denver had to be evacuated after the plane took a wrong turn and became stuck in the mud. No one was injured in the accident and the 182 passengers were taken by bus back to the terminal. The flight was taxiing to the runway under foggy conditions when it turned early onto an access

road. The road is not wide enough and the nose gear and right main gear went into the mud.

Illustrations by Rajeev Kumar

Mud-stuck

versus super-nonstop Boeing 787 will begin in 2009.

10. The battle between residents on the ground over noise and airline passengers in the air will continue.

Now, how much of that list can be applied in the Indian context?

Dead man walking THERE HAVE BEEN numerous instances of passenger deaths in flights or at the airport. But recently, a passenger who was declared dead on a Jet Airways flight walked away after the plane landed in Mumbai.

It happened on December 6 last year.

A passenger named M. Jha boarded a Jet Airways flight from Kolkata to Mumbai. The plane was scheduled to reach Mumbai airport at 11 pm but was delayed by almost an hour. At about 11:30 pm, Jha complained of uneasiness and collapsed. There was a doctor on board who attended to the ailing passenger.

The doctor, however, declared Jha dead. By 11:45 pm doctors at the airport had been informed of the emergency. The plane was cleared for landing on priority basis and parked at bay number 35. The doctors, who rushed to attend to the case as soon as the plane landed, found the passenger had walked out of the flight.

No lithium batteries on flights FLYING WELL-EQUIPPED for business and pleasure will get a bit more complicated in the US. Beginning January one, the US Transportation Department has barred travellers from packing loose lithium batteries in checked luggage. The move is designed to help minimise the risk that such batteries could overheat and catch fire on board, the agency’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said. The new rules say travellers can bring a laptop computer, digital camera, cell phone and other equipment on board or in checked luggage if their lithium batteries are installed in the items.

And flyers can bring spare batteries in carry-on luggage if they’re stored in plastic bags or if they’re in the original retail packaging. But travellers can bring only as many as two such spare batteries, and each must be packed separately.

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COVER STORY

Where is my pilot?

While airlines are filling their planes with passengers, the struggle to keep their pilots in the cockpits is not only a deepening crisis but one that promises to recur like a bad dream.

R. Krishnan sifts through the figures and finds out that 1200 additional pilots will be required every year over the next five years in the country

W

ITH AN exponential growth in the Indian civil aviation industry, there has been a marked rise in the number of scheduled and non-scheduled operators. Practically all of them have gone for fleet expansion. Result: a huge shortage of pilots. Replying to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha in the just-concluded winter session, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said: “With the present growth of the aviation industry, it has been estimated that in the next five years, 5000 additional pilots would be required for scheduled operations and 1000 pilots for non-scheduled and private operations”. So, 6000 pilots in five years or 1200 pilots every year over the next five years in a country like India. This appears to be ‘NO GO’ in India where it is impossible to produce even 200 pilots a year based on the current pilot training facilities — both government and privately-owned. In a lighter vein, can one say that soon, India may have more aircraft than men to pilot them!

The 125th report on action taken by the government on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture relating to civil aviation headed by Sitaram Yechury, hoped that the modernisation of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy (IGRUA) and establishment of new pilot training institute in Gondia near Nagpur in Maharashtra would help to meet the shortage of pilots. The committee recommended that more training institutes like the one proposed at Gondia may also be established at “conspicuous places” in the Northern, Eastern and Southern parts of the country to meet the shortage of pilots. It is not known what the committee meant by “conspicuous places”.

The government replied that besides setting up a new flying training institute at Gondia and upgrading the infrastructure at the IGRUA in UP, the government has been encouraging existing flying clubs by providing aircraft through DGCA and the Aero Club of India. A total amount of Rs nine crores was released to the Aero Club of India during 2006-07 for procurement of aircraft to be distributed among identified

24

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Where is my pilot?

While airlines are filling their planes with passengers, the struggle to keep their pilots in the cockpits is not only a deepening crisis but one that promises to recur like a bad dream.

R. Krishnan sifts through the figures and finds out that 1200 additional pilots will be required every year over the next five years in the country

W

ITH AN exponential growth in the Indian civil aviation industry, there has been a marked rise in the number of scheduled and non-scheduled operators. Practically all of them have gone for fleet expansion. Result: a huge shortage of pilots. Replying to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha in the just-concluded winter session, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said: “With the present growth of the aviation industry, it has been estimated that in the next five years, 5000 additional pilots would be required for scheduled operations and 1000 pilots for non-scheduled and private operations”. So, 6000 pilots in five years or 1200 pilots every year over the next five years in a country like India. This appears to be ‘NO GO’ in India where it is impossible to produce even 200 pilots a year based on the current pilot training facilities — both government and privately-owned. In a lighter vein, can one say that soon, India may have more aircraft than men to pilot them!

The 125th report on action taken by the government on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture relating to civil aviation headed by Sitaram Yechury, hoped that the modernisation of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy (IGRUA) and establishment of new pilot training institute in Gondia near Nagpur in Maharashtra would help to meet the shortage of pilots. The committee recommended that more training institutes like the one proposed at Gondia may also be established at “conspicuous places” in the Northern, Eastern and Southern parts of the country to meet the shortage of pilots. It is not known what the committee meant by “conspicuous places”.

The government replied that besides setting up a new flying training institute at Gondia and upgrading the infrastructure at the IGRUA in UP, the government has been encouraging existing flying clubs by providing aircraft through DGCA and the Aero Club of India. A total amount of Rs nine crores was released to the Aero Club of India during 2006-07 for procurement of aircraft to be distributed among identified

24

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‘Process to reduce training A cool, calm and composed Kanu Gohain, Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), took questions from Cruising Heights.

Excerpts: :On the allegations by Indian pilots that aviation experts at the DGCA treated foreign pilots differently.

Not true. The DGCA insists on the same level of competency and efficiency.

On the allegation that the DGCA was holding exams for pilot clearance that were not only tough but also that the course content itself was outdated.

The criticism is untrue and being levelled by those who had not passed the examination. The DGCA maintains very high standards where it expect pilots to have in-depth knowledge of flying and related aspects of flying in particular and aviation in general. As far as the issue of questions related to equipment (that are not used at all these days) goes, it would take some time before the content is modified. DGCA follows the Aircraft Act and such aspects relating to pilots will be looked into, on the basis of the amended act.

The DGCA’s policy on training schools.

As for training institutes, the DGCA has cleared 24 such training institutes that can impart up to CPL level and this includes the IGRUA. There are three institutes that can give up to PPL level. There are a total of over 800 trainees and the number of CPL being issued, including conversion from foreign to Indian licences, average 60 to 70 per month. Approximately, about 700 will get CPL. They are, however, not privileged to fly scheduled type-rated planes. Typerating takes about four months, besides, they have to undergo ground training, simulator, flying test, etc.

NACIL and other airlines may induct between 125 and 130 aircraft over the next three years: 2008, 2009 and 2010. Now, for every plane, two type-rated crew — that constitutes one set — are needed. As such, each airline, depending upon the kind of aircraft, may require between three and five sets. Therefore, for

130 aircraft, the need will be for 1300 type-rated crew that includes both commanders and co-pilots.

My production is about 700 a year and I can convert in three years over 2000 pilots. However, it is for the airlines to programme training of their pilots to become co-pilots and upgrade the existing co-pilots to commanders. So, in the next three years, the foreign pilots, who number about 800 today will become redundant and can be phased out. Indian pilots can easily replace them. Yes, I know this is an optimistic scenario but nevertheless, possible to do. For type-rating, however, we will require more simulators and simulator timing. We know Air India, Indian, Jet, etc. are all acquiring new simulators. The conversion of foreign-trained Indian pilots/ holders of CPL will be completed in India under the aegis of DGCA. The proposed institute at Gondia will, in its full capacity, turn over 200 CPL holders while the IGRUA will produce 100 annually. But, there may still be a gap. To get over all this, we are also moving towards IATA backed Multi-Crew Pilot Training or MPL. On accelerating pilot training.

We, in the DGCA, have initiated the rule-making process to put in place the MPL that will not only shorten the time taken to train pilots, but, at the same time, also, not compromise on safety aspects. In fact, the emphasis on safety will be even more. Only thing is, while MPL will still be based on LOFT, RC, skill test, etc. the simulator usage timing by the prospective

academy, a management contract has been given to CAE, the globally-renowned simulator and avionics manufacturing company. It has expertise in pilot training from inception to advanced level. Gondia is being developed as a joint venture company under the aegis of the AAI as it comes under Birsi aerodrome that the government proposes to develop at an expenditure of Rs 108.70 crore. Both IGRUA and Gondia, once fully-loaded, will train 100 pilots each annually. Besides these, there are 42 flying training institutes in India of which 27 are run by various state governments and the remaining 15 by private entrepreneurs. Of these 42 DGCA approved flying training institutes, 16 are non-operational. At present, approximately 850 cadets are undergoing flying training for various courses in these institutions. Additionally, DGCA has issued No Objection Certificates to 10 new

flying training institutes. These institutes give training for licences like Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL) and CPL. In keeping with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, the flying hours requirement for issuance of CPL has been reduced to 200 hours by amending the relevant provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. While it will not compromise on air safety, it has been done to bring the requirements at par with international practices. Additionally, as per the proposed management contract for IGRUA with the foreign company, the training period will be reduced from two to one year. As per the government’s own admission, the proposed management contract would help IGRUA to train 60 more pilots (from 40 to 100 annually) and this would go to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

Q

number of flying clubs. For the current financial year 2007-08, a budget provision of Rs 17 crore has been made for Aero Club of India. Further, the DGCA has been issuing NOCs to new flying training institutes to provide training up to the Commerical Pilot’s Licence (CPL) level. The North Eastern Council, for example, wants to set up a flying training institute in the North Eastern region. To make flying training institutes economically viable, the government has exempted customs duty on aircraft and their spares. being imported for flying training.

For IGRUA specifically, the government approved two schemes for upgradation and development of civil and electrical infrastructure and acquisition of trainer aircraft costing Rs 21.82 crore and Rs 43.14 crore, respectively. To develop IGRUA into a world-class training

26

time for pilots put in place’

The DGCA has been issuing NOCs to new flying training institutes... to make them viable, the government has exempted customs duty on aircraft and their spares CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

pilot will go up more than what is being done now. This is called MPL-Simulator of ZFTT or ZERO Flight Time Training and Six Axis Freedom. In other words, this means, more of vertical and lateral maneuvers will be required, like an actual plane, and the simulator will enable the pilot to do that on it. So, the simulators will have to have Six Axis Freedom and all new simulators coming in have that facility.

On the inordinate delay in medical tests.

All that is being changed. It was at the instance of the Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel that a revolutionary change has been introduced in the system. Prospective pilots can now get it done very quickly and there is no waiting for a year, etc. The medical criterion is determined by the DGMS of IAF and the test prescribed for Class I medical and such tests beyond 60 years was to ensure proper medical check to ensure flight safety. To cope with the rush, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has identified dedicated private hospitals where due diligence is being done after consultations with the IAF and DGHS. Three hospitals have been short-listed and these include Max Hospital in Delhi, Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai and Apollo Hospital in Chennai. They will have a dedicated department for conducting Class I medical examination in their premises. A board headed by an IAF specialist in medicine will oversee them.

