Ch june 2006

June 2006

Rs 60

As their numbers grow, air passengers are questioning airports and airlines about the quality of their services

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Liking the ticket, not the stock !

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Modernisation and infrastructure upgrading is going ahead at breakneck speed.

Cargo, ground handling, maintenance (MRO) are all coming into the country in a big, big way.

So why is there so much scepticism when it comes to the question of embracing airline stocks? It’s a difficult question to answer, but I shall attempt it in two parts. The first part is the public face of civil aviation in the country, articulated at the moment by a youthful, photogenic, erudite Praful Patel. When the masses see ticket prices tumble, they think Praful Patel has waved a magic wand. When they see a dozen different airlines offering them a variety of options, they think it’s magic woven by PP. And when they are offered juicy fares to Bangkok and KL at ridiculously low fares, they think they should thank the minister for giving them the opportunity to be naughty for a weekend. So naturally, Praful Patel walks away with all the applause and the awards.

At the other end of the spectrum, are the businessclass passengers: the institutional investor, the financial analyst and the mutual-fund specialist. For them, the Indian aviation business is still in its infancy, waiting to mature. They view it as inflammable and combustible, and constantly talk of a flameout in the next 18 months to two years—a period that will see more mergers, acquisitions and consolidations. For them, Jet Airways presents an avatar is not what matters, but what it will have to offer in a greatly competitive and better-defined aviation market three years down the line.

It isn’t easy to predict what shape that market will take in the months to come. Definitely, it will be better organised, more open and competitive, with much superior infrastructure. And perhaps the shakeout, flameout or whatever else you may want to term it, would have occurred by then. No wonder they are taking it easy on aviation stocks.

So, Captain, lucky you. You have walked past the finishing line, bruised but most certainly not battered.

It gives you the opportunity to tell these sceptics that they are wrong. Or else the common man will buy your tickets and these Wall Street types will take the club premier in Jet Airways. The beauty is, even in this case, they like his service but not his stock.

he great meltdown at the bourses in late May was viewed by many as long overdue. A correction, it was said, would do much good to a stock market that oscillates more on tips from punters than NAVs. The CPM added its own additives to the highly combustible atmosphere by its two-bit announcement on the agreement with Mauritius (that’s commonly used by most FIIs to avoid double taxation) and gave the meltdown a turbo charge.

Yechury was unconcerned at the reaction. After all, less than one per cent of the Indian public indulged Dalal Street!

Caught in the midst of this volatile situation was Air Deccan, the IPO of which, it looked at one stage, might not even be fully subscribed. Thankfully, for Captain Gopinath and his team at Air Deccan, the LCC braved the turbulence and managed to just breast the tape. It was a close call, indeed. The last big IPO, in fact the first, from the aviation business was the Jet Airways’listing in 2004. That created a lot of hoopla, with the markets lapping up the legend of Naresh Goyal, the undoubted class of the airline, to give it a heady reception.

And there the story ends. Since then Jet Airways’share hasn’t made any spectacular gains. If anything, it has steadily lost ground at the BSE. On the face of it, this looks completely out of form. Here is an airline that’s making profits, declaring healthy dividends, gobbling up another airline, ordering over two dozen wide-bodied, state-of-the-art jets and generally getting established itself as a major global player. If anything, its stock should be the darling of the institutional as well as the small investor. But that isn’t happening.

Isn’t it pretty incredible, considering the present aviation scenario in the country: Air travel is growing at a whopping 40-45 per cent per annum The industry, in general, is climbing at close to 25 per cent each year, far ahead of the industry average worldwide India ordered the largest number of aircraft in the world in 2005

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

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Off the cuff

Soccer spin-off By the time you read this piece, World Cup fever will be at a pitch in India and virtually in every country on our planet.

Such is the madness for ten men kicking a ball into the enemy goalpost—it’s frenetic, it’s electric and, most of all, it’s crazy. But that’s always been the case whenever it’s World Cup time.

Those who take advantage of the opportunity, laugh all the way to the bank. They enhance their profile, make plenty of money and have a whale of a time. It costs a bomb, no doubt. But the rewards are worth the investment. This time around, it is the Dubai-based Emirates that will be reaping the windfall of the FIFA World Cup 2006.

As part of its commitment to its customers, Emirates is giving away thousands of match tickets with its exclusive packages to Germany.

These packages include Emirates flights to one of the airline’s four destinations in Germany— Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Düsseldorf—or to Zurich, Paris or Vienna; two nights’ accommodation from a choice of one of 12 cities where 2006 FIFA World Cup matches are being played, and a free match ticket to any of the games, including the final, subject to availability. The FIFA World Cup is world’s largest sporting event, with some 30 billion television viewers in more than 210 countries expected to watch the tournament.

Emirates will be there right where the action is.

It can be argued that Emirates has no constraints, unlike our PSUs— after all, the Sheikh’s uncle is the chairman of the airline—and it was easy for it to partner FIFA in its World Cup adventure. If Air India or Indian had to get into a similar tieup, they would perhaps have to move heaven and earth. Fair enough.

But there are three major events lined up in India in the next four years—The Commonwealth Games, the cricket World Cup and the ASIAD in 2014. These sporting events are big-ticket events. With the aviation and tourism businesses booming, it would be illogical if our airlines or hotels didn’t do some planning to market these events and make some moolah in the process.

contents

WHERE ARE MY RIGHTS?

p24

The air traffic is booming, but does the air traveller have any rights? With air traffic growing at a phenomenal 30 per cent annually, there is urgent need to address the issue.

Cover story.

CHINESE CHEQUERS

p32

Do the Chinese have a right to participate in sensitive high-security infrastructure projects or should they take the American approach? Special report CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

MR DGCA

p18

Kanu Gohain is the new face of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

An exclusive interview

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

CRUISING HEIGHTS K. SRINIVASAN Editor

R. KRISHNAN Consulting Editor

BACK PAGE p48

ANAMIKA VERMA Editorial Coordinator

Star alliance gets under one roof

DUSHYANT PARASHAR Creative Director

NEWS SNIPPETS

BHART BHARDWAJ

p43

Art Director

All the news from the word of tourism and aviation.

RAJESH KUMAR BHOLA Designer

NEWS DIGEST

p12

Mantriji tells Parliament about his expenses

RAJIV SINGH Gen. Manager (Admn.)

RENU MITTAL Executive Director Editorial & Marketing office: Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd. D-11, Nizamuddin (East) New Delhi-110 014 Tel.: 41825250/51, Fax: 41825496

OFF THE RECORD

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.

p6

Bisignani and IATA love India.

TOURISM NOTES p35 Cover photograph by: Dheeraj Paul

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Published and edited by K. Srinivasan 4C Pocket-IV, Mayur Vihar Phase 1, Delhi 110091 and printed by K. Srinivasan at Nutech Photolithographers, C-74, Okhla Industrial Area, phase-I, New Delhi 110 020 Vol 1 No 2

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“

Telescopic!

PERISCOPE

LETTERS TO EDITOR

Your cover story (Indian Tale, May 2006) was very thought provoking.

What seemed earlier to be a simple business merger did not turn out to be as simple. I was surprised by the view put forward by Air India that ‘foreigners are getting confused as to which really is the official Indian carrier’. It simply holds no water.

Thank you for an enlightening article.

Ashwini Raheja, on email

I immensely liked the Back Page (May 2006) this time.

Of late, it was just any other page, with nothing interesting to tell. But this time around it was a pleasant surprise. I hope you will continue to provide such interesting information in the future as well.

Jyoti Singh, Mumbai

I have been watching with quite some interest the developments in the Indian aviation industry. Air Deccan’s IPO has hit an airpocket. Kingfisher is in the red to the tune of Rs 190 crore. SpiceJet is offering 21,000 seats at Rs 99 each. Indus Air is taking off in June. Indigo and Jagson are awaiting July. Indian and Air India are merging. What are these mindboggling events leading to? I believe Cruising Heights is the only source I can turn to for explaining the situation. I know you can handle it well, seeing the way you have handled the Indian-Air India story.

Manohar Prasad, on email All correspondence may be addressed to Editor, D-11, Nizamuddin East (basement) New Delhi - 110 014 OR mail at newslinepublications@rediffmail.com

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“We

are part of the service industry and we have to be more presentable. So we are trying to get the cabin crew members to be fit. Repeated violations of the weight limit would attract a more severe punishment.”

VISHWAPATI TRIVEDI, CMD, Indian Hinting at ground duties for airhostesses who fail to trim down.

Magician “In

Mumbai they gave me the best citizen award. In Goa the Chief Minister comes and meets me every week. Here they threaten me. My businesses in the state [Kerala] employ more than 3,000 people and I have just begun. You go begging to Dubai for jobs.

But I can create 25,000 jobs before the end of the five-year tenure of this LDF Government.”

C.P. KRISHNAN NAIR, Leela Venture chairman He is ready to invest Rs 500 crore for the Kannur Airport, in Kerala.

Ouch!

“Revenue

growth simply cannot keep pace with oil price rises... the industry will have to take increasingly stringent measures to address fuel costs.”

JAMES HOGAN Gulf Air President and Chief Executive

Eureka “Online interest in The Da Vinci Code may spur interest in tourist attractions and destinations featured in the film and book, creating further opportunities for travel companies and tourist boards online.”