Even when the Air Force central medical establishment undertook medical exams, it often referred cases to private super-

speciality hospitals. That arrangement is only being formalised now.

Bids from private hospitals were received and on that basis the three private hospitals mentioned above were short-listed.

The fee to be paid by students — including for lab tests — has been fixed at Rs 5,000. A board comprising representatives of DGCA, DGHS and IAF chose the three hospitals. A memorandum of agreement has already been signed with the three private hospitals.

But why the delay?

Only those prospective pilots wanting to go to foreign training institutes faced the delay. Those candidates wanted medical clearance in India before they acquired training in foreign flying schools so that on their return they had no problems. Simultaneously, they also protected the huge money they would have spent on training, without the threat of it being nullified were they to fail the medical test in India.

As for those trained in India, they had to appear for medical test in one of the three IAF medical centres at Jorhat, Bangalore and Delhi. The medical test infrastructure was designed to cater to candidates who would appear for medical test after qualifying their exams and completed flying hours for CPL. The change being introduced is based on the recognition of the needs of aspiring pilots without the parameters mentioned above. Now, they can get their Class I medical test done before they spend time and money in expensive flying schools abroad and soon, perhaps, in India as well.

In keeping with ICAO standards, the flying hours requirement for issuance of CPL has been reduced to 200 hours by amending the relevant provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937

At a recent conference in Washington, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned world airlines of a severe pilot shortage unless the industry and governments worked together to change training and qualification processes/practices. IATA estimated that the global aviation industry would require 17000 new pilots annually due to the expected industry growth and retirements. Increasing the retirement age to 65 years for pilots would help but it could not be the only solution and IATA said it was time to ring the warning bell. “We must rethink pilot training and qualification to further improve safety and increase training capacity,” said IATA Chief Giovanni Bisignani. He told Federal Aviation Administation (FAA) International Safety Forum meet in Washington that the industry was concerned because there were no

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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COVER STORY

‘Process to reduce training A cool, calm and composed Kanu Gohain, Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), took questions from Cruising Heights.

Excerpts: :On the allegations by Indian pilots that aviation experts at the DGCA treated foreign pilots differently.

Not true. The DGCA insists on the same level of competency and efficiency.

On the allegation that the DGCA was holding exams for pilot clearance that were not only tough but also that the course content itself was outdated.

The criticism is untrue and being levelled by those who had not passed the examination. The DGCA maintains very high standards where it expect pilots to have in-depth knowledge of flying and related aspects of flying in particular and aviation in general. As far as the issue of questions related to equipment (that are not used at all these days) goes, it would take some time before the content is modified. DGCA follows the Aircraft Act and such aspects relating to pilots will be looked into, on the basis of the amended act.

The DGCA’s policy on training schools.

As for training institutes, the DGCA has cleared 24 such training institutes that can impart up to CPL level and this includes the IGRUA. There are three institutes that can give up to PPL level. There are a total of over 800 trainees and the number of CPL being issued, including conversion from foreign to Indian licences, average 60 to 70 per month. Approximately, about 700 will get CPL. They are, however, not privileged to fly scheduled type-rated planes. Typerating takes about four months, besides, they have to undergo ground training, simulator, flying test, etc.

NACIL and other airlines may induct between 125 and 130 aircraft over the next three years: 2008, 2009 and 2010. Now, for every plane, two type-rated crew — that constitutes one set — are needed. As such, each airline, depending upon the kind of aircraft, may require between three and five sets. Therefore, for

130 aircraft, the need will be for 1300 type-rated crew that includes both commanders and co-pilots.

My production is about 700 a year and I can convert in three years over 2000 pilots. However, it is for the airlines to programme training of their pilots to become co-pilots and upgrade the existing co-pilots to commanders. So, in the next three years, the foreign pilots, who number about 800 today will become redundant and can be phased out. Indian pilots can easily replace them. Yes, I know this is an optimistic scenario but nevertheless, possible to do. For type-rating, however, we will require more simulators and simulator timing. We know Air India, Indian, Jet, etc. are all acquiring new simulators. The conversion of foreign-trained Indian pilots/ holders of CPL will be completed in India under the aegis of DGCA. The proposed institute at Gondia will, in its full capacity, turn over 200 CPL holders while the IGRUA will produce 100 annually. But, there may still be a gap. To get over all this, we are also moving towards IATA backed Multi-Crew Pilot Training or MPL. On accelerating pilot training.

We, in the DGCA, have initiated the rule-making process to put in place the MPL that will not only shorten the time taken to train pilots, but, at the same time, also, not compromise on safety aspects. In fact, the emphasis on safety will be even more. Only thing is, while MPL will still be based on LOFT, RC, skill test, etc. the simulator usage timing by the prospective

academy, a management contract has been given to CAE, the globally-renowned simulator and avionics manufacturing company. It has expertise in pilot training from inception to advanced level. Gondia is being developed as a joint venture company under the aegis of the AAI as it comes under Birsi aerodrome that the government proposes to develop at an expenditure of Rs 108.70 crore. Both IGRUA and Gondia, once fully-loaded, will train 100 pilots each annually. Besides these, there are 42 flying training institutes in India of which 27 are run by various state governments and the remaining 15 by private entrepreneurs. Of these 42 DGCA approved flying training institutes, 16 are non-operational. At present, approximately 850 cadets are undergoing flying training for various courses in these institutions. Additionally, DGCA has issued No Objection Certificates to 10 new

flying training institutes. These institutes give training for licences like Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL) and CPL. In keeping with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, the flying hours requirement for issuance of CPL has been reduced to 200 hours by amending the relevant provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. While it will not compromise on air safety, it has been done to bring the requirements at par with international practices. Additionally, as per the proposed management contract for IGRUA with the foreign company, the training period will be reduced from two to one year. As per the government’s own admission, the proposed management contract would help IGRUA to train 60 more pilots (from 40 to 100 annually) and this would go to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

Q

number of flying clubs. For the current financial year 2007-08, a budget provision of Rs 17 crore has been made for Aero Club of India. Further, the DGCA has been issuing NOCs to new flying training institutes to provide training up to the Commerical Pilot’s Licence (CPL) level. The North Eastern Council, for example, wants to set up a flying training institute in the North Eastern region. To make flying training institutes economically viable, the government has exempted customs duty on aircraft and their spares. being imported for flying training.

For IGRUA specifically, the government approved two schemes for upgradation and development of civil and electrical infrastructure and acquisition of trainer aircraft costing Rs 21.82 crore and Rs 43.14 crore, respectively. To develop IGRUA into a world-class training

26

time for pilots put in place’

The DGCA has been issuing NOCs to new flying training institutes... to make them viable, the government has exempted customs duty on aircraft and their spares CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

pilot will go up more than what is being done now. This is called MPL-Simulator of ZFTT or ZERO Flight Time Training and Six Axis Freedom. In other words, this means, more of vertical and lateral maneuvers will be required, like an actual plane, and the simulator will enable the pilot to do that on it. So, the simulators will have to have Six Axis Freedom and all new simulators coming in have that facility.

On the inordinate delay in medical tests.

All that is being changed. It was at the instance of the Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel that a revolutionary change has been introduced in the system. Prospective pilots can now get it done very quickly and there is no waiting for a year, etc. The medical criterion is determined by the DGMS of IAF and the test prescribed for Class I medical and such tests beyond 60 years was to ensure proper medical check to ensure flight safety. To cope with the rush, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has identified dedicated private hospitals where due diligence is being done after consultations with the IAF and DGHS. Three hospitals have been short-listed and these include Max Hospital in Delhi, Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai and Apollo Hospital in Chennai. They will have a dedicated department for conducting Class I medical examination in their premises. A board headed by an IAF specialist in medicine will oversee them.

Even when the Air Force central medical establishment undertook medical exams, it often referred cases to private super-

speciality hospitals. That arrangement is only being formalised now.

Bids from private hospitals were received and on that basis the three private hospitals mentioned above were short-listed.

The fee to be paid by students — including for lab tests — has been fixed at Rs 5,000. A board comprising representatives of DGCA, DGHS and IAF chose the three hospitals. A memorandum of agreement has already been signed with the three private hospitals.

But why the delay?

Only those prospective pilots wanting to go to foreign training institutes faced the delay. Those candidates wanted medical clearance in India before they acquired training in foreign flying schools so that on their return they had no problems. Simultaneously, they also protected the huge money they would have spent on training, without the threat of it being nullified were they to fail the medical test in India.

As for those trained in India, they had to appear for medical test in one of the three IAF medical centres at Jorhat, Bangalore and Delhi. The medical test infrastructure was designed to cater to candidates who would appear for medical test after qualifying their exams and completed flying hours for CPL. The change being introduced is based on the recognition of the needs of aspiring pilots without the parameters mentioned above. Now, they can get their Class I medical test done before they spend time and money in expensive flying schools abroad and soon, perhaps, in India as well.

In keeping with ICAO standards, the flying hours requirement for issuance of CPL has been reduced to 200 hours by amending the relevant provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937

At a recent conference in Washington, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned world airlines of a severe pilot shortage unless the industry and governments worked together to change training and qualification processes/practices. IATA estimated that the global aviation industry would require 17000 new pilots annually due to the expected industry growth and retirements. Increasing the retirement age to 65 years for pilots would help but it could not be the only solution and IATA said it was time to ring the warning bell. “We must rethink pilot training and qualification to further improve safety and increase training capacity,” said IATA Chief Giovanni Bisignani. He told Federal Aviation Administation (FAA) International Safety Forum meet in Washington that the industry was concerned because there were no

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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COVER STORY

Vasudevan Thulasidas CMD, Air India The growth in the sector is explosive... Even when we recruit expatriates, we cannot get enough of them.

Even if we have to spend more to get pilots from overseas, we will do it. That is the only way out.

Naresh Goyal Chairman, Jet Airways The situation at the co-pilot level has considerably improved but on the commander side (pilots with at least 3000 flying hours), it will take some time… We have anticipated this kind of shortage.

global standards for training concepts and regulation. Pilot training, he said, had not changed in the last 60 years as “we are still ticking boxes with an emphasis on flying hours”. In this context, he said IATA supported the competency based approach of Multi-Crew Pilot Licensing (MPL) training programme.

According to IATA, there are 16000 new planes on manufacturers’ order books and to fly them, the world needs to produce 17000 new pilots every year. And if one goes on a minimum basis of three sets of pilots (a set has two: one commander and one deputy), it may be necessary to provide six pilots per aircraft or 96000 pilots. This may seem exaggerated as many small planes do not require three sets but medium and large capacity non-stop carriers require more. For instance, the Boeing 777-200 LRs being used by Air India for its IndiaUS direct flight requires 11 pilots or fiveand-a-half sets of pilots to make optimum utilisation of the aircraft. Incidentally, the newer Boeing 777-200 LRs may come with an additional fuel tank to enable them to fly non-stop Bangalore-San Francisco in the middle of 2008.