HEATHER HOPKINS, Director of Research for Hitwise, an online competitive intelligence service, UK

Top-class “The

people in India are very competent, they’re highly qualified people... We can begin work very quickly.”

ROBERT BROWN, Chief Executive Officer On CAE Inc's, Canada’s leading makers of flight simulators, hiring of a batch of 50 aerospace engineers from India to boost productivity.

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

South soars

Private airlines owe more than Rs 22 crore as outstanding dues* to Airports Authority of India.

Jet Airways owes Rs 687.40 lakh Sahara has to cough up Rs 221.24 lakh Air Deccan has to shell out Rs 223.61 lakh SpiceJet has to pay Rs 32.81 lakh Kingfisher Airlines’s dues are Rs 79.38 lakh *As of March 31, 2006

Bangalore served 47.92 lakh domestic passengers, up from 34.35 lakh, a growth of 39.5 per cent.

Chennai registered 41.73 lakh domestic passengers, up from 32.33 lakh, a growth of 29 per cent.

Hyderabad handled 29.94 lakh domestic passengers, up from 20.95 lakh, a growth of 43 per cent.

Kochi recorded 7.31 lakh domestic passengers, up from 5.90 lakh, a growth of 24 per cent. *Data compiled by AAI. *April-March 2005-06.

COLD STATS

Gimme my moolah

LOOKING GLASS

Illustrations by Zahid Ali

Gone with the wind “Some people want to leave (the IAF) for a better salary. But the number is very small.

Not a single person who has left ever told me that he is going to fly commercial aircraft. All of them cite personal reasons.”

—On the increase in the number of pilots leaving IAF. “If someone wants to earn more, no one can prevent him.”

—On the quality and high salary being provided.

“Motivating the pilots is the job of the air chief and not others. The air chief gets paid for it.”

—Denying that IAF pilots are a ‘demotivated’ lot.

S.P. TYAGI, Air Chief Marshal

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

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OFF THE RECORD

IATA bulletin G PATEL: An IATA favourite

THULASIDAS: Close to Bisignani

iovanni Bisignani is sure fond of Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. The IATA chief has invited Patel to the IATA AGM at Paris. Mantriji has accepted and delivered one of the main speeches on Day One of the meeting on June 5. Patel spoke on ‘Shaping the Air Transport Industry: Maximising Potential for the Future’. Now just a couple of months back, Patel zipped in and out of Singapore on a 24-hour sortie simply to keep his date with Bisignani at a regional Asian Aerospace Aviation conference organised by IATA to coincide with the Air Show in that country.

At that meeting, Patel was the keynote speaker and made his famous remarks on the Indian and Air India and backtracked hours later to describe it as a synergy. Keeping him company in Paris is Air India’s Chairman Vasudevan Thulasidas who was also there at Singapore. Thulasidas also spoke in Paris at the chief executive’s forum on the issues that confront airlines in Asia, North America and Europe. He is highly regarded by Bisignani, who has made sure that the AI chief is in the spotlight at most IATA functions. He was in Delhi last year and Thulasidas was his principal host.

His most famous statement during that trip was, of course, the, 25-minute wait in Mumbai, thanks to traffic congestion. The wait was in the air while on a Jet Airways flight from Jaipur.

Last summer, Praful spent time in Paris and Monte Carlo, one of the world’s great watering holes for the rich and the famous. Keeping him company was the Kingfisher boss, Vijay Mallya, and they were there to watch the Grand Prix. But this year’s Grand Prix is already over. But Monte Carlo is Monte Carlo and Praful could still hop over to the principality of the Grimaldis for a bit of holiday fun. Watch this space for an update next month.

THE BUZZZ...

No thanks!

PRAFUL PATEL may claim credit for the elevation of AI CMD V. Thulasidas as ‘Secretary’ in his present position. But the fact of the matter is that this Tripuracadre officer’s elevation happened in spite of PP and not because of him. Those in the know say that the PMO did push his elevation and some of the officers are deeply impressed with his performance when he was Chief Secretary in an Eastern state.

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Promotions due

THESE DAYS general managers from all over India are queuing up at AAI’s Delhi headquarters for the departmental promotion process.

At this moment, AAI is busy finalising its list of executive directors.

The PESB is also busy deciding whom it should shortlist as the next member (planning) in place of P.K. Mishra, who retires in October. This is a key job and virtually ever piece of equipment that AAI buys goes through his microscopic assessment.

Kashmir tales

BISIGNANI: Excited at Indian Aviation

J&K CHIEF MINISTER Gulam Nabi Azad is determined to fight the downswing in tourism post the terrorist attack in Srinagar.

Apparently he has told his officials that the only way to get the state moving again is through economic revival, which is simply not possible unless tourism regains its glory.

A core committee is being constituted to put together a comprehensive long-term package in place.

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Kaw update

WHAT WILL be the status of the Kaw Committee report?

Will the government accept the report in toto or will it \dump it? If reports are to be believed every agency has been asked to furnish its perspective on the report and most of it will be incorporated into the much-awaited civil aviation policy, which is likely to emerge after most of the policy pronouncements have been made by PP.

Getting the wrong end of the stick

What’s happening to the CDs?

W

HAT IS the real state of appointment of the two commercial directors— one in Indian and the other in Air India? In AI, the appointment (that is now almost through) is simpler. Present CD V.K. Verma was short-listed for the board-level appointment, excepting that his papers got caught in the turbulence between Mumbai and Delhi. But all clearances, including the Central Vigilance Commission’s, have now been obtained and the announcement of his induction on the board is seen as a mere formality. When last heard, the papers were in Raisina Hill waiting for the Cabinet Secretary to mark the papers to the Prime Minister. As far as the Indian appointment is concerned, Anita Khurana has been cleared for the slot, but her papers are apparently moving slowly. One reason is the imminent merger of Indian and Air India that would make two board-level CDs infructuous. So, given the opportunity that one position is vacant, one view is that it must be left as it is to simplify matters. The Indian view on the issue is simple. Number One, the merger is some time away, and Indian can’t be without a CD till then. “Moreover, why predetermine that AI will get the job, we have a better commercial network and we deserve this assignment,” said one senior official.

EDS for what?

MEANWHILE, THERE was a move to appoint 2-iCs at Indian and AI. But they have temporarily been put on hold.

For those not in the know, 2-iC is a military term and means second in command.

Both the PSUs were in the process of appointing EDs for various functions, but with the merger fever in the air, the move has apparently been slow tracked for the moment.

Taking charge

GETTING THE wrong end of the stick this time has been the Cornelleducated former aide of the late Pramod Mahajan, Ajay Singh. Singh now runs SpiceJet as its Executive Director and never tires of talking about the revolution wrought in telecom and how a similar movement is gathering pace in aviation. Of course, he doesn’t mention ‘PM’, but all this did happen during his tenure when Reliance Infocom was launched and it came up with the Rs 500 scheme.

So what’s the SpiceJet response to the

whole hullabaloo? Spicily simple: you don’t need to answer all speculation. Ajay is on work in London, will be back soon and SpiceJet is on course to grow spectacularly this year under a leadership that includes Ajay in a key role.

Indigo Issues RAHUL BHATIA is keen to launch his magnum opus Indigo into the Indian skies in July this year. His team is straining every muscle to achieve that deadline.

But there are issues and issues that need to be resolved. The DGCA has to approve the procedures that he has put in place, the Airport Authority has to clear the slots, the aircraft have to arrive and be certified. Boy, the list is long and exhaustive. Recently, Kanu Gohain’s men put the Indigo top brass through the

THAT THE handing over, taking over process at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport is on in full swing. The different agencies are still to get used to each other. But GMR, which owns the Delhi International Airport Ltd, has put out a comprehensive note to the workers on the pecking order—who reports to whom, what happens to the workers and how things will move in the coming months.

Pricing land

wringer, testing their procedures, their manuals and their preparedness. Well, what was the outcome? “Let us put it this way, their preparedness is impressive, but they need some finetuning. We have asked them to come back to us,” said one source. He added that Indigo was a serious player and those who took them lightly did so at their own peril. Looks like Indigo will fly soon, but its July deadline may take a miss. September could be a more optimistic D-date.

LAND PRICES in Gurgaon are expected to shoot through the roof, thanks to the announcement of the Metro and the modernisation of the airport and the cityside development that will come with it. So, what happens to all the plans of the budget hotels and motels that have been announced over the past few months. Well, some will have to rework their plans and some will have to look elsewhere for land.

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Joy for Etihad

THAT THE offical airline of Abu Dhabi, Etihad, has finally managed to get an assurance from the powers that be that it will get more rights this year to fly into the lucrative South India market.

So far, Dubai’s Emirates and Bahrain’s Gulf Air has a stranglehold on that market. Etihad had for long been clamouring for a piece of action and Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan bosses are believed to have said they would give the go ahead ‘sometime this year’.

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OFF THE RECORD

Off to Africa

Thank you, Mr Nair

S

O WHY did the Ministry of Civil Aviation finally decide that it was time to send Mr P.S. Nair packing? It is as much a mystery to the industry as it is to the Airport Authority or the senior people at GMR. The youthful looking Nair was the Airport Director at Delhi’s IGI airport before being elevated to the board (with some gentle pushing by former Civil Aviation Secretary K. Roy Paul and V. George of 10 Janpath fame) after his file tossed around for a long long time. Nair took over as the member (personnel) and was in the job for close to a year.

Suddenly without warning, Nair put in his papers last year and told associates that he was keen to join his co-brother in Bangalore, who had quit his bank job to set up a great consultancy. It was time, he said, to make some money.

Good idea, indeed. In November 2005, the Ministry of Civil Aviation gave him the go-ahead to take up a job, provided he did not take up a job with “any organisation with which you had official contact while in service under the AAI.” The permission came without even the cursory consultation with the institution that Nair had served for decades—Airports Authority of India.

In May this year, the Ministry wrote to the AAI wanting to know how Mr Nair had joined the GMR Board for DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd) and was discharging functions at Delhi airport? Well, the AAI gave the Ministry the whole picture, and the result is that the Ministry, through a communication of June 7 to Mr Nair, has “withdrawn permission granted to you.”

So what is Mr Nair likely to do? When last heard, he was fuming at the injustice of it all and contemplating legal action.

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V. SRIDHAR, the low-profile CEO at Pawan Hans has put in his papers and is moving to Africa on an ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) assignment. Sridhar will be the civil aviation advisor to the government of Botswana on a six-month assignment.

Insiders state that his candidature had the blessings of the Ministry and he is likely to get the green signal to push off in the next six to eight weeks. Sridhar has done four years at Pawan Hans and will have little time left for superannuating once his

term ends next year. In a way, this is an exciting new responsibility.

Moreover, he has done all he could at the helicopter PSU, making reasonable profits throughout his tenure.

Perhaps the worst phase of his stint at Safdarjung Airport was the floods in Mumbai that virtually wiped off the PH inventory at the old airport. Plans are now afoot to spend several crores and beef up systems there. Meanwhile the corporation has acquired several new choppers, which are being assembled at Delhi’s old airport.

Jagson’s plans

F

INALLY PEOPLE are waking up to take Jagdish Gupta and Uttam Kumar Bose seriously. Well Bose, a former Air Sahara honcho, has announced plans to launch countrywide services, but so far nothing has been unveiled except grandiose plans to buy twenty airbus A320.

Bose told the media in an interview earlier this month that the airliner will take off with “a foreign venture capital investor and a consortium of domestic investors.”

But Bose, who still remembers his Sahara days, isn’t averse to pick-

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

ing talent left right and centre. He has poached on rivals Jet and Sahara to get his operations going. For Jet Airways, the wheel has turned a full circle, indeed. It is losing talent virtually everyday to someone or the other. Two of its key in-flight personnel in Mumbai are moving to Kingfisher, and it is learnt that the poaching has spread to other centres as well. And the joke goes, Mallya is offering Kingfisher First salaries, so why not grab the opportunity. Well, one doesn’t know what Mr Bose has to offer. But if reports are to be believed they are par for the course. In other words, na zyada, na kam.

NEWS REPORT

What’s up at Chennai and Kolkata?

Will the Chennai and Kolkata airports be dragged by controversy or will they be modernised? A report by R. Krishnan.

A

FTER RAISING a stink over the modernisation and privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, the CPI (M)’s polit bureau has resolved that it will oppose privatisation of airports, Kokata and Chennai included, but will not object should these airports be modernised by Airports Authority of India (AAI) with private-sector participation. What this in effect means is that the private sector will have a minority role to play in the venture-a role reversal akin to the one being played by AAI in Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Taking strong exception to comments

by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel that JV route was being considered for airports in the two other metros, top Left leaders, including CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, had recently shot off a missive to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding an ‘authoritative policy pronouncement’ on the subject in line with the Common Minimum Programme.

“We firmly reiterate the need for modernisation of all airports, including Chennai and Kolkata, and are convinced that the

The CPM reiterated the need for modernisation of all airports, including Chennai and Kolkata, and are convinced that the Airports Authority of India is capable of executing these projects CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Airports Authority of India is capable of executing these projects, and it has the technical, operational and financial capability to ensure this,” they had said.

As far as Delhi and Mumbai are concerned, the documents transferring the management and substantial ownership, based on a 30-year (renewable) lease, has been signed by the government and the private airport developers—GMR and GVK—for the two airports, respectively. So, there can really be no going back on these two airports. Of course, the only way there can be a U turn is if the Supreme Court passes an adverse judgement on the Reliance appeal after it lost its High Court battle on the privatisation procedure adopted by the government to farm out the two major metros.

The queering of the pitch by the Left will leave the government with no alternative but to go along and not modernise Kolkata and Chennai airports. It will be interesting to see the attitude of the DMK. Some of the party’s leading lights, including Union IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran, have been vociferously seeking

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NEWS REPORT

DIFFERENT STROKES “The government would not oppose if the same criterion (as applied in privatising Delhi and Mumbai) was applied to Kolkata. If they take an adamant stand, saying that we would not allow privatisation of the airport unless it was undertaken by the AAI, it would not be in favour of the people of the state.”

Nirupam Sen, Industries Minister “We have taken a position in the CPI (M) that modernisation is yes, privatisation is no. We want modernisation urgently for Kolkata airport. And that modernisation process we want the AAI to undertake.”

Sitaram Yechuri, CPM polit bureau member “We have objection to the joint venture route for Kolkata and Chennai airports.

We want the government to accept our proposal. Our leadership is talking to them [government]. Let us see what happens. They [AAI] have sufficient funds and can undertake the job. They should do it.”

Jyoti Basu, former chief “Which letter are you talking about? Which state government are you talking about?

Is there any statement from the state gov-

An investment plan for Rs 1,500 crore has been drawn up

by AAI to modernise at least 10 nonmetro airports in the country by 2008

ernment here?”

Yechuri, on the letter written by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Who can disagree with that?

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CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

modernisation of the city’s airport as a second Changi. So will they keep quite and allow the Left to abort the modernisation of Chennai on the same lines as is being done in Delhi and Mumbai? Perhaps next few weeks will see a clearer picture emerge on the issue.

As on date, as many as 170 out of 454 airports and airstrips available in the country are not operational. Of the non-operational airports and airstrips, 87 belong to various state governments, 44 to Defence and five are private airports, while 34 belong to AAI. An investment plan for Rs 1,500 crore has been drawn up by AAI to modernise at least 10 non-metro airports in the country by 2008. These 10 airports fall under the 12 locations identified by AAI for upgradation.

Approval is awaited from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to kick-start the public-private partnership for modernisation of these airports. It will, however, be subject to the decision of the committee on infrastructure, headed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, on what kind of model to follow for the development of the city-side and what facilities could be developed.

Pending a decision on Kolkata and Chennai, work has already been started by AAI. The major works in progress or proposed to be taken at the Kolkata airport include the construction of an integrated cargo complex, reconstruction of international departure terminal building, construction of facilitation lobby, linking corridor for circular railway from Dum Dum to Kolkata airport, extension of secondary runway, resurfacing of secondary runway, and construction of cargo apron towards northern side and proposal for domestic parking stand at an estimated cost of Rs 352.10 crore. These works are expected to be completed by 2007-08.

Sources indicate that for Kolkata airport, the Centre has sanctioned a two-phase modernisation plan, costing Rs 750 crore. Aeroports de Paris’ engineering and architecture wing, which had been mandated for preparing the plan, has submitted its proposals. It envisages a 50-foot-high steel and glass international airport building.

As for Chennai, it is proposed to construct an administrative building, five night parking bays, 10 remote parking bays for A321 aircraft, integrated cargo complex, aero-link and provision of aero bridge and travelator for Bay Nos 24, 25 and 29 at an estimated cost of Rs 119.48 crore. These jobs are expected to be completed by 200708. In the case of Chennai, the previous AIADMK government had identified 15002000 acres of land for expanding the airport. The people who were likely to be displaced, protested the decision and the situation continues to be same even after change of government in Tamil Nadu. The matter

has, reportedly, reached the court.

NEWS DIGEST

Burnt in the sun

SUNSTROKE: Planes of all sizes and shapes in the cinder-dry Arizona desert

S EXECUTIVE DIGEST

OON AFTER 9/11 the aviation industry nosedived and many airlines sharply curtailed their fleet strength and many went into liquidation. Those were also the days when many airlines cut back their orders for new aircraft. The result was a huge number of aircraft got grounded and many of them flew in to take long rest at the Western US desert.

After the civil aviation industry began to revive, many of such jets were dusted, serviced and perhaps even overhauled for induction into commercial service. Then came the second attack—skyrocketing fuel prices. As per industry calculations, there are more than 2,000 jets (less than that were parked after

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9/11) parked by airlines and other aircraft owners in the same desert at present. High fuel prices have virtually stopped any chance of their flying again. These aircraft belong not just to the US but to airlines and aircraft owners all over the world, are parked include the desert near New Mexico, California and Arizona. Since the aircraft body is made mainly of aluminium, parking jets in deserts, with dry climate, helps prevent corrosion.

Leasing companies, banks and other institutions own most of these aircraft. Two main reasons for slow inventory (if one can say that) clearance include high operation cost for older airplanes and induction of more modern, fuel-efficient aircraft.