Given the strict flight duty time limits for pilots the world over, this estimate may not be out of place and hence the numbers are certainly daunting. In the context of India, it will be even more terrifying as we simply do not have the wherewithal to produce as many pilots as we need. According to a recent calculation by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the present requirement of type rated pilots for scheduled and nonscheduled and private operators is 4757 but only 3950 Indian type rated pilots are available. Foreign pilots meet the shortfall. At present there are 804 foreign pilots who are flying Indian aircraft of various airlines because of the pilot shortage. DGCA has so far cleared for Indigo 66, Paramount Air-

28

Vijay Mallya CEO, Kingfisher Flying schools such as Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy in Rai Bareilly and other institutes in Baramati and Gondia are not sufficient to meet the demands of the domestic aviation industry.

Ajay Singh MD, Spicejet The situation at the co-pilot level has considerably improved but on the commander side (pilots with at least 3000 flying hours), it will take some time… We have anticipated this kind of shortage.

ways 21, Blue Dart 10, SpiceJet 42, Air Deccan 149, Alliance Air 20, GoAir 13, Kingfisher Airlines 95, Jet Airways 271 and Air India 117 pilots. Among other things, the government has taken steps that include conditionally increasing the age limit to 65 years for pilots to exercise the privileges of their licences for commercial

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

Burce Ashby CEO, IndiGo Qualified foreign pilots who have flown as captains at another carrier can move straight into captain positions. CPL holders who have just passed out from a pilot training school require many years to reach that level.

transport operations under prescribed conditions and upgradation and modernisation of state-owned pilot training institutes and private ones.

One hears that the Sabena Flight Academy of Belgium will set up an academy in the new GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited, at an estimated

cost of Rs 450 crore, soon. It will provide training not just to pilots but others including engineers and cabin crew. While it will take three years to complete should it decide to translate the MoU it has signed with GMR, its infrastructure will be equipped to train 200 pilots a year.

Reliance Industries Limited is also toying with the idea of providing pilot training facility to the wards of its employees and also young employees. It may eventually have its own facility if it succeeds in setting up a cargo airport in Haryana as part of its planned huge SEZ in the state along with plans for a big captive power plant. RIL is planning to charge Rs 30 lakhs from its candidates who will be trained overseas and the money will be refunded if they stay back with RIL which has six planes and three helicopters and recently acquired an Airbus Corporate Jet — an A319 — fully maintained and serviced by Kingfisher Airlines.

On the subject of foreign pilots, desi aviation experts and pilots were critical of the fact that when the US did not allow its pilots above the age of 60 years to fly commercial flights, why should we allow them to fly commercial flights in India?

They also charged that the DGCA, which insisted on very strict medical tests for Indian pilots who can now fly up to the age of 65 years, provided they were medically fit, did not insist on a similar medical examination for foreign pilots. In this context, they said how could there be a lenient rule for dealing with 60-plus American pilots when in their own country they were not allowed to fly? All that the DGCA does is to endorse their foreign CPL into the Indian system, besides some minor health checks. However, for airlines, the import of foreign pilots, espe-

Countdown has begun

A

s on date, there are 804 foreign pilots working with various Indian carriers. They can work for a maximum of three years based on a yearly contract that is extendable up to three years subject to the age bar of 65 years and medical fitness. However, the airlines hiring these foreign pilots have to give

Desi aviation experts and pilots were critical of the fact that when the US did not allow its pilots above the age of 60 years to fly commercial flights, why should we allow them to fly commercial flights in India?

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

their phase-in programme and how soon they would Indianise their pilot — type rated — force to the DGCA. At present, the type rated pilots in India for scheduled, non-scheduled and private parties’ airlines is 4900. Of this, 3950 are Indians and the remaining more than 800 or to be precise 804 are foreigners. cially including those from the USA, is a blessing as they are both well-versed in technology and the English language. But, all of this may not last for long. The US Federal Law passed in December 2007 is all set to make it difficult for airlines in India to recruit retired expat pilots from the US. The new US law, Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act allows the pilot/co-pilot on domestic flights to be up to 65 years of age. Further, if one of the pilots is 65 years old, the other pilots has to be 60 or below — akin to the Indian practice — with the older pilot invariably as the commander. The new US law allows one pilot on international flights to be up to the age of 65 years, provided the other pilot is 60 or below. Earlier, the retirement age for pilots in the US was 60 years. With the new law, it will become difficult to source pilots from the US by Indian carriers.

At the beginning of October 2007, there were about 26 senior citizen pilots from the US waiting in the queue for approval from the Indian aviation authorities: the DGCA. However, DGCA has a thumb rule that foreign pilots can be employed for one year at a time and they will not be allowed to fly for more than three years, a condition which the likes of Kingfisher insist should be scrapped.

Obviously, Kingfisher would like to get it go as it will find it difficult to sustain its overseas plan once it gets a green signal.

In advance and to meet any contingency, Kingfisher Airlines has tied up with flight schools in California and Arizona to offer a nine month training course to its selected candidates on a fee payment of US$ 45,000. Those who graduate and pass the medical/written test will be recruited

by Kingfisher and US$12,500 would be refunded to them. Its first batch is supposed to graduate in February 2008.

In early 2007, Air India launched its special pilot training scheme. It began sending a batch of young candidates to foreign flying schools for between six months and a year. After that, Air India trained them on its simulators before allowing them to fly as co-pilots in Boeing

29

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Page 6

COVER STORY

Vasudevan Thulasidas CMD, Air India The growth in the sector is explosive... Even when we recruit expatriates, we cannot get enough of them.

Even if we have to spend more to get pilots from overseas, we will do it. That is the only way out.

Naresh Goyal Chairman, Jet Airways The situation at the co-pilot level has considerably improved but on the commander side (pilots with at least 3000 flying hours), it will take some time… We have anticipated this kind of shortage.

global standards for training concepts and regulation. Pilot training, he said, had not changed in the last 60 years as “we are still ticking boxes with an emphasis on flying hours”. In this context, he said IATA supported the competency based approach of Multi-Crew Pilot Licensing (MPL) training programme.

According to IATA, there are 16000 new planes on manufacturers’ order books and to fly them, the world needs to produce 17000 new pilots every year. And if one goes on a minimum basis of three sets of pilots (a set has two: one commander and one deputy), it may be necessary to provide six pilots per aircraft or 96000 pilots. This may seem exaggerated as many small planes do not require three sets but medium and large capacity non-stop carriers require more. For instance, the Boeing 777-200 LRs being used by Air India for its IndiaUS direct flight requires 11 pilots or fiveand-a-half sets of pilots to make optimum utilisation of the aircraft. Incidentally, the newer Boeing 777-200 LRs may come with an additional fuel tank to enable them to fly non-stop Bangalore-San Francisco in the middle of 2008.

Given the strict flight duty time limits for pilots the world over, this estimate may not be out of place and hence the numbers are certainly daunting. In the context of India, it will be even more terrifying as we simply do not have the wherewithal to produce as many pilots as we need. According to a recent calculation by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the present requirement of type rated pilots for scheduled and nonscheduled and private operators is 4757 but only 3950 Indian type rated pilots are available. Foreign pilots meet the shortfall. At present there are 804 foreign pilots who are flying Indian aircraft of various airlines because of the pilot shortage. DGCA has so far cleared for Indigo 66, Paramount Air-

28

Vijay Mallya CEO, Kingfisher Flying schools such as Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy in Rai Bareilly and other institutes in Baramati and Gondia are not sufficient to meet the demands of the domestic aviation industry.

Ajay Singh MD, Spicejet The situation at the co-pilot level has considerably improved but on the commander side (pilots with at least 3000 flying hours), it will take some time… We have anticipated this kind of shortage.

ways 21, Blue Dart 10, SpiceJet 42, Air Deccan 149, Alliance Air 20, GoAir 13, Kingfisher Airlines 95, Jet Airways 271 and Air India 117 pilots. Among other things, the government has taken steps that include conditionally increasing the age limit to 65 years for pilots to exercise the privileges of their licences for commercial

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

Burce Ashby CEO, IndiGo Qualified foreign pilots who have flown as captains at another carrier can move straight into captain positions. CPL holders who have just passed out from a pilot training school require many years to reach that level.

transport operations under prescribed conditions and upgradation and modernisation of state-owned pilot training institutes and private ones.

One hears that the Sabena Flight Academy of Belgium will set up an academy in the new GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited, at an estimated

cost of Rs 450 crore, soon. It will provide training not just to pilots but others including engineers and cabin crew. While it will take three years to complete should it decide to translate the MoU it has signed with GMR, its infrastructure will be equipped to train 200 pilots a year.

Reliance Industries Limited is also toying with the idea of providing pilot training facility to the wards of its employees and also young employees. It may eventually have its own facility if it succeeds in setting up a cargo airport in Haryana as part of its planned huge SEZ in the state along with plans for a big captive power plant. RIL is planning to charge Rs 30 lakhs from its candidates who will be trained overseas and the money will be refunded if they stay back with RIL which has six planes and three helicopters and recently acquired an Airbus Corporate Jet — an A319 — fully maintained and serviced by Kingfisher Airlines.

On the subject of foreign pilots, desi aviation experts and pilots were critical of the fact that when the US did not allow its pilots above the age of 60 years to fly commercial flights, why should we allow them to fly commercial flights in India?

They also charged that the DGCA, which insisted on very strict medical tests for Indian pilots who can now fly up to the age of 65 years, provided they were medically fit, did not insist on a similar medical examination for foreign pilots. In this context, they said how could there be a lenient rule for dealing with 60-plus American pilots when in their own country they were not allowed to fly? All that the DGCA does is to endorse their foreign CPL into the Indian system, besides some minor health checks. However, for airlines, the import of foreign pilots, espe-

Countdown has begun

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s on date, there are 804 foreign pilots working with various Indian carriers. They can work for a maximum of three years based on a yearly contract that is extendable up to three years subject to the age bar of 65 years and medical fitness. However, the airlines hiring these foreign pilots have to give

Desi aviation experts and pilots were critical of the fact that when the US did not allow its pilots above the age of 60 years to fly commercial flights, why should we allow them to fly commercial flights in India?

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

their phase-in programme and how soon they would Indianise their pilot — type rated — force to the DGCA. At present, the type rated pilots in India for scheduled, non-scheduled and private parties’ airlines is 4900. Of this, 3950 are Indians and the remaining more than 800 or to be precise 804 are foreigners. cially including those from the USA, is a blessing as they are both well-versed in technology and the English language. But, all of this may not last for long. The US Federal Law passed in December 2007 is all set to make it difficult for airlines in India to recruit retired expat pilots from the US. The new US law, Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act allows the pilot/co-pilot on domestic flights to be up to 65 years of age. Further, if one of the pilots is 65 years old, the other pilots has to be 60 or below — akin to the Indian practice — with the older pilot invariably as the commander. The new US law allows one pilot on international flights to be up to the age of 65 years, provided the other pilot is 60 or below. Earlier, the retirement age for pilots in the US was 60 years. With the new law, it will become difficult to source pilots from the US by Indian carriers.