Air India hits CAG air pocket The airline has Jet goes hi-tech Boeing is all set to install Class III been hauled up by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for making a Rs 101.25-crore loss during 2002-05, due to avoidable expenditure incurred due to non-procurement of certain equipment. It had spent Rs 8.21 crore on outside repairs in the past three years because it had not acquired some equipment despite fund availability. In addition, the airline spent Rs 57.37 crore on a number of aircraft checks carried out outside the country in spite of having in-house capabilities. To add to it, the time taken for completion of the checks overshot the planned number of days, which resulted in loss of flying hours, valued at Rs 93.04 crore.

Electronic Flight Bag on Jet Airways’ 10 of the newly ordered 777-300ER, the deliveries of which will begin in early 2007. The airline will be the first in India to operate Class III EFB, which is a technology in which data, information and knowledge can be shared easily across an aviation enterprise. The advantages include increased efficiencies, a paperless cockpit and improved communications.

Flights of fantasy While some airlines may be Spartan

in their outlook and are even thinking of carrying passengers standing, others are all out to pamper the travellers. The yetto-be launched LCC Jagson Airlines is planning to offer

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Pilots are scarce UNPRECEDENTED BOOM in aviation has led to scarcity of pilots, and many airlines have devised new strategies to recruit pilots. India, at present, faces a shortage of 3,500 pilots, with domestic airlines set to add 300-plus aircraft in the next three to five years. Air Deccan alone will require five times the number of pilots (350) currently employed by it once its fleet expansion programme takes off as planned. Air India would require 700 pilots in the next five years. Jet Airways will require 1,000 pilots in the next two years. Indian remains in limbo, as no one takes it seriously, especially after news that it will be merged with Air India, even though Indian bosses have protested that it is not Indian that is merging into Air India, but that the two are merging into each other. As we said earlier, in consummation of marriage or was it merger, it hardly matters who gets into whom!

AI-SATS deal AIR INDIA and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) have joined hands to bag the job of cargo handling in the upcoming Bangalore International Airports Limited. The second successful bidder is the Bobba Group-Menzies Aviation consortium and the Swissport Cargo Centre consortium. It may be recalled that SATS had signed an MoU with Indian Airlines to set up a ground handling JV in India that was to have operations in a number of Indian airports. The JV was, however, virtually abolished and the whole plan sent to cold storage with the arrival of UPA government. Having left Indian high and dry, SATS has now joined hands with Air India. Perhaps Indian was the first cargo sent out by the new JV!

‘some frills that a passenger cannot resist’. And Chennai-based Paramount Airways is planning to introduce first class with ‘complete privacy’ from the first week of this month. For record sake, while Kingfisher had launched first class with 20 seats with 125degree recline supported by adjustable headrests and fully extendable footrests in Airbus, Virgin went ahead and offered bed to the travellers, with a bar and a massage parlour thrown in, on Mumbai and Delhi routes to London.

Jagson adds two choppers

The airline has announced the addition of two 26-seater helicopters MI-172 to its fleet at an estimated cost of more than US $10 million. MI-172 are the world’s largest commercial passenger helicopters, and will be

Mantriji’s expenditure

MORE THAN Rs 21 lakh have been spent on airfare for the Minister of State for Civil Aviation in the last two years. During this period, Mantriji also received a cash allowance of US $2,925, according to information furnished to Lok Sabha during the recent extended Budget session in May 2006. During these two years, Patel himself told the House that he had made 10 foreign trips, out of which expenses for two were met by Air India, one

by Indian Airlines and one was self-sponsored. In the remaining six trips to places, which included London, Washington, the Netherlands and New York, the ministry had spent Rs 21 lakh on air tickets and $2,925 as allowance. Besides, the ministry also spent Rs 30,000 towards entertainment allowance and another Rs 7,600 as contingencies allowance. What Poor Praful Patel has incurred should pale into insignificance if one should tabulate the expenses incurred by chiefs of PSUs, including those of state-owned carriers.

used by the company for significantly expanding operations in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Northeast India.

MRTP clears Jet’s buyout MRTP Commission has

reportedly rejected the issue of monopoly being formed by Jet Airways’ buyout of Sahara Airlines, raked up by some domestic airlines, and has cleared the deal. The Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has also informed Parliament that the combined market share of Jet and Sahara was just 43 per cent and well below the 50 per cent threshold mark. In other words, it is not a monopoly yet. A little bird has told us that the Home Ministry has already given clearance to Jet Airways to appoint its own directors on the board of Sahara to facilitate an early merger.

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

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NEWS DIGEST

Airlines contemplating cargo

FILLING THE BELLY: Cargo is the flavour of the season. Virtually every airline wants to start a cargo unit.

MANY PRIVATE sector passenger airlines, such as Jet, Kingfisher and GoAir, are planning to launch dedicated freighter planes, whereas the national carriers are sprucing up their cargo operations.

Naresh Goyal’s Jet has already begun a detailed market study for launching a cargo airline and is in talks with leading players for the proposed venture.

Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher is pecking at the possibilities of starting a dedicated cargo wing-KingCargo.

Jeh Wadia’s GoAir is evaluating the prospects of launching a dedicated cargo airline wing—GoCargo—in partnership, to target the freight being carried by trucks and trains.

National carrier Air India is planning to convert two A310 into cargo planes as well as dry lease an A310, and a 747 for cargo services. At present, revenue from cargo operations accounts for less than 10 per cent of the airline’s operating revenue. The airlines could face some stiff competition from Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, which is beginning a twice-a-week freighter flight on the Hong Kong-Mumbai-Chennai-Hong Kong sector with a 747-200 from this month; Sri Lankan, which has launched freighter service between its home country and Coimbatore; and Etihad Crystal Cargo, which has already begun once-a-week freighter service between Abu Dhabi and Delhi.

Meanwhile Indian is planning to convert five of its old 737-200 into freighter aircraft, and use Nagpur airport as hub to offer express and retail courier services.

No planes in sight EVEN AS the Maharaja forcibly courts Indian and is also well on the road to select a consultant, who is expected to consummate the courtship, aircraft shortage is clearly coming in the way of both stateowned carriers. While Indian has failed to get any wide-body aircraft to push forward its long still-born plans to fly to London, Air India is facing serious prospects of severe capacity shortage, as three of its leased 747-400 are due to return to their owners before the end of 2006. In an attempt to tide over the crisis, Air India has decided to take on wet lease three 747-400 to ensure its capacity does not shrink. However, this time only the pilots and perhaps the engineers will come along with the plane and not cabin crew. One reason for wet leasing is not many aircraft are available in

the lease market and lease rentals have also zoomed beyond expectation. The wet leased aircraft are expected to join before the onset of winter. Why we have mentioned 747-400 is because lessors have apparently indicated to Air India that no 777 is available. May be Air India could even think of A330. But in that case, it will differ from the aircraft type (Boeing) it has ordered, the deliveries of which are slated from November 2006. (It had signed a big deal with Boeing to purchase 68 aircraft, comprising twenty-seven 787, eight 777-200LR and fifteen 777-300 ER, besides eighteen 737-800.) Air India has already sent two of its old A 310 for converting them into freighters. At the same time, Air India CMD V. Thulasidas has also asked his officials to look for long-haul freighters.

Boeing 717 phased out

737 model. A longer version of the 717 was once offered, but due to lack of interest by potential customers, not even a prototype was built.

Air Tran Airways, a subsidiary of Air Tran Holdings Inc., took delivery of the last Boeing 717-200 built at a special ceremony at Boeing’s manufacturing facility in Long Beach, California, on May 23 last month. Boeing claims that the aircraft was designed specifically for short haul, high frequency routes and offers low acquisition, trip and maintenance costs. Air Tran Airways’ 717-200 can accommodate 117 passengers and offers 12 business-class seats. Air Tran Airways, with 7,000 crew, operates 600 daily flights to 50 destinations. Actually, the 717 wasn’t exactly the most successful aircraft in the Boeing product range. Taken over from McDonnell Douglas, it didn’t really fit into the existing aircraft family, which relies heavily on the

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aiRES with Virgin Blue

Virgin Blue, Australia’s second largest airline, along with its sister carriers, will use aiRES, a passenger services system (PSS) developed by IBS Software Services, located in Kerala’s Technopark. Cendant Travel Distribution Services, exclusive marketers of aiRES, signed the agreement with the airline. AiRES is built from the ground-up on open systems technology and is designed to replace less flexible, more expensive legacy systems now common in the industry. V.K. Mathews, chairman and managing director of IBS Group, said they could be the only IT

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

NEWS DIGEST

BA profits zoom

B

RITISH AIRWAYS (BA) has reported an increase in annual profits after the airline filled its planes with passengers on more expensive tickets. Pre-tax profit was £620 million in the 12 months ending 31 March, 21 per cent up on the previous year’s. Sales increased to £8.52 billion from £7.7 billion, BA said. Operating profit was £705 million, which topped market expectations.

Faced with increased competition, BA has added new routes and raised ticket prices to offset surging fuel costs. The main driver of BA’s business is its trans-Atlantic and long-haul operations, and the airline has added new routes to China and India to tap into growing demand among top business travellers. About 60 per cent of BA’s earnings are made on routes to the US and Canada.

Yechuri’s complaint THE PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE on tourism, culture and transport has expressed apprehension at the possible ‘monopolistic situation’ in the wake of Jet airways’ acquiring Air Sahara and remarked that there is a need to check the trend.

According to the Chairman of the Committee, Sitaram Yechuri, the recent changes in the private airlines strategy in favour of consolidation has given rise to fears of monopoly, which should be checked. It, therefore, said that while formulating the new company to build path-breaking generation systems for all areas of airline business-passenger services, cargo services and flight operations. Virgin Blue and its sister carriers currently operate a fleet of 51 modern Boeing 737 aircraft, flying to 22 destinations across metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as eight international destinations.

Just for Rs 100! A division bench of Justice M.K. Sharma

and Justice Hima Kohli of the Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Centre, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and others on a PIL, filed by Rashtriya Mukti Morcha, seeking a CBI probe into the ‘alleged bungling’ in leasing out 5,432 acres of prime land of Delhi airport, worth Rs 14,000 crore, for Rs 100 per annum to GMR-Fraport for modernisation. The

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Also helping its bottom line has been a recovery in its short-haul business, which, the operator said, is now in profit for the first time in 10 years. BA has also improved its seat or load factor, with fuller planes as demand for air travel grows.

Earlier this year, BA announced plans to cut fares by more than 50 per cent to 65 destinations in an effort to lure clients away from its lower-cost rivals, such as Ryanair and EasyJet. BA is also looking at ways of cutting costs, especially with relation to its pensions deficit.

The airline has said it wants to raise the retirement age for its pilots and cabin crew. It would then inject £500 million into the pension scheme. Another negative was the impact of record crude oil prices, which pushed fuel costs significantly higher and were a main factor behind an 8.2 per cent gain in total costs.

BA said its annual fuel bill rose by 44.7 per cent, to £1.6 billion, and is forecasting that it will need to spend £600 million more this year to keep its planes in the air. However, BA’s efficiency plans would involve significant changes, and there are fears they could lead to strikes.

This aside, British Airways launched an exclusive premium check-in service, at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, for its first, club world customers, gold and silver card members. They now will not have to stand in queues at the airport, as they will have the facility of a dedicated ‘premium check-in’ area. civil aviation policy, consequences of mergers of airlines, including the reallocation of infrastructural facilities at the airport, should be addressed properly. The committee came down sharply on Air India for “lack of transparency” when it wet leased an A340-330E from Jet Airways last year without inviting competitive tender, which was wrong on its part. In this context, it said it was strange that the Maharaja failed to anticipate the shortage of aircraft as well as failed to assess the availability of aircraft capacity. The Ministry of Civil Aviation also came under criticism for allowing private carriers that underutilised their traffic rights to fly to the US and Belgium.

respondents have been asked to file their replies by July 20, the next date of hearing. According to the manual published by Land and Development Office (L&DO) of the Urban Development Ministry, the property should have fetched a ground rent of 2.5 percent at Rs 350 crore per annum, said the petition.

Indians say Huan ying

For the first time, a Chinese airline company, China Eastern Airlines Co Ltd, has hired 16 Indian girls as stewardesses. The airline announced that the girls had completed professional training as air stewardesses and would shortly begin to work on the company’s Beijing-Shanghai-New Delhi flight. Their monthly salary will be $800 per person.

Recruiting foreign stewardesses is one of the measures China Eastern Airlines has taken to further localise its air services. Cur-

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

A 350 woes for Airbus

A

IRBUS EXPECTS to decide before July on the final design of its A350 airliner, its parent company EADS has announced, even as it reported a 26 per cent rise in first quarter net profit. Airbus said it is considering modifications to the wide-bodied A350, its planned rival to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, after receiving strong criticism from airlines and leasing companies.

The A350 is intended for long-range, fuel-efficient service, but some customers have pushed for a larger version. “We have listened to customer feedback on our way to make the final definition of the A350 aircraft,” Noel Forgeard, co-CEO of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co, said at the Berlin International Air Show. “Do not expect announcements now, but I think we can say that the definitive decision should be made before the Farnborough Air Show in July.”

Airbus Chief Executive Gustav Humbert said the company was entering a stage when it will have to make a decision with its shareholders. “The decision will be made on the basis of what is good for our customers, and what will make the project more profitable-these are the two criteria for our decision,” he said.

Forgeard said whatever decision is made must take into account how to finance any changes, but suggested the company would be able to take on significant costs. Aircraft makers typically sink billions into the development phase of large planes.

“Whatever we do, it will be compatible with the financing capacity of Airbus,” Forgeard said, “You know that Airbus has a very strong cash flow, so we have some margins in what we can offer.” Citing internal Airbus documents, Flight International magazine reported earlier recently that the revised A350 would have larger wings and more powerful engines to support a new, larger A350-1000 variant to compete directly with Boeing’s 777-300ER. The twin-engined Boeing plane has been winning customers away from the A340-its four-engine design makes it less fuel-efficient, which is a critical drawback when oil prices are running high. Without giving any specifics, Forgeard said he remained confident in the A350. “Taking into account customer feedback, the A350 will prove as well to be a formidable competitor to the 787,” he said.

Airbus maintained its lead over Boeing last year in terms of net rently, the company has recruited 100 in-flight attendants from foreign countries, including Japan, South Korea and India. It is planning to recruit more attendants from Russia and the Philippines, the spokesperson said. The airline opened flights on the Beijing-Shanghai-New Delhi route in March 2002 and now there are four weekly flights on this route. The air company also began to provide air services for passengers from Beijing and Shanghai to Mumbai and vice versa in April last year, increasing its flights between the two nations to seven a week. By the way, Huan ying is welcome in Chinese.

AirAsia profits dip

A milestone quarter that featured the Malaysian government’s decision to shift the bulk of domestic operations to AirAsia, starting August 1, and the

orders and plane deliveries, but fell behind on order value, as sales of its larger planes failed to keep pace.

EADS, which owns 80 per cent of Airbus, earned 516 million euros (Rs 3,044 crore) in the January-March period, up 26 per cent, from 410 million euros (Rs 2,419 crore) a year earlier. Sales rose 30 per cent, to nearly 9.1 billion euros (Rs 53,440 crore) from seven billion euros (Rs 41,300 crore).

Also at the air show, EADS said it had signed a cooperation agreement with Russian aircraft manufacturers-MIG and Irkut-to focus on the conversion of the A320 and A321 aircraft into freight haulers. The conversion will be done in Russia and is planned to

begin in 2010.

Meanwhile, the European consortium has announced at the recently concluded Berlin International Air Show that it would start the process of setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in India in 2007 to service the fleet of a large number of Airbus aircraft belonging to both public and private carriers. According to Humbert, the manufacturer will not only service planes but will also support its customers. opening of the low-cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport did not end with very good news on the LCC’s bottom line, which showed a declining profit this year. The airline said the decline was mainly due to lower average fares arising from its aggressive promotions, competitive pressures and heavy maintenance checks due to the induction of the last batch of Boeing 737 aircraft. Revenues rose by 23 per cent, but expenses increased by over 32 per cent, dropping operating profit by 3.6 per cent. The promotional efforts did succeed in driving passenger growth. Thai AirAsia reported profits, while Indonesia AirAsia continued to produce losses. The airline is optimistic about its future as it has budgted for rising costs and is bringing to an end its Supersaver discount programme.

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

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Q&A

DGCA Kanu Gohain took over as the Director General of the allpowerful Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last month. A dyed in the wool aviation specialist, he spoke on a variety of issues in his first exclusive interview.

Some excerpts.

There have been allegations in the past about sloppiness at the DGCA‌ that things don’t move very fast here, be it the pilots taking their exams or getting clearances or the sundry other permissions.

There has been a lot of dust over a period of time. How are you going to clear the cobwebs?

Every area is being scrutinised and examined, from the files not being cleared to each and every delay. Time frames are being set, and if there is indeed a delay we are attempting to address it. Also, ensuring that the individual or institution concerned is informed. During processing of proposals, if things do not turn out favourably, it will have to be recorded . We must have the courage to state why we have rejected a certain proposal.

What about examinations?

Well, as far as examination system goes, the Kaw committee has made certain recommendations. Once the government accepts them, all efforts will be made to implement them. Earlier, the frequency of examinations was less, now with the increase in number of candidates, the need of more frequent exams has increased. These days, we get

is not a policeman! candidates in thousands. In order to have a systematic process in place, some steps have been taken. As recommended by the Kaw report, we have to take action weed out bogus candidates. Secondly, we are developing a bigger question bank so that at a subsequent stage we can introduce an online examination system.

lulled into believing that there will be any lowering of the bar on safety issues. As far as safety is concerned, it is a zero-tolerance issue. We do not debate on issues of safety.

When I talk of standards, I mean the overall standards.

Looking at the aeronautical side, in terms of ATC, there were certain shortcomings pointed out by the Roy Paul Committee.

What needs to be done by the DGCA to force up the ATC? It is not that the DGCA will act as a big brother. DGCA, Airport Authority, Ministry of Civil Aviation, we all work together. The Roy Paul Committee has made recommendations, it is under implementation. In fact, many of its recommendations have been implemented. Similarly, as in the DGCA, the ATC personnel may also have to be augmented to cater to the management of increased flow of traffic in the Indian skies.

Right now everyone has to come to Delhi for the exams…

No, that’s not true, exams are held in several centres throughout the country and the centres are decided depending on the number of candidates from that area. The rest are given the centre closest to their home.

The number of people you have to attend to this function at the DGCA has not increased in relation to the number of people appearing. How are you giving to tackle that?