At the beginning of October 2007, there were about 26 senior citizen pilots from the US waiting in the queue for approval from the Indian aviation authorities: the DGCA. However, DGCA has a thumb rule that foreign pilots can be employed for one year at a time and they will not be allowed to fly for more than three years, a condition which the likes of Kingfisher insist should be scrapped.

Obviously, Kingfisher would like to get it go as it will find it difficult to sustain its overseas plan once it gets a green signal.

In advance and to meet any contingency, Kingfisher Airlines has tied up with flight schools in California and Arizona to offer a nine month training course to its selected candidates on a fee payment of US$ 45,000. Those who graduate and pass the medical/written test will be recruited

by Kingfisher and US$12,500 would be refunded to them. Its first batch is supposed to graduate in February 2008.

In early 2007, Air India launched its special pilot training scheme. It began sending a batch of young candidates to foreign flying schools for between six months and a year. After that, Air India trained them on its simulators before allowing them to fly as co-pilots in Boeing

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737-800s and Airbus A310s. After they gather more flying experience, these same pilots would be asked to copilot bigger birds or what is called the zig-zag route.

As per estimates, Air India may need between 100 and 150 pilots annually, for at least the next seven years. This estimate does not include the need for new aircraft Air India is planning to buy, post 2012 and up to 2017. Air India, which is facing acute shortage of pilots, selected 150 young science/engineering graduates after an aptitude test and sent them to Europe/ Australia for pilot training. Air India has tied up with select banks so that these students can get loans of Rs 15 to Rs 18 lakh required for training, which the airline would refund if they continued to serve Air India for six years.

Back on the subject of MPL, as stated earlier, IATA has extended support to the competency-based approach of MPL, which focuses on training for multi-pilot cockpit working conditions. The emphasis is on better utilisation of the simulator.

IATA has launched IATA training and qualification initiative (ITPI) to support a global approach to MPL implementation. The objective is to increase the pool of candidates and training capacity while improving standards. IATA will host a data base to track the progress of MPL candidates and allow the industry to make training adjustments if necessary.

In China, IATA is working with the government to develop the syllabus and incorporate MPL into national regulation.

Today, there are no global standards for training concepts or regulations and not even a shared standard between the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and

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In China, IATA is working with the government to develop the syllabus and incorporate MPL into national regulation. Today, there are no global standards for training concepts or regulations and not even a shared standard between EASA and FAA CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

FAA. IATA noted that Pilot training has not changed for 60 years and people are still ticking boxes with an emphasis on flight hours. The Internationl Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has revised Annexure I to allow for competency based ab-initio training. Now, we can produce better pilots more efficiently by focusing on real multicrew working conditions and making better use of simulators.

Europe was the early adopter of this system and in November 2007, the first four MPL candidates graduated in Denmark.

Australia, China, Japan and Canada have already joined the MPL system and USA has continued to be cautious. But it is only a question of time. Many Indians, even before the introduction of MPL system, used to go abroad to acquire pilot training. While in India a flying course could take up to three years, in the UK it took up to nine months.

Once a candidate got his CPL, he had to then pursue an even more tedious procedure, including a lot of time in simulator and line-oriented flight training to be able to become the juniormost co-pilot of a narrow body A319 or A320 or the Boeing 737.

The essence is time, speed and efficacy of training. With the kind of numbers India is looking at, it will indeed be a Herculean task. Foreign pilots can bail Indian carriers out for some time but not for all time. The DGCA has insisted upon quicker Indianisation of flight crews operating Indian commercial carriers. But based on the requirements, it is anyone’s guess if the commensurate facilities are available in India. So, what it will mean is, if we don’t get foreign pilots then we will send our kids abroad to come back as foreign-trained pilots. That’s

okay in a globalised world.

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2008 holds promise for A BRIGHTER FUTURE Although air cargo carriers acknowledge the current overcapacity in the Asian market, there is still plenty of activity and anticipation for the future. Tirthankar Ghosh details some major studies on the aircargo industry

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IR CARGO in the country has not lagged behind passenger traffic. While passenger traffic in the Indian skies has grown between 30 to 50 per cent in the last three years, airfreight too has registered around 20 per cent growth in the same period. There has been 34 per cent growth in domestic cargo in the last year or so, with the air cargo sector zooming far ahead of rail and shipping (see box on ASSOCHAM study on page 34).

The total air cargo carried in the country, according to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, was 13.97 lakh metric tonnes in 2005-06 and 15.5 LMT in 2006-07. The market is expected to grow to 125 LMT from seven LMT by 2025.

What is the reason for this growth? The ASSOCHAM study points to economic expansion, commercial activity and the food-processing and retail sectors. On its part, as the Civil Aviation Minister pointed out, the government expects air cargo to contribute five-fold in the transport business to the present two per cent by 2010.

Indeed the industry is on a high. Air India has already dedicated cargo flights and along with it, more cargo airlines are in the wings, ready to take off. The business is attracting many — the major carriers already have plans — including those in the logistics business. Safexpress, for example, is looking to lease three aircraft in 2008-09. According to the Safexpress chief Pawan Jain, the company would invest around Rs 1,000 crore in the next five years on infrastructure expansion.

Another logistics start-up Avicore Aviation has plans to invest about Rs 400 crore to launch a new cargo airline before mid-2008 and the firm is looking to lease or buy five B737s. Quickjet, another aircargo carrier, will be starting its services with two B757s.

The government, on its part, is serious about aircargo. While it has almost decided to increase the upper limit for FDI in cargo

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operations from the existing 49 per cent to 75 per cent, on ground zero it has started enacting rules to make air cargo at par with the rest of the world. Recently, it reduced the ‘free period’ for cargo clearance at airports to three days from five. However, above all, the main issue that holds back the aircargo segment is infrastructure — or rather, the lack of it. According to a study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the country has been failing to keep pace with expected airfreight demand and a capacity crunch may hit as early as 2011.

It pointed out: “IATA is forecasting a tumultuous year for the Indian airfreight

“2007 has been a successful year.

The ongoing initiatives taken by IATA to increase air cargo quality and efficiency would progress into 2008. ... I would ensure that the programmes that had been launched become more effective in 2008” — Aleksander Popovich, IATA chief of Cargo CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

market because its infrastructure will not be able to cope with the massive growth expected.” The country will be expected to take a share in the expected 57 per cent of the world’s airfreight to be moved within Asia by 2011.

The growth of airfreight is not limited to India. In fact, over the next few years, the airfreight market will continue to be one of the global growth sectors, according to a study released around the middle of December last year, by analysts from Hamburg’s HSH Nordbank AG. The study points out that long-term global air cargo trade growth should be around seven per cent per annum in the next several years. Of course, leading the charge will be Asia. At present, nearly 40 per cent of global trade in terms of the value of goods is transported via airfreight.

The strongest growth in revenue-ton kilometres (RTK) is recorded on intercontinental routes, particularly between Asia/Pacific and Europe or North America. The Nordbank study has forecast that by the year 2025 almost 63 per cent of all exports and imports will originate in, or be destined for, Asia/Pacific. However, for the present, the growth of the Chinese airfreight market is the driver of the entire Asian region.

The IATA supports the contention that aircargo is on a high. The economic growth has been having an effect on international airfreight demand. Air cargo grew 3.6 per cent in October 2007 compared to the same month in 2006.

Year-to-date freight demand has risen four per cent. The IATA also said that the demand for airfreight was expected to grow, but at a slower pace in 2008. Going to the regions, the Middle Eastern carriers saw freight demand improving slightly to nine per cent in October 2007, thanks to the increased capacity with new route development. Airlines from the Asia Pacific saw a fall in growth rates: from seven per cent in September 2007 to 5.8 per cent in October 2007. As for European carriers, the growth was two per cent while North American cargo carriers saw a miniscule growth of 0.6 per cent.

Towards the end of 2007, IATA Director General and Chief Executive Giovanni Bisignani had said that the “numbers show that the fourth quarter will be challenging.

With weakening confidence levels in manufacturing businesses and slower semiconductor shipments, we have already seen a slowdown in cargo growth from five per cent in September (2007) to 3.6 per cent in October (2007)”. He continued: “Air cargo is still expanding, but the industry has shifted gears to a slower pace of growth.

Passenger demand remains strong, but this

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CARGO

Flying ahead of railways and shipping

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he country’s rapid economic international airfreight to inland traffic International air cargo traffic expansion, commerce and the fast from 200 per cent in 2000 to 164 per cent increased from 9.75 lakh tonnes in growing food processing sector in 2007, mainly because of the rise of 2005-06 to 11.20 lakh tonnes in 2006have led to a strong growth in air cargo low-cost domestic airlines.

07. Domestic air cargo traffic swelled traffic. Domestic cargo movement of airAlong with logistic companies and from 14.81 tonnes to 17.99 tonnes in the lines shot up by about 34 per cent in 2007, retail majors, domestic airlines are same period, registering a CAGR of 12 while international cargo movement grew launching dedicated freight aircraft to per cent for the past six years, compared by 15 per cent. boost goods traffic within the country. to 7.7 per cent for international cargo Cargo growth traffic.

Growth in Cargo Traffic in aviation from As for ship2004-07 has overping, the total Modes of transport Growth rates (in per cent) taken the railways cargo traffic of CAGR for FY 2000-07 Average growth rates for FY 2005-07 and shipping, and all major ports Civil Aviation 9.5 19 is set to grab part increased from of their share of 4.23 lakh tonnes Domestic 12 22.2 freight traffic, in 2005-06 to International 7.7 17.3 according to the 4.64 lakh tonnes Ports & Shipping 7 10.3 Associated Chamin 2006-07, regbers of Commerce istering a CAGR Railways 6.6 9.2 and Industry of of seven per cent.

India (ASSOCHAM), which sponsored Dedicated freight aircraft flying national But this lagged behind overall goods the ASSOCHAM-Eco Pulse (AEP) study. and international routes would give a traffic, which grew by an average of 10.3 The AEP study on Changing Pattern boost to industry, ASSOCHAM President per cent during the same period. of Cargo Traffic in India from 2000 to Venugopal Dhoot said. The ASSOCHAM Cargo growth in the railways, 2007 analysed three major modes of chief also said that with the government meanwhile, was the lowest of the three, transportation: aviation, railways and emphasising on the food processing sec- with a CAGR of 6.6 per cent over the shipping. It found that cargo business in tor and horticulture, “there arises a need last six years. Railways freight traffic has the aviation sector grew by around 19 for greater capacity in the domestic air- increased from 6.68 lakh tonnes in 2005per cent, against 10.3 per cent and 9.2 way facility at low cost”. In such circum- 06 to 7.26 lakh tonnes in 2006-07, but per cent in shipping and railways during stances, dedicated freight aircraft on the growth rate has declined from 10.9 those three years. Burgeoning domestic national and international routes would per cent to 8.68 per cent over the same traffic has reduced the proportion of provide a boost to industry. period.

is a cyclical industry. The next months will be critical to see if the impact of the credit crunch spreads from cargo to corporate and leisure travel.”