We are all aware of the DGCA’s personnel crunch. Kaw committee has taken cognisance of it; it has made certain recommendations in this regard. But for augmenting our manpower through recruitment, we have to follow government procedures, which we will set in motion.

So it is clear that you will be hiring more people?

Naturally, but don’t ask me for numbers because the report is still under examination, the nitty gritties are being worked out and a judicious number will be finalised for implementation Is there a time frame for this operation?

At this stage, it is very difficult to set a time frame because there are so many processes involved in a government system. But we desire to do it as fast as possible.

What is your overall view about the Kaw Committee report? Please elaborate?

I was called on several occasions by the Kaw Committee to express our views. We had given a very frank and fearless presentation to the committee and it appreciated our handicap. With the growth in the industry and the number of airlines and aircraft coming in, the infrastructure will take sometime to develop to match the required standards. But when I say standards, do not be

DGCA is a regulator. Its functions are regulatory in nature. We have to regulate the airworthiness, the operational aspects of aviation.

The Kaw Committee has also made an important point about a regulating authority. If you look at telecom, you have TRAI, which is an independent and standalone entity. You have a similar situation in the case of electricity. Kaw Committee has hinted that DGCA itself could be the aviation regulatory authority.Would it be fair in that you are the examiner as well as the regulator?

DGCA is primarily a regulator. The misconception is really in what you have asked.

Can you be a regulator as well as an examiner? Regulator is a system by which the candidates are examined and found to comply with standards to discharge their responsibilities.

So you are for the DGCA as a regulator?

DGCA is a regulator. Its functions are regulatory in nature. We have to regulate the airworthiness, the operational aspects of aviation and thereby ensure that the country has a safe and efficient aviation industry.

So what should be the role of the regulator proposed by the government?

Well, perhaps, talking about an economic regulator, that’s a different ball game altogether. In the Civil Aviation policy also there is talk of an economic regulator. Now

is not a policeman! candidates in thousands. In order to have a systematic process in place, some steps have been taken. As recommended by the Kaw report, we have to take action weed out bogus candidates. Secondly, we are developing a bigger question bank so that at a subsequent stage we can introduce an online examination system.

lulled into believing that there will be any lowering of the bar on safety issues. As far as safety is concerned, it is a zero-tolerance issue. We do not debate on issues of safety.

When I talk of standards, I mean the overall standards.

Looking at the aeronautical side, in terms of ATC, there were certain shortcomings pointed out by the Roy Paul Committee.

What needs to be done by the DGCA to force up the ATC? It is not that the DGCA will act as a big brother. DGCA, Airport Authority, Ministry of Civil Aviation, we all work together. The Roy Paul Committee has made recommendations, it is under implementation. In fact, many of its recommendations have been implemented. Similarly, as in the DGCA, the ATC personnel may also have to be augmented to cater to the management of increased flow of traffic in the Indian skies.

Right now everyone has to come to Delhi for the exams…

No, that’s not true, exams are held in several centres throughout the country and the centres are decided depending on the number of candidates from that area. The rest are given the centre closest to their home.

The number of people you have to attend to this function at the DGCA has not increased in relation to the number of people appearing. How are you giving to tackle that?

We are all aware of the DGCA’s personnel crunch. Kaw committee has taken cognisance of it; it has made certain recommendations in this regard. But for augmenting our manpower through recruitment, we have to follow government procedures, which we will set in motion.

So it is clear that you will be hiring more people?

Naturally, but don’t ask me for numbers because the report is still under examination, the nitty gritties are being worked out and a judicious number will be finalised for implementation Is there a time frame for this operation?

At this stage, it is very difficult to set a time frame because there are so many processes involved in a government system. But we desire to do it as fast as possible.

What is your overall view about the Kaw Committee report? Please elaborate?

I was called on several occasions by the Kaw Committee to express our views. We had given a very frank and fearless presentation to the committee and it appreciated our handicap. With the growth in the industry and the number of airlines and aircraft coming in, the infrastructure will take sometime to develop to match the required standards. But when I say standards, do not be

DGCA is a regulator. Its functions are regulatory in nature. We have to regulate the airworthiness, the operational aspects of aviation.

The Kaw Committee has also made an important point about a regulating authority. If you look at telecom, you have TRAI, which is an independent and standalone entity. You have a similar situation in the case of electricity. Kaw Committee has hinted that DGCA itself could be the aviation regulatory authority.Would it be fair in that you are the examiner as well as the regulator?

DGCA is primarily a regulator. The misconception is really in what you have asked.

Can you be a regulator as well as an examiner? Regulator is a system by which the candidates are examined and found to comply with standards to discharge their responsibilities.

So you are for the DGCA as a regulator?

DGCA is a regulator. Its functions are regulatory in nature. We have to regulate the airworthiness, the operational aspects of aviation and thereby ensure that the country has a safe and efficient aviation industry.

So what should be the role of the regulator proposed by the government?

Well, perhaps, talking about an economic regulator, that’s a different ball game altogether. In the Civil Aviation policy also there is talk of an economic regulator. Now

Q&A who should take over this function, the government is best placed to decide.

state here? It is the government, which in effect means in this case is the Ministry of Civil Aviation, under the umbrella of which we have the regulatory function. We are the appropriate authority.

The DGCA’s prime motive has got to be safety. With that motive in mind, requests from various airlines for so many slots at our airports simply make no sense, particularly when landing slots and parking bays are not available.

When the wheel of progress is turning forward and at a speed why don’t we allow it to go in that speed? Of course keeping a vigil on safety. Agreed, we are not able to match that speed in some areas, for example, in infrastructure development.

That doesn’t mean that the wheel of progress has stopped. We will have to make efforts to ensure that the ancillary services, like the airport infrastructure and other issues, are geared up to meet those requirements.

Does the DGCA require greater autonomy?

The DGCA is a subordinate office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Its functions are basically regulatory in nature, quite technical really and that is what we do.

What is the international experience?

You cannot compare systems in the US and the UK. We have to take the best from them, mould it into our system and have a system that best suits our requirements. Of course, they have to be in conformity with ICAO guidelines and standards.

You have started certifying airports. AAI has a view on this. What is your own view?

AAI has never been the licensing authority for airports. There is an Act that clearly stipulates that all airports, whether private or AAIowned, will have to be licenced. This is in consonance with ICAO requirements.

But that was not happening till last year?

Yes, but we are conforming to ICAO standards by licensing the aerodromes now. We have licensed Delhi, we have licensed Mumbai. And the process is on to license others like Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram followed by Ahmedabad and Kolkata.

We are now focusing on those airports that handle international traffic,subsequently we will come to the domestic ones.

Is it based on some minima prescribed

by ICAO or do you have your own rulebook?

There is nothing called DGCA rulebook.

ICAO lays down the standards and we scrupulously follow it. We also follow their procedures. Our people have been trained by experts for licensing airports based on those standards. So our checklist is in conformity with the international standards.

Well, the AAI was doing this job till last year. What prompted this change?

Airport Authority cannot license its own airports. It is not the regulator. It is a service provider. ICAO requires that the state should license the aerodromes. Who is the

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There is nothing called DGCA rulebook. ICAO lays down the standards and we scrupulously follow it. We also follow their procedures.

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Engineering has been a troubled area of late. How are you going to improve airline maintenance?

Everyone has to do their job. The DGCA’s surveillance machinery is in place. We conduct spot checks, we conduct audits. But the DGCA is not a policeman. We are framing the procedures as a regulator, but we delegate certain authority to the licensed personnel in engineering in terms of quality control. They are the ones who ought to take the responsibility to make sure that the high standards that we have set are maintained.

So it is not just the DGCA that is responsible. It is frankly the collective responsibility of both the industry and the DGCA. Recently the Minister said that there are over 400 airports in India and he wants all to work. Would you be in a position to handle it?

Once the manpower crisis is resolved, I see no reason why we can’t take this challenge.

As a regulator, you should have been able to forecast the staggering growth in the country’s aviation sector. You have failed in that respect.

Why look back not look forward in today’s

aviation revolution in the country.

YEH HAI DUNIYA

Fraport all set to tackle World Cup

T

O SERVE the upcoming FIFA World Cup, Germany, the host, has unveiled a dedicated passenger terminal, named World Cup Terminal, at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) for national teams and visiting fans. For this purpose, Fraport AG has re-commissioned the passenger terminal of the former US Rhine-Main Air Base at the southern side of the Frankfurt Airport. It will be the only airport in Germany to offer such a terminal.

The World Cup Terminal has 18 immigration checkpoints, 12 check-in counters, three extra check-in counters without a baggage belt, six aviation security checkpoints and four departure gates. These will facilitate quick movement of the fans. Twenty-two aircraft, including three widebody ones, can be positioned on the ramp in front of and just west of the World Cup Terminal. There will also be shops and restaurants and live broadcast of the games.

Throughout the airport, passengers as well as visitors can watch the World Cup matches being played, broadcast live on the 176 monitors in the gate lounges of the terminals, as well as on ‘vision walls’. In addition, Fraport has increased its information staff in the terminals by about 180 people, specially trained for the World Cup. The information team will distribute information material, etc., throughout the passenger terminals, as well as be contact persons for all questions concerning the World Cup. In addition, Fraport AG has developed its own logo to identify campaigns and service offers, displayed on shops and restaurants as well, at Frankfurt Airport.