The IATA chief also said that while the credit crunch had “cast a shadow over global economic performance… airlines are still on track to show their first profit since 2001 this year. That’s good news. But with US $200 billion in debt and oil soaring to record levels, it’s no time to loosen the belt or the purse strings. Cost control is more critical than ever in all corners of the business,” said Bisignani.

The IATA is also going ahead with its plans to take international aircargo to great heights. The organisation’s cargo chief Aleksander Popovich, in a recent interview to an international trade publication echoed his chief’s words and said that 2007 had been successful and the ongoing initiatives taken by IATA to increase air cargo quality and efficiency would progress into 2008.

The cargo organisation would continue to focus on the entire supply chain in a strategy of alignment of view and standardisation of operations. Popovich also

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Growing at a rapid pace

In the last year, IATA had chalked out an agenda for air cargo: efrieght, Cargo 2000, cargo security and a focus on environmental issues. These issues are very important for the customers CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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said that he would ensure that the programmes that had been launched become more effective in 2008.

In the last year, IATA had chalked out an agenda for air cargo: e-freight, Cargo 2000, cargo security and a focus on environmental issues. These issues, according to Popovich, were very important for customers.

In effect, IATA had in 2007, launched six pilot carrier-locations for the e-freight initiative, a new era for electronic freight information exchange. The programme went live in November, and IATA hoped to make the project more robust and add more locations in 2008. The e-freight initiative not only “takes paper out of the supply chain” but it was also working towards the industry embracing the cargo business in “a standard way”.

The IATA website is more detailed. It mentions: “As IATA e-freight impacts the entire cargo supply chain, an Industry Action Group has been formed, including airlines, top freight forwarders represented by their association Freight Forward International and the World Customs Organisation. Together with IATA, this group will align industry stakeholders and help drive the project forward.”

The six pilot location-carriers are Air Canada, Air France-KLM, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Air, SAS, and British Airways. Participating freight forwarders include DHL, Panalpina, Kuehne + Nagel, and Schenker.

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Poor show

ndia does not seem to be going anywhere in its race with China — at least not in logistics. In a recent survey conducted for the world’s first Logistics Performance Index (LPI) by the World Bank, India is number 39 among 150 countries of the world and that is nine places behind China. In addition to the slow pace, the survey has also pointed out that domestic logistics costs are high in the country.

The Index, which is based on a survey of more than 800 logistics professionals, has taken into account the functioning of the Indian Customs and its procedures, the cost of air and sea freight, infrastructure and the competence of the domestic logistics industry.

The LPI has put Singapore at the top of the list. Among the top of the 150 countries that have been covered are: Germany (3rd), Japan (6th), the

UK (9th), Canada (10th), the US (14th), France (18th), and Italy (22nd).

According to sources in the World Bank, the index took into account reports from global freight forwarders and express carriers, who provided feedback on the logistics “friendliness” of the countries in which they operate and those with which they trade. The LPI is a benchmarking tool, which has been created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance. The survey was supported by the International Association of Freight Forwarders, the Global Express Association, the Global Facilitation Partnership, and the Turku School of Economics.

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In conjunction with e-freight, IATA’s Cargo 2000 initiative will also be used to establish standards for efficiency in the industry. According to the cargo chief, the end-consumer wants only two things: a good price; and products delivered on time.

Cargo 2000 and e-freight would enable that through a better quality system.

“Cargo 2000 is an industry initiative aiming at implementing a new quality management system for the worldwide air cargo industry,” according to the IATA Website. “The objective is … to implement processes, backed by quality standards, that are measurable to improve the efficiency of air cargo.

“Cargo 2000 re-engineers the air cargo transportation scheme from shipper to consignee. Individual processes in the supply chain are reduced from 40 to just 19, cutting down on operational costs and enhancing customer service. More and more customers now choose Cargo 2000 companies among their preferred suppliers as they provide quality performance backed by reliable data,” the IATA Website says.

As for aircargo security, IATA says its mission is “to simplify cargo security by developing an integrated solution that involves all key supply chain stakeholder groups and is proportionate to the threat, effective, harmonised and sustainable.”

According to Popovich, the IATA would continue to work on initiatives that benefit the environment, but he also noted that there were some misconceptions among consumers. Citing examples, he said that the trend in Britain to mark foodstuffs with information about how far the food had travelled was not necessarily the best way for consumers to find out about the product’s environmental impact. Similarly, produce from India or Africa to Europe could have less emissions footprint compared to flowers from Holland — if the Dutch flowers were grown in a heated greenhouse.

That was something that consumers had to be aware of and the air cargo industry should note.

IATA hopes to establish a clear position on the environment in 2008, and establish the best practice for the industry.

The approach will bring into play IATA’s overall strategy. The organisation says it wants to be emissions neutral in the midterm and have zero emissions within 50 years. For example, by 2020, IATA wants to see the industry achieve a 25 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency based on practical measures and more efficient machinery. There will be more steps once the World Cargo Symposium in Rome from March 3 to 6, 2008 takes place. By then, the Indian air cargo industry would

indeed be ready to fly.

A M

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CARGO NEWS Emirates Skycargo entrusts new routes to old hands ESTABLISHING A CARGO outstation requires not just a lot of cargo, but a good deal of expertise, experience and ingenuity — which is precisely the criteria Emirates SkyCargo looked to fill when appointing cargo managers of its newly opened routes.

Emirates SkyCargo now serves 99 destinations in 62 countries. In the first half of the 2007-08 financial year Emirates SkyCargo transported 637000 Duncan Watson tonnes of cargo through its network, a 10 per cent increase on the 577000 tonnes moved in the same period, the previous year. Central to this growth are the experienced cargo managers who not only lead the teams at Emirates SkyCargo outstations, but also work with their customers to find the best solutions for their cargo transport requirements.

Among those who have been appointed to take charge are Mahendra Pokhriyal who was appointed as Cargo Manager at Ahmedabad when Emirates SkyCargo commenced flights to the city.

Robert Siegel At Emirate SkyCargo’s Dubai headquarters, Duncan Watson and Robert Siegel have been appointed Regional Managers, Cargo Commercial Operations Middle East and Africa and Europe and the Americas, respectively.

Dener De Souza, the new Brazil Cargo Manager, Ken McDonald, the Manager at Toronto and Roberto Penate, the Cargo Manager in Houston are the other major new appointments at Emirate SkyCargo, globally.

E-payment at Delhi’s international Cargo Terminal IN A SIGNIFICANT step to speed up transactions at the International Cargo Terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport, an e-payment facility has been provided for the benefit of users. Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) has tied up with Punjab National Bank (PNB) to provide this unique facility. TSSV Lakshminarayana, Associate Vice President — Finance, DIAL signed the MoU with PNB. The new e-payment facility significantly speeds up transactions. The earlier arrangement provided for a ‘Export Terminal Charges Slip’ called TC, which was generated on the Internet. The payment was done through a PDA (Pre-Deposit Account). Under the new facility, DIAL would be able to provide its trade partners (cargo clearing agencies) the facility to pay DIAL’s charges directly through their PNB account. The transaction is online and instantaneous via PNB’s Net-Banking site.

The provision of this facility was a major actionable point under the EC/EDI (Electronic Commerce / Electronic Data Interchange) in the Air Cargo Sector, a national programme on e-trade (electronic trade) being monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office. Implementation of the Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange is one of the thrust areas of the government under the Export Promotion Board (EPB). This results in paperless e-transactions as per international standards.

QuikJet Cargo gets Kale’s cargo solutions KALE CONSULTANTS LIMITED, leading provider of software solutions and outsourced services to the travel and transportation industry, recently signed a contract with QuikJet Cargo, a Bangalore based all-cargo carrier, to implement Kale’s CSP(R) end-to-end cargo ERP solution in their organisation.

The integrated solution suite will be hosted

by Kale Consultants from Mumbai in India, on a complete J2EE architecture.

Rajiv Dalal, Head, Global Sales, Kale Consultants Limited said that the contract with QuikJet reinforced Kale Consultants’ leadership in the air cargo solutions market, and emphasised the versatility of the new generation solution CSP(R). He also said that with the air cargo market expected to grow at over 13 per cent in India, Kale Consultants was well positioned to meet the requirements of the cargo and logistics operators.

DTDC makes it three in a row LEADING AIR EXPRESS and cargo major DTDC recently announced that it had been awarded the ‘Best in Class Franchisor Company’ in the courier and cargo industry. The award instituted by ‘Franchise India Holding Ltd.’ was given to DTDC for the third consecutive year. Suresh Bansal, Director, Head of International and Marketing and Amit Shankhadar, AGM, Delhi and NCR received the award on behalf of the company in Delhi.

Responding to the award, Subhasish Chakraborty, Chairman and Managing Director, DTDC said that it was a great honour for DTDC to win the award for the third consecutive year. “This award validates what we have believed all along, that it is our franchisees who contribute significantly to DTDC’s growth and drive it forward,” he said.

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DTDC’s Bansal and Shankhadar receiving the ‘Best in Class Franchisor Company’ award

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A sneak peek into the cornucopia of colours, culture, crafts and much more CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Glorious Rajasthan!

There is so much to see and do in Rajasthan that a tourist would be at his wit’s end to find out where to begin. There are forts with tons of history, havelis with exquisite paintings, bird sanctuaries, culture and cuisine

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he battle cry piercing the stillness, clanging of swords, soldiers making frenetic attempts to climb the battlements, thud of cannon balls and sounds of hooves of galloping horses – that was Rajasthan of yore. There was splendour, opulent living, magnificent palaces, large forts and fierce battles. If you think there was blood and gore only, think again. The rulers were also patrons of art, unique Rajasthani culture and cuisine that flourished under rulers, small and big.

The palaces were embellished, elaborate stucco work and frescoes adorned the walls, waterfalls or fountains kept the courtyards cool in native ingenuity, ubiquitous

The forts, palaces and monuments are past and on this past the foundation of present tourism has been laid

sheesh mahal, or large room adorned with mirrors, held prime spot in most of the palaces and least of all were exquisitelycrafted jewellery that the rulers displayed.

The history of Rajasthan is replete with valour, a few inescapable internecine wars, and a lot of individual heroic deeds. The forts, palaces and monuments are past and on this past the foundation of present tourism has been laid. Today, Rajasthan is a hot and haute destination in the world of tourism.

First-time visitors have one question: Where to start in this land of splendour and awe? Is it “golden triangle” circuit or a Jaipur-Ajmer-Pushkar circuit? To be frank, every corner of Rajasthan is a starting point.

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It is often said that every sand dune in the Thar Desert has history written all over it.

So have the forts and palaces.