With all these facilities in place, Fraport has tried to ensure that it creates a memorable World Cup atmosphere at FRA in the minds of football fans from all over the world.

Dieter Weirich, head, corporate communications, Fraport AG, said that Frankfurt Airport was not only the gateway to the world but also a showcase for Germany, and that they wished to present the airport as a dynamic and efficient hub and Germany as a land of hospitality and friendship. He informed that the airport is expecting around 4,50,000 additional passengers during the World Cup weeks; and that more than 560 extra flights had been registered, including 300 flights to be operated with medium sized and wide-body aircraft.

Volker Zintel, Fraport AG’s executive vice president, traffic and terminal management, airport expansion and security, informed that a wellconceived utilisation plan provides for optimum handling capacities and discrete handling of the national football teams in the World Cup Terminal, as required by FIFA, and that all preparations had been made to ensure that the additional air and landside traffic be handled smoothly despite the considerable strain on airport capacities during summer months. Further, RMV Rhine-Main Regional Transit Authority and partners from the home countries of the football fans, have partnered to provide bus services between the World Cup Terminal and the Frankfurt stadium or the S-Bahn commuter train station so that the visitors can reach their destination quickly or get back to the airport for their return flights in plenty of time.

A pair of huge football shoes, a sculpture from ‘Germany—Land of Ideas’ campaign—has been displayed in front of the World Cup Terminal to create the football feeling. Fraport is a corporate sponsor and participant of this campaign. Otto Schily, Germany’s former minister of the interior and an initiator and advisory committee member of the campaign, remarked that the idea of installing the shoes is only a tiny part of Germany’s wealth of ideas, and as FRA’s World Cup Terminal is dedicated exclusively to football, the shoe sculpture couldn’t serve as a better ambassador, linking the inventive talent of the past with the innovative power of today—particularly because the shoe is made of a modern variant of Styrofoam (polystyrene). He went on to add that the sculpture not only referred directly to the World Cup but also symbolised the role of major international airports in the future. With globalisation, knowledge would be the resource of the future, increasingly mobile and seeking new applications around the globe. Hub airports will serve as vital junctions of knowledge and innovation.

YEH HAI DUNIYA

W

A Maharaja’s Pooja!

HEN THE flagship carrier’s 747 VT-AIM blew four right tyres during take-off on an LA-Frankfurt flight on December 19 last year, left tyre pieces on Delhi airport’s tarmac while taking off for LA on March 13, and again left tyre pieces on Delhi airport’s tarmac while taking off for Frankfurt on April 1, the Maharaja threw down his turban, signalling enough is enough, and temporarily grounded the aircraft.

It was but natural, as well as the norm, for Air India to announce a high-level inquiry into the accidents. The committee consisted of AI, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Boeing and Bridgestone (the tyre maker).

But god knows which courtier of the Maharaja must have been reading Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger, wherein is written, ‘What happens once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and three times is devil’s action.’

Boeing 747 VT-AIM was declared jinxed.

And other than a pooja, what better way was there to ward off the evil eye?

Meanwhile, the defects in the aircraft, pointed out by the committee, were rectified after it was repaired and serviced at the Kalina hangar. It even did a couple of test flights and was declared fit.

But the Maharaja put his royal foot down, saying it will not let the jinxed plane fly without performing a pooja. Further, Vaastu experts would also be consulted on the aircraft’s release date. An astrologer had declared May 24 to be an auspicious day for the Maharaja to put the plane back into service. And if AI does not perform the pooja on that day, then it will have to wait until June 7.

CMD Thulasidas said that all the checks on the aircraft were complete and it was fit for scheduled operations, but refused to give a release date. He also claimed ignorance about the pooja.

The royal tantrum appears to be not concerned with the fact that the airline is facing a severe shortage of aircraft, and is on the lookout for wet lease of aircraft in the lease market.

Lord Godiva in the making RYANAIR BOSS MICHAEL O’LEARY said he’d walk naked through Marszalkowska street, in Warsaw, if LOT (Polish national airline) removes the fuel surcharge on its tickets by the end of May. Known for his PR stunts and straight-talk with the media, he laid down the challenge on Ryanair’s website.

LOT, part of the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance, has levied fuel surcharges to offset rising fuel costs. At the time of going to press, the event had not taken place. Ah, all for a cause!

22

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Sorry, ma’am

Take it easy, folks

WHEN THE 3.10 pm easyJet flight EZY554 took off from Belfast for Newcastle, and the folks were just settling down, when a brawl broke out mid-flight between two men seated in the rear of the aircraft. Yet again. In April, too, the same easyJet flight had to return to Belfast for the same reason. Luckily, no one was hurt and no one was arrested, as the Captain did not want to press the matter. If one more such occurrence takes place, will a pooja be performed by easyJet, like the Maharaja, to ward off the evil?

Illustrations by Zahid Ali

MUMBAI-RESIDENT SUDHA SINGH TAKOO has claimed that Jet Airways had misplaced her bag during a Heathrow-Mumbai flight last month. Oh, no. It then returned the bag. Oh, my god. But belongings worth Rs 40,000 were missing from the bag. Oh, no. The missing items included a hair dryer, a hair-straightening machine, a few clothes, a handbag, chocolates, perfumes and a watch. But what shocked her the most was that Jet’s duty officer (baggage) allegedly told her that her claim, of Rs 40,000, could not be processed because her bag was of cheap quality. It paid her Rs 4,000 as compensation. Now Jet is claiming that she (Takoo) had signed a receipt for Rs 4,000, but the next day she claimed she had received only Rs 3,500.

Fifteen-year-olds fly aircraft FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD AMBER GIBBS and her classmates at Bradenton Preparatory Academy, in Florida, US, flew a couple of Cessna 172 airplanes from Manatee County to Venice and back. The executive director of Bradenton Preparatory Academy said this was the first year that aviation had been offered at the school, and that there were plans to continue and expand the curriculum. The students learnt for a few months both in the classroom and in a plane, and covered several topics throughout the course, including aerodynamic principles, control forces required for manoeuvring flight, relationships between lift and power, aircraft power plants, aircraft systems, flight instrumentation, navigation systems and other related avionics. Incidentally, there is no age requirement for students to fly planes with an instructor by their side.

He is not Lord Godiva AS OPPOSED to Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary, a former Royal Marine, Stephen Gough, flashed for no cause. He was busted by the police after he dropped his drawers aboard an airplane. Incidentally, he was flying to Edinburgh for an appeal hearing on four previous citations for nudity. The appellate panel decided to give Gough a full hearing, but he was warned to keep his pants on. Interestingly, Gough contends there’s no specific British law against public nudity.

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

23

COVER STORY

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AIR

PASSENGER

RIGHTS? AIR TRAVELLERS IN INDIA NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD— UMPTEEN OPTIONS AND DIPPING PRICES! BUT THEY ARE INCREASINGLY QUESTIONING AIRPORTS AND AIRLINES ABOUT THE SERVICES ON OFFER, WRITES NEETA LAL.

E

VEN AS Indian vacationers lunge for the skies during the Great Holiday Season, and VFRs (Visiting Friends and Relatives) do a ditto, the crush at the country’s stressedout airports is hard to miss. Chaos reigns supreme. Serpentine queues, power outages, bawling babies, hapless mummies with fast-depleting infant supplies, thrusting auntyjis and apathetic staff are the norm. In the face of such discomfort, even the well-orchestrated spiel of freshly-minted lowcost carriers (LCCs)—offering seats at impossible fares— seems to mock us in our faces. After all, what will you do with a cheap ticket if there are no good services to back it up?

Routine flight disruptions, due to some Teflon-thin pretext or the other, are also par for the course at Indian airports throughout the year, be it the winter fog, monsoon mayhem or the summer holiday rush. And here we are—Indian customers—mollycoddled into believing we’re kings in the midst of a resurgent economy-linked aviation boom. What greets us, poor chaps, instead, are ill-equipped airports and abysmal

EVEN AS VACATIONERS IN INDIA LUNGE FOR THE SKIES DURING THE GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON AND VISITING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES DO A DITTO, WHAT WILL THEY ALL DO WITH A CHEAP TICKET IF THERE ARE NO GOOD SERVICES TO BACK IT UP? Photographs: Dheeraj Paul

COVER STORY

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AIR

PASSENGER

RIGHTS? AIR TRAVELLERS IN INDIA NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD— UMPTEEN OPTIONS AND DIPPING PRICES! BUT THEY ARE INCREASINGLY QUESTIONING AIRPORTS AND AIRLINES ABOUT THE SERVICES ON OFFER, WRITES NEETA LAL.

E

VEN AS Indian vacationers lunge for the skies during the Great Holiday Season, and VFRs (Visiting Friends and Relatives) do a ditto, the crush at the country’s stressedout airports is hard to miss. Chaos reigns supreme. Serpentine queues, power outages, bawling babies, hapless mummies with fast-depleting infant supplies, thrusting auntyjis and apathetic staff are the norm. In the face of such discomfort, even the well-orchestrated spiel of freshly-minted lowcost carriers (LCCs)—offering seats at impossible fares— seems to mock us in our faces. After all, what will you do with a cheap ticket if there are no good services to back it up?