A tour of Rajasthan does not start, or end, with Jaipur, Jodhpur or Udaipur. What about Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar, Jhalrapattan or Shekhawati region that has a collection of gigantic painted mansions, now popular as Shekhawati art!

Jaipur, the Pink City, is sine qua non on a Rajasthan tour. Till the beginning of the 18th Century, the royals lived inside Amber fort and subjects scattered around in hamlets. It was Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II who decided to create a new habitat and it was built under the supervision of a young architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya and completed by 1727. This city planned on grid pattern, stands in stark contrast to the present haphazard growth, in all directions, that is called Jaipur.

Within the hustle-bustle of the Pink City are several palaces, the stone observatory Jantar Mantar and picture postcard perfect Hawa Mahal, or palace of wind, a five-storey building having a façade of semi-octagonal and delicately carved honeycomb windows. Hawa Mahal was built for the women of the royal household to watch, without being seen, the life on the streets below or royal processions.

From the bazaar one can see the hillocks to the north on which are perched massive forts of Nahargarh and Amber (pronounced Amer). The Kachchwaha dynasty that ruled this region for almost a millennium, uninterrupted, migrated from central India or present day Madhya Pradesh. Down the centuries, as the dynasty grew, it splintered and the princes set various, but smaller, kingdoms or principalities but remained vassals to Jaipur’s Maharaja.

A half hour’s trip takes you to Amber fort, located on a hill, a little lower than Nahargarh fort. There are three

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There is another kind of history one can go through in the Shekhawati region, north of Jaipur. It is not about the mustachioed kings on their horses, but business kings

ways of going up to the fort: by foot, vehicle or on an elephant. The latter is a favourite mode for foreign tourists, perhaps to experience the royal mode of travel before experiencing the royal way of living within the ramparts. There is undoubtedly plenty to see.

History buffs have plenty to savour within the fort as well as in other forts that dot the Rajasthan landscape. There is, however, another kind of history one can go through in the Shekhawati region, north of Jaipur. It is not about the mustachioed kings on their horses, but business kings. Their names ring a bell: Birla, Goenka, Jhunjhunwala, Kajaria, Poddar, Saraf and many more have their origins in this sand-swept region.

They have not left any forts but massive havelis, or mansions, decorated by frescoes within and outside. In short, the havelis could best be described as open air art galleries.

Start haveli-gazing from Sikar, about 115 km from Jaipur on NH 11, but be armed with a good map and preferably with a guide. Though the owners of many of these havelis left generations ago in pursuit of lucrative businesses, a number of these mansions are still intact and the frescoes on

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SPECIAL FEATURE

HOTEL POLICY 2006

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ne major factor that has stunted growth in tourism in the country is availability of accommodation be it hotels, lodges or bed and breakfast categories. Keeping in view the rapid inflow of tourists in the State the authorities have promulgated New Hotel Policy 2006 to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

As an initial step authorities from gram panchayats to districts are to identify and create a land bank and graded for different categories of hotels. The maximum land areas that can be provided to various categories are as under: Category

Maximum Land Area

Budget/1/2/3 Star 4 Star 5 Star & above

1,200 sq.m.

6,000 sq.m.

18,000 sq.m.

An eligibility criteria is laid for being eligible for bidding and applying for hotel land. These are: Budget/1/2/3 Star: No Conditions.

4-Star and above: The bidder/applicant should be hotelier/tour operator having business experience in any tourism activity. In case the applicant does not have the above eligibility, a consortium with one of the members having the desired eligibility can be eligible.

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Highlights A special incentive package for new budget and 1/2/3 Star hotels shall be provided over and above the provisions given in Rajasthan Investment Policy Scheme 2003. The special incentive package will include: (a) 100 per cent exemption from land conversion charges. (b) 100 per cent exemption of entertainment tax. (c) Water supply charges as per industrial rates. (d) House tax to be charged as per industrial rates.

Of the above (a) and (b) concessions will be valid till March 2010.

All such Nazool properties and lands which can be converted into heritage hotels, tourism complexes and accommodation units shall be transferred to Tourism Department. The Department shall prepare PPP project proposal and ensure disposal under “Rajasthan Disposal of Land and Properties by DoT/RTDC Rules, 1997”.

Other provisions include State government entering into joint venture with private sector by offering land and converting the capital value of the land into either equity or mutually agreeable revenue sharing. The Policy 2006 also mentions about higher FAR for new hotels in existing areas as well as in new areas.

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

the outer walls have not faded. One guide proudly remarked that these were painted with vegetable pigments and followed with a tongue in cheek remark, before British Raj came up with synthetic paints!

Art connoisseurs would be delighted to see the gradual transformation of traditional themes of gods, heroes, epics and legends to contemporary trains and cars, figures of sahibs and memsahibs holding parasols with dogs on leash. It is an indicator that as decades passed by and interaction and association with the British followed, the themes changed with changing times.

Look around: these massive mansions and the frescoes flourished despite inhospitable, semi-arid surroundings. If you travel in northern and western Rajasthan, to a more formidable desert region, it would amaze you. In fact, a kingdom flourished in the midst of the desert: Jaisalmer.

This magnificent fort only comes into view when one is at the foot of the hillock on which it is perched. One is awed by its towering presence and as a traveller exclaimed, “Jaisalmer is a place that should exist only in the imagination … The vision of Jaisalmer’s massive fort thrusting heavenwards out of the barren landscape is unforgettable, and the magic doesn’t diminish as you approach its walls and bastions.”

This is a living fort, unlike many others that have become monuments in the true sense. Present residents inside the fort claim descent from forebears who arrived here in the 12th or 13th Centuries, after the fort was completed in 1156 A.D. The wealth of rulers came from the toll collected from camel caravans carrying merchandise that

A TOURIST’ S GUIDE A tourist’s dilemma is where to start and where to end. Here are some tips to select the circuits: Dhundhar Circuit Jaipur-Samode-RamgarhDausa-Abhaneri.

Brij-Mewat Circuit Alwar-Sariska-DeegBharatpur-KarauliRanthambhor.

Hadoti Circuit Bundi-Kota-Jhalawar-Baran.

Vagad Circuit Dungarpur-Banswara.

Godwar Circuit

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crisscrossed the Thar desert.

Opulent palaces and havelis are a manifestation of that wealth. Old palaces are within the fort while havelis are located in the old township. Do not miss Nathmalji ki haveli, Patwon ki haveli and Salim Singh ki haveli. It will not be an exaggeration to describe them as symphonies in stone. Intricate carvings and exquisite filigreed work all over are indeed breathtaking.

Both for adventure seekers and laidback leisure travellers a few kilometres beyond Jaisalmer, Sam is the destination point. After an hour’s drive to Sam, one would be staring at the Sahara-like desert.

The villagers of Sam have suddenly realised the power of tourism and many have turned into professional safari cameleers. Even a half-a-day safari into the vast, open, monochrome sand dunes is an evocative way to sample the desert ambience.

Chittaurgarh is one of the largest forts in Rajasthan. In fact, inside the fort one can drive through to visit many monuments.

Though some of the palaces within the fort are in a dilapidated condition, the other monuments are still in good shape. Do climb Vijay Stambh, a 37m tall and nine storeys high tower that offers a splendid view of the fort as well as the town below.

Forts, forts and more forts! Is there any thing to see beyond forts? Plenty. Visit the world famous and now a World Heritage site called Keoldeo Ghana National Park or Pushkar, famously known for camel and cattle fair.

Once a sleepy pilgrimage village with a rare Brahma temple and the pious visiting it during Karthik Poornima, it has blos-

Mount Abu- Ranakpur- Jalore.

Desert Circuit Jodhpur-Barmer-JaisalmerBikaner.

Merwara-Marwar Circuit Ajmer-Pushkar-Merta-Nagaur.

Shekhawati Circuit Sikar-Nawalgarh-MandawaFatehpur-Jhunjhunu.

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PEOPLE’S INDUSTRY

T

ravel – be it for religious, business, leisure or adventure, and even migration — is as old as human civilisation. Today termed tourism, it is a major revenue earning as well as employment industry. As per the latest figure released by the World Tourism and Travel Council, for the year 2006, 221.568 million were employed contributing 10.60 per cent to the GDP. In India the contribution to the GDP is less than five per cent.

The Rajasthan government, aware of this shortfall, is determined to make tourism as a “people’s industry”. The vision is employment generation leading to poverty alleviation, environment regeneration and development of remote areas and advancement of women. These are not lofty ideas, but practical, as World Tourism Organisation (WTO) estimates that every ninth person in the world is engaged in travel and tourism industry. In our country it is still less than 5 per cent compared to the world average. The potential is enormous.

What is the potential? Let us look at tourist arrivals in some of the leading countries: France (76), Spain

The villagers have suddenly realised the power of tourism and many have turned into professional safari cameleers. Even a half-a-day safari into the vast, open, monochrome sand dunes is an evocative way to sample the desert ambience CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

(55.6), USA (49.4), China (46.8) while for India it is meager 3.92 (all figures in million). On the other hand average foreign exchange earning per tourist is as thus – USA ($ 1,653), India ($ 1,462), Sri Lanka ($ 984) and Singapore ($ 892). India fares well in the latter segment.

Let us not forget the power of domestic tourists at this juncture. The figure stood at 382.10 million in the previous fiscal year. In this the Rajasthan’s share was a meagre 4.9 per cent compared to other states on leader board — Andhra Pradesh (24.50 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (24.30 per cent), Tamil Nadu (11.30 per cent) and Karnataka (6.50 per cent).

Rajasthan has every thing that any state would desire to promote tourism — steeped in history, heritage and culture, colourful fairs — except, perhaps, snow-clad mountains and sunny beaches. With changing times tourism has to be market oriented and include large public-private participation. The State’s objectives are geared towards this goal and the government is becoming a catalyst to spurt the growth.

somed into an international destination during this period. It is not so much the religious sentiments that bring in tourists but the camel fair and the fanfare associated with it. Apart from camel or camel cart rides, tourists truly experience and enjoy rustic ambience.

Siberian cranes, a rare and vanishing species, make a long haul all the way to Bharatpur’s bird sanctuary, Keoldeo Ghana National Park. Winter is the season. There is an artificial water body created to attract ducks so that sahibs of the Raj era could indulge in duck shoots. That intention aside, today, it has become unwittingly a World Heritage site!

While in Bharatpur a visit to Lohagarh, or iron fort, is a rewarding experience, although it does not match the grandeur of the other forts of Rajasthan. Forts were protective ramparts that rulers had in turbulent times in the past. There is plenty of art to be seen within these forts. The culture and cuisine evolves through centuries and Rajasthan has plenty to offer. A visit to Rajasthan is never mundane and always exhilarating.

Compilation and Photos: Nandu Manjeshwar

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SNIPPETS

NATIONAL Deccan crosses the 15-million passenger mark IndiGo receives CAT-IIIB approval INDIGO HAS RECEIVED CATIIIB approval from the DGCA to operate in fog. IndiGo had previously received CAT-IIIA approval from the DGCA on December 14, 2006.

The CAT-IIIB approval allows IndiGo to takeoff and land in denser fog conditions.

Speaking on the upgraded c a p a b i l i t y, Bruce Ashby, President and CEO of IndiGo, said “All of IndiGo’s aircraft are brand new A320s that come fully equipped to take advantage of this approval, and during this fog season, IndiGo expects to have over 100 of our 160 pilots trained to take full advantage of this enhanced capability, allowing IndiGo to maintain the best possible operations on difficult weather days.”

DECCAN CLOCKED in another year of impressive passenger growth. Not only has the passenger volume crossed the 15 million mark; it has also recorded a 33 per cent year on year increase compared to passenger volume in 2006. The average load factor has notched up several paces to maintain a record high of 81 per cent from January to July 2007, against the average load factor of 76 per cent in the last calendar year.

Last year Deccan flew approximately 7.3 million passengers as against 5.55 million passengers flown between January and December 2006. The 5.55 million passenger figure was crossed by September in 2007.

Now, tickets at your door: Deccan will now deliver tickets directly to the doorstep of its passengers. Deccan has announced this latest service in association with Express IT, a customer management logistics. The door delivery service can be availed by passengers booking through the 24/7 all India Deccan call centre 080 — 39008888 (prefix city code needed if dialling from mobile phone). The date of travel should be at least three days from the date of booking. On booking, the ticket will first be on hold for 24 hours and then confirmed. The ticket will be delivered to the passenger’s address by Express IT for an additional payment of Rs 100. The delivery of the tickets will be done at all the 65 destinations that Deccan flies to. In addition, tickets can be booked from and delivered to another 215 cities (list available on www.airdeccan.net) in India.

Aviation Safety Week observed by Air Deccan: Deccan observed the air safety week, at the year end, by several surveillance checks in the air and on-ground and pilot engineer meetings at all its eight bases. To create awareness about safety, posters were displayed at various airports of Deccan and within the company, in all departments. Airline representatives conducted seminars during the week.

The safety week was one of the many ongoing programs that the airline organised to enhance awareness amongst its employees across all airports. During the week, DGCA officials conducted an audit of the safety standards followed by Deccan.

Second 737-900 ER joins SpiceJet SPICEJET HAS LAUNCHED its second Boeing 737900ER aircraft — the latest offering of passenger aircraft from Boeing. This aircraft will operate in the Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bangalore sectors across India.

SpiceJet will also induct three more such aircraft in its fleet by September 2008. This initiative ensures SpiceJet as the operator of the largest aircraft, with 212 seats, in the domestic sky.

On the induction of the second 737-900ER aircraft, Siddhanta Sharma, Executive Chairman, SpiceJet Ltd said, “This spacious aircraft being a part of our aggressive expansion plan will be a boon to flyers travelling long distances since it has greater seating capacity, thereby helping resolve Siddhant Sharma and Spicejet’s Director Ajay Singh (second and third from left) pose with cabin crew in front of the new 737-900 ER slot constraints by accommodating higher loads”.

SpiceJet ties up with UnderFivePound: The UK-based majority stake of 51 per cent, while the balance would be held online retailer UnderFivePound.com is forging a joint venture by our exclusive partner. With this joint venture, we are makwith the low-cost carrier SpiceJet, in which the latter would ing a foray into merchandising and would commence operahave a majority stake. SpiceJet has decided to outsource its tions by next year,” said Samyukth Sridharan, Chief Commerlogistics and retailing operations to UnderFivePound.com and cial Officer, SpiceJet, in an interview with a business daily. expects to make a foray into merchandising on board by early UnderFivePound.Com, through its Website, sells a range this year. of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing along with other “There is going to be a joint venture with UnderFiveitems such as jewellery and houseware gadgets. Known for its Pound.com and we are in the final stages of tying up with the ‘amazing’ offers, the Web site, as its name suggests, sells UK-based online retailer. We would be adhering to the regulaproducts for less than £5 and is known for its discounts and tions governing retail in the country and would be having a freebies.

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Ramki Sundaram, Officiating CEO of Deccan said, “Safety and on-time performance is the most important commitment to our passengers. As always, during this week too, emphasis will be on safety training, knowledge, information and most importantly, accountability at the highest level for avoidable incidents”.

More flights to the North-East: Deccan continues to increase connectivity in the Northeastern states. It has launched new daily flights connecting Guwahati to Silchar and Aizawl. Operations commenced on December 20, 2007 and an ATR aircraft has been deployed to serve these routes.

The bookings are open.

With the prominent travel mode being buses and trains that makes for long and arduous journeys, Deccan’s flights offer highly convenient air connectivity at affordable fares.

Deccan already connects Guwahati, Baghdogra, Aizawl, Dimapur, Silchar and Imphal in the Northeast.

This new partnership will enable the JetPrivilege members based in India and abroad to earn JPMiles at Ferns N Petals for purchases through their website, and get discounts at stores across 56 outlets in India. JPMiles can be earned online for purchases under various categories like Cakes, Designer Bloom and Flowers. JetPrivilege members will earn 20 JPMiles per Rs 100/ on each qualified online purchase made through www.fnp.in

Jet achieves landmark TO COMMEMORATE the flying of over 75 million passengers in the last 14 years, Jet Airways introduced ‘Celebration Fares’ from Rs 500 onwards on its Domestic Network. The scheme expired on January 15, 2008.

Tie-up with Ferns N Petals: Jet Airways, India’s premier airline, has announced a novel frequent flyer partnership programme with Ferns N Petals, the largest chain of floral boutiques in India.

People queuing up at the Jet counter

INTERNATIONAL Qatar arrives in Ahmedabad QATAR AIRWAYS HAS INAUGURATED daily scheduled flights to Ahmedabad, rounding off yet another year of expansion. Ahmedabad becomes the airline’s eighth Indian destination and eleventh new route of 2007.

Addressing a press conference Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker said he was extremely delighted to see the airline add yet another Indian city to its burgeoning network and spread its award-winning five star service further into western India.

“It’s been an incredible year for Qatar Airways with Ahmedabad being our third new Indian destination of the year,” he said, explaining that flights to Chennai and Nagpur were also launched during 2007.

“India today is by far the largest single market for Qatar Airways with a network of eight cities serving Doha non-stop.”

Cathay Pacific honours top agents

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS hosted a familiarisation trip for the top 12 agents from Delhi and the northern region, to Goa over a weekend in December, last year.

The short trip was organised to acknowledge the efforts of the travel agents for promoting Cathay Pacific and award them for their services as top revenue generators of North India for 2006. A gala dinner was hosted in their honour.

(Top) Katie Rowen, Manager, Delhi and North India, giving away the awards to Mrs & Mr Bhatia from East West Agencies (Jallandhar), (Bottom) Katie Rowen in dance/ party mood

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SNIPPETS Malaysia Airlines enhances flight frequency

Desmond Chacko heads Finnair Sales

MALAYSIA AIRLINES has increased its flight frequency from Delhi gateway. The airline will now fly two additional flights on the Delhi Kuala Lumpur route. With this flight addition, Malaysia Airlines will now operate nine weekly flights from its current seven flights per week.

Elaborating on this development, Christopher Yek, Regional Manager, South Asia, Malaysia Airlines, said “Malaysia Airlines today is steadily augmenting its India market operations. Delhi is the third successive gateway from where the airline has scaled its operations in immediate progression.

“This flight enhancement is in-sync with the growing passenger demands, with Delhi being the main gateway catering to the other feeder markets of North India. Strategically, the airline is enhancing its presence in the Indian market under its Business Turnaround Plan. The year 2008 will foresee more positive developments with new tactical campaigns and online initiatives.”

DESMOND CHACKO has been appointed as Sales Manager Indian Subcontinent for Finnair. A veteran with over 29 years of international airline experience, Desmond has worked for Pan American World Airways, Delta Air Lines and Swissair. His most recent position was Marketing Manager — India for Swiss International Air Lines. Finnair currently operates 12 weekly flights to Delhi and Mumbai.

Lufthansa Private Jet on course TWO YEARS AFTER the introduction of the Lufthansa Private Jet (LPJ), the demand for individual, flexible air travel is so strong that Lufthansa is expanding its premium service. The company is investing in its own private jets to augment the exist-

ing Lufthansa Private Jet service. The new aircraft will be purchased next year and fitted with exclusive interiors. Lufthansa’s own jets are expected to go into service in the second half of 2008.

By building up its own Private Jet fleet, Lufthansa will be in a better position to tailor the product to customer requirements and also offer a more flexible service. “Customer demand for the Lufthansa Private Jet has risen steadily in 2007 and at times outstripped capacity,” said Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Lufthansa Passenger Airlines.

Etihad sponsors Formula 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS has signed a three year deal to be the title sponsor of the FORMULA 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, starting with the inaugural race in 2009.

The seven-figure deal will see the Formula 1 race in the UAE’s capital city, named the “FORMULA 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix” until 2011. It also (Left to right) Bernie Ecclestone, FORMULA 1 provides Etihad group president and chief executive, and with a major track- James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, side advertising sign the deal for the FORMULA 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix” at Formula 1 package and podi- headquarters in London. um branding for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

As part of its FORMULA 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix title sponsorship, Etihad will offer its customers a series of all-inclusive packages that include flights, accommodation and Grand Prix tickets.

In addition to the FORMULA 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Etihad Airways has established an impressive portfolio of sports sponsorships in 2007 which includes becoming the official airline for Chelsea Football Club and lead sponsor for Harlequins Rugby Football Club.

Singapore Airlines to advertise all-inclusive prices FROM JANUARY 1, 2008, Singapore Airlines has started advertising the price of air tickets on an all-inclusive basis, worldwide. This means, in its advertising, the airline will show the full price payable by the customer at the time of sale, inclusive of all taxes, surcharges and fees. This is irrespective of what competitors do.

In some countries, where it is mandated by law or direction that pricing be shown as all-inclusive, the Airline already complies with these requirements.

Commenting on the reason for the change, Singapore Airlines Executive Vice President Marketing and Regions, Huang Cheng Eng said the wide variety of extra charges in recent years and the fact that they now form a greater part of the total price, has led to consumer demand for all-inclusive pricing.

“We will standardise our advertising practices to provide consumers with the full price in all advertisements, wherever we advertise.

In some markets, this may mean we look more expensive than our competitors at first glance. But we think consumers understand that there are a variety of extras that form part of the ticket price now.

And we think it’s time the industry moved to do this across the board.

In those markets where this practice is not adopted widely, we will take the lead, and give consumers the full picture,” Huang said.

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Boeing announces hefty dividend THE BOEING CORPORATION boards of directors have approved a 14 per cent increase in the company’s dividend, the fifth increase in the past five years. Boeing’s quarterly dividend will now be 40 cents per share, up from 35 cents, while the annual dividend will be $1.60 per share. The next dividend is payable March 7, 2008 to shareholders. Boeing’s dividend has more than doubled since 2003.

Egypt Air to join Star Alliance FOLLOWING THE SUCCESSFUL conclusion of membership talks with Egypt Air, Star Alliance has voted to accept as a future member, the national airline of Egypt, which in the last five years has undergone a significant transformation process.

“Egypt is one of the most important aviation markets in Africa, with a large potential for both business and leisure travel. We are proud that Egypt Air, a world class airline, has chosen to join Star Alliance, thereby recognising the importance of alliances in aviation today,” commented Jaan Albrecht, CEO Star Alliance.”

“Egypt, the home market of Egypt Air, has a strategic location which offers a good link between Africa, the Middle East and Europe to the rest of the world. The company equally serves the needs of the leisure and the ever growing business travel market, thereby adding prosperity in tourism and different sectors of the Egyptian economy,” said Engineer Atef Abdel Hamid, Chairman CEO, Egypt Air Holding Company.

In order to implement the Star Alliance “Move under one Roof” concept at Cairo Airport, Egypt Air and the Star Alliance member carriers flying to Cairo will move to the new Terminal 3, once it opens in 2008. Talks to this effect are already underway with the airport authorities in order to ensure the creation of another hub with an optimal customer experience.

New ground rules at IGI Airport THE FOLLOWING regulations have been brought in at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to prevent occurrence of any vehicular accidents on ground: i) All vehicles plying on the airside of the airport are required to be equipped with speed limitations devices. ii) Drivers must possess Airside Driving Permit (ADP). iii) Number of vehicles on the airside should be the barest minimum.

Movements of staff/ crew to the aircraft should be in bus/ shuttle service.

Airbus introduces an eco-efficient aircraft painting process

Airbus, the world’ s largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, offers a new, two coat aircraft painting process that uses less paint, requires less time to apply and helps to reduce aircraft cleaning. The first customer aircraft painted in this new, stateof-the-art way is the 5000th Airbus aircraft ever produced, an A330-200, which was delivered to Qantas at a special delivery ceremony in Toulouse. Qantas has on order, a further six aircraft to be painted in the same way, and will help conduct an in-service evaluation with Airbus to fully quantify the benefits of the painting process.

iv) Wearing of safety jackets by personnel working on airside is mandatory. v) Two wheelers are banned and pedestrian movements prohibited on the airside. vi) CCTVs should be installed inside the airport to monitor Apron and Taxiways. vii) Space should be earmarked for parking of Ground Handling Equipment. viii)Directorate General of Civil Aviation, along side the airport operator, to ensure safety in operations of vehicles, ground handling equipment and movement of aircraft.

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SNIPPETS Praful Patel inaugurates concrete pouring process

more than 69 per cent of the work on runway and associated taxiways has been completed and the runway will be commissioned in mid 2008. The runway will feature CAT IIIB Instrument Landing System at both ends. This equipment will allow landings in visibility as low as 50 m. This 60 m wide, Code F runway will also cater to new generation large aircraft such as the Airbus A380.

DIAL launches Phase II of Delhi Airport's website

Praful Patel inaugurating the concrete pouring process at Indira Gandhi International Airport with Kiran K. Grandhi (extreme left) and G. M. Rao (extreme right)

THE ONGOING MODERNISATION of Indira Gandhi International Airport moved into a new phase when Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel inaugurated the ‘Concrete Pouring’ process for the first slab of the Integrated Passenger Terminal Building (PTB).

The Minister visited the construction site of the new passenger terminal building (Terminal 3) and runway (11-29). Patel exhorted the team from DIAL to complete the project on time before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Work is progressing fast on IGI Airport’s third runway; which will be one of the longest runways in Asia. Currently,

AS PART OF ITS NEW BRAND identity, Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) has launched Phase II of DIAL website. The website has been designed keeping in mind the needs of the passengers and is easy to navigate through.

The new features added on DIAL’s upgraded website include: Flight Information Display System (FIDS), providing flight information to passengers.

Flight Schedule providing schedule of all airlines.

Fog advisory for Passengers with airlines' fog helpline numbers.

‘Passenger Info’ section presenting the updated information for passengers, and also includes domestic terminal map.

CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility section has been added to provide the insights on foundation activities in and around IGI Airport.

Master Plan Section has been introduced for providing the details of Master Plan (along with the progress films on DIAL’s Project Progress and Walkthrough to New Integrated Terminals).

Information on Cargo Section has been updated and added on Cargo section of the website.

DIAL has also set-up a basic Call Centre to provide the available flight information and airlines’ contacts numbers. The Call Centre no. is 011-25661080.

TRAVEL & TOURISM Sarovar signs with Vipul HOSPITALITY management company, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts has signed an MOU with Vipul Hospitality, (a part of Vipul Infrastructure Group), to open five new hotels in India. These will be Sarovar Premieres in Amritsar, Bhubneshwar and Raipur, Sarovar Portico in Mohali and Park Inn in Siliguri. Each hotel will be between a 100 - 150 rooms with appropriate F & B outlets, banquet and conference facilities.

“We are desirous of setting up independent, stand alone hotels and resorts as also a part of retail and commercial developments in various cities in India,” said Punit Beriwala, Managing Director of Vipul Hospitality.

Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts said, “With Vipul Infrastructure’s expertise in highclass reality development, we consider this association as a befitting match that would complement the technical knowhow, finesse, and professionalism synonymous with Sarovar Hotels”.

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Exempt List The Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel has announced that the list of dignitaries who are exempted from pre-embarkation security checks at Civil Airports has been extended to include the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, holders of Bharat Ratna, the Chief Election Commissioner, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Attorney General of India and the Chiefs of Defence Staff, holding the rank of full General or equivalent.

It may be recalled that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has a list of VVIPs/ VIPs Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta who are exempt from pre-embarkation security checks at all civil airports in the country. They include the President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister, former Presidents, former Vice Presidents, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of India, Judges of Supreme Court, Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Cabinet rank, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, all Governors of States, Chief Ministers of States, Ministers of State of the Union Council of Ministers, Chief Justices of the High Courts, Lt. Governors of Union Territories, Chief Ministers of UTs, Deputy Chief Ministers of State, Deputy Chief Ministers of UTs, Ambassadors of foreign countries, Charge-D’ Affaires and High Commissioners and their spouses, the Cabinet Secretary and others.

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Murali Krishna Reddy and Managing Director Avinaja Reddy, have ensured that their new hotel at Bengaluru is furnished in keeping with the demands of today's business travellers.

Suresh Kumar, President Fortune Park Hotels Ltd, who has spent a number of years at Bangalore says, “I am delighted that our chain has opened a hotel in Bangalore. To keep up with the rapid strides that this city has made in recent years, we have been keenly aware of the need to open one at the earliest. Fortune Select Trinity will no doubt become one of our most important destinations.”

Fortune at Bengaluru FORTUNE PARK HOTELS LTD, a subsidiary of ITC Ltd announced the opening of its next hotel — Fortune Select Trinity at Bengaluru. Located at Whitefield, the 143 room property opened on December 28, 2007. As you enter the gate, the ‘Garden’ status of the city in which it is located is highlighted by a driveway lined with beds of Canna and water bodies. Fortune Select Trinity is part of the Hyderabad based company, Innmar Tourism & Hotels Private Ltd. Chairman

Yatra.com launches affiliate programme YATRA ONLINE HAS LAUNCHED “The Yatra Affiliate Program”, an innovative business opportunity for companies and individual website owners. The Affiliate program offers opportunity to generate revenue by promoting Yatra online products and services on the affiliate’s website.

Yatra Online affiliate program is a new and beneficial offer for site owners. It is free of cost and any organisation or company who owns a website can apply for this program by registering as Yatra Affiliate. Site owners could enhance their site services and business with wide range of Yatra online products and services, and alongside generate additional commissions for every booking generated from an affiliate’s site.

The Yatra services offered are assisted round the clock by highly experienced and well informed travel consultants to assist visitors.

Tourism Consultative Committee meets in Agra THE TOURISM and Culture Minister, Ambika Soni has said that creation of tourism infrastructure at world heritage sites is a priority for her ministry and efforts are being made to have better coordination with various central ministries to expedite these projects. Addressing the Consultative Committee Meeting of the

Parliament attached to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture at Agra, she said the Tourism Ministry had sent a presentation to the Prime Minister on the areas where better coordination was required among various central ministries for promotion of tourism and betterment of related infrastructure in the country.

Creative Travel India wins SITE Crystal Award CREATIVE TRAVEL, New Delhi, received a Crystal Award by the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE) for the most outstanding incentive travel Program — up to three nights, Under 200 participants for their “Journey to Remember” program for Tetra Pak. SITE recognised the best incentive campaigns, special/ motivational events and promotion campaigns at a December 7, 2007 ceremony during the organisation’s International Conference in Monterey, Rajeev Kohli California. Creative Travel is the first Asian company to ever win this highly coveted award.

Creative Travel Pvt Ltd is chaired by Ram Kohli, a veteran of the travel industry. The award was received by Rajeev Kohli, Director of Marketing for the Company.

Radha Bhatia is WTTC India’s new Chairperson MRS. RADHA BHATIA, Chairperson of the Delhi-based Bird Group, was unanimously elected as the new Chairperson of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) at the AGM. Mrs. Bhatia has taken over from Nakul Anand, Chief Executive, ITC Hotels who stepped down at the end of his one-year term.

Over the past years, WTTC India Initiative has been closely working with the government on various issues of concern pertaining to the travel and tourism industry and is also associated with the pioneers of the industry for the same cause.

Radha Bhatia's commitment to the travel trade is visible in

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her ability to translate sound knowledge and experience of several years into real time projects.

The WTTC India Initiative also announced the appointment of Ajoy Misra, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing, The Indian Hotels Company Limited.

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707 scores half a century B

ELIEVE IT OR NOT, Air India was the first airline in Asia to have an all jet fleet when it ordered the Boeing 707s.

If you want to see the magic of those days, it is best to see through the acclaimed Zafar Hai film made for the Maharaja. It will warm your hearts and tell you what an airline AI was at one time. December 20 marked the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the 707: the cut-off point when propellers gave way to the jet age and air travel became affordable and

available.

Much larger, faster and smoother than the propeller airplanes it was replacing, the 707 quickly changed the face of global travel. The first commercial 707s had range capability that was barely sufficient to cross the Atlantic Ocean. But Boeing soon introduced the longrange 707-320 Intercontinental that in May 1959 flew 5382 miles nonstop from Seattle to Rome in 11 hours and 6 minutes. You can do that in six and a half hours these days.

Made in China!

C

HINA’S FIRST FULLY homegrown commercial aircraft, a 90-passenger plane intended to be sold eventually for export, has rolled off the production line.

The ARJ-21 — the advanced regional jet for the 21st century — would compete in China, the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, against mid-size aircraft offered by Brazil’s Embraer and

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Canada’s Bombardier Inc. The maiden flight for the ARJ-21 is planned for March this year. It reportedly has a flight range of 2300 miles.

CRUISING HEIGHTS January 2008

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