Routine flight disruptions, due to some Teflon-thin pretext or the other, are also par for the course at Indian airports throughout the year, be it the winter fog, monsoon mayhem or the summer holiday rush. And here we are—Indian customers—mollycoddled into believing we’re kings in the midst of a resurgent economy-linked aviation boom. What greets us, poor chaps, instead, are ill-equipped airports and abysmal

EVEN AS VACATIONERS IN INDIA LUNGE FOR THE SKIES DURING THE GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON AND VISITING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES DO A DITTO, WHAT WILL THEY ALL DO WITH A CHEAP TICKET IF THERE ARE NO GOOD SERVICES TO BACK IT UP? Photographs: Dheeraj Paul

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THE AIRLINES’ VIEWPOINT The airline has a ‘Customer Services Division’ in Mumbai, to which feedback on different activities is sent for necessary action. Feedback cards, called ‘Access’ are also available to passengers on board. The Customer Services division obtains response to the feedback from the respective activity divisions in the airline and replies to the passenger ASAP. Most complaints pertain to lost/misplaced baggage, food not up to mark, airhostess not attentive enough, requested food type (Jain, veg, non-veg) not supplied, too much flight turbulence, sleep disturbances, seat not changed upon request, etc.

The organisation takes its passenger complaints ‘very seriously’, though there have not been any cases where policy has been exclusively reviewed because of them.

It has a Passenger Relations Cell (Mumbai) plus about half dozen PROs (Passenger Relations Officers) present at the airport, who try to address passenger complaints forthwith. The nature of complaints is similar to Indian’s. If the complaint is very serious, it is passed on to Director PR or even Chairman. After review by various departments, due compensation to the passenger is given.

There have been cases of the airline reviewing its policy based on passenger complaints.

apathy in the face of flight schedules gone awry. In other words, an exponential growth in the aviation sector has not translated into good quality aviation services for us.

Is there no such thing as air passenger rights in India? Boarding an international flight from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport this winter turned out to be a hellish experience. Parking was, to begin with, a nightmare, canteen services were pathetic, the food overpriced, toilet flushes not working and airport staff’s behaviour, reprehensible.

reviewed policy on a passenger’s complaint.

The airline’s Quality Control department, in Mumbai, addresses complaints. Apart from offering feedback cards, when the cabin crew files their Voyage Report, or VR, at the end of each trip, some passenger complaints/dissatisfactions may be mentioned. These VRs are discussed at organisational meetings on a fortnightly basis. In addition, the airline Chairman, Dr Vijay Mallya, often interacts directly with the passengers—by making surprise visits onboard—to seek their inputs on the airline.

The airline has so far not

Growth in the aviation sector has not translated into good quality aviation services CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

The airline’s Complaint Redressal Cell, in Mumbai, handles all passenger complaints. Depending on which department they concern—baggage, cabin crew, immigration—they are then taken up with the authorities concerned to dispense with them quickly. Jet also offers passengers Feedback Cards, which are then gone through with a fine-toothed comb by the department concerned.

The organisation has never reviewed policy because of complaints.

What travel experience can an average punter expect?

With over 550 flights each day from major metros, such as Mumbai and Delhi, and the other big cities, too, taking added capacity, services are at the very brink of collapse.

“What do you expect from us? You can’t fly over three fourths of Delhi for security reasons. There is a narrow corridor for landing.

And for close to seven years we haven’t been allowed to fast track development work at the airport, all in the name of privatisation.

27

COVER STORY Why, we can’t even hire more officers because there is an employment freeze. Does the private sector ever face such utter nonsense?” asked one angry AAI official.

Airlines acknowledge that this is indeed an impossible situation. But as they are quick to point out, “Whom should the passenger complain against?” One senior official from Jet Airways elaborated, “Nine out of ten times, flights are disrupted or delayed either due to congestion in the air or some other issues. It is very rare that technical flaws are the reason for this. So why should we be the cause for the passengers’ anger?”

Then what happens in the case of fog?

Clearly, no one can be blamed for each winter’s chaos, thanks to the thick blanket that hangs over North India. Agreed, airlines and airports aren’t responsible for this mess. But surely there must be a bill of rights to ensure that they take care of the passengers at the ground level. “What I am angry with is the complete apathy that most institutions show towards the paying passenger caught in a crunch in the airport,” said Avinash Garg, who travels regularly on the Delhi-Hyderabad sector. Another passenger, R.N. Sethi, said, “Hopefully, they will improve over time with greater competition. MTNL and BSNL have improved enormously because of competition and, in turn, they have forced the private players to be on their toes.”

28

Despite Delhi airport’s possessing the CAT IIIB ILS, said to be one of the most advanced in the world, very few airlines use it, as pilots lack the requisite training

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

For North India residents, every winter spells mayhem at airports due to fogrelated disruptions. Despite Delhi airport’s possessing the uber-sophisticated Category IIIB Instrument Landing System (CAT IIIB ILS), said to be one of the most advanced in the world, which allows planes to land even 50-metre visibility, very few airlines use it, as pilots lack the requisite training!

Hence, according to a Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official, out of 21 days of fog this January, only 52 landings were made using this technology, most of them international. Says Ashok Sharma, General Manager, Indian Airlines, “This new technology, undoubtedly useful, is a tricky issue because the staff has to be well-trained to be able to use it.”

Contrast this with things at Singapore’s Changi Airport. Flights here invariably leave on time, the staff’s unfailingly polite and the coffee is piping hot. Smaller airport? You gotta be kidding! Changi received a whopping 4,000 weekly scheduled flights for its new Northern Winter Season (October 2005 through to March 2006) this year, an escalation of about 100 flights from the last season, with no less than 83 airlines operating out of it at any given time. Despite this, the airport is spick and span, a vibrant international air hub that has bagged a slew of international awards for its service and upkeep.

WHAT ABOUT COMPLAINT REDRESSAL IN INDIA? WHILE MOST private and public airlines in India have a complaint redressal cell at the airport-for beleaguered passengers to seek help in case of exigencies-these are at most miniscule counters, which address complaints of a minor nature (bags gone amiss, etc). Or they serve as enquiry/information outlets.

Indian Airlines, now re-christened Indian, for instance, has a ‘Customer Services Division’, to which feedback on different activities may be sent for necessary action. Feedback cards (called ‘Access’) are also available to passengers onboard.

The customer division obtains response to the feedback from the respective activity divisions in the airline and then replies to the passengers.

However, a vigorous law-like the EU one, which proactively protects air passenger rights in India, is seriously missing from the scene. Perhaps because this grey area suits everybody just fine. The airlines that can get away with inefficiency, the underpaid airport staff, which isn’t too keen to work in any case, and the toothless government that is at the mercy of striking pilots/airport staff. The odd one out? The poor passenger, of course.

However, all is not lost. There’s a glimmer of hope in the form of a few airlines and consumer rights bodies, which are mobilising public opinion on the issue. Air Deccan, for instance, the carrier that pioneered low-cost travel in India, is setting an example here by either offering passengers a full refund in case of a cancellation or a free ticket. In fact its Managing Director, Captain Gopinath, had made a public announcement of that a while back. But the key question of delays still plague most airlines. As one official from

A VIGOROUS LAW THAT PROACTIVELY PROTECTS AIR PASSENGER RIGHTS IN INDIA IS SERIOUSLY MISSING FROM THE SCENE an LCC said: “that’s why we are so conscious of on time performance. Late arrivals and departures

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

completely upset our schedules apart from, of course, angering the paying public.”

Similarly, the Chennai-based Air Passengers’ Association of India (APAI) is putting pressure on the government to enact a law that protects air passengers’ rights. The outfit’s President Sudhakar Reddy-even though he couldn’t be bothered about returning media calls-has gone on record to say that India, despite being one of the world’s most feted economies, treats its air passengers most shabbily.

“Passengers are not informed when there is a delay,” he said in a recent TV interview. “They are provided no facilities when they reach the airport-even trolleys are a luxury on a bad day-and neither are refunds offered in case of cancellations. To make things worse, there is no empathy from the airport staff, either!”

Who can disagree with that?

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COVER STORY

EUROPE GETS TOUGH! A NEW European Union law, which came into force in 2005, and whose validity is upheld by the European Court of Justice, dictates that all air passengers be guaranteed compensation from airlines that deny passengers (with confirmed tickets) a seat on account of `overbooking’.

The EU legislation extends its purview to chartered and domestic carriers as well as to all airlines based in an EU member-state, regardless of the origin of the flights. Ergo, henceforth, all delays/cancellations will be brought under the purview of consumer protection law. Also, under this regulation, overbooked airlines are required to seek customers who may be willing to forego their booked seat in exchange of other tangible benefits. Similarly, cancellation of flights will now attract the same kind of penalty as denial of boarding, especially when the reason for the cancellation is within the airline’s control, unless passengers have been given two weeks’

notice or provided suitable alternatives. If the cancellation delays the passenger by five hours or more, they are also entitled to a full refund of their ticket plus a flight back to their original point of departure if continuing the journey is no longer worthwhile.

Delays are estimated to cost European airlines around 1.9 billion euros a year. So if the airlines are to stay competitive, they will not be able to pass the burden of new measures on to customers.

Instead they will - and should -- try to improve their overall efficiency if they want stay in the rat race and be profitable as well. With global air traffic expected to double by 2020, this move is a highly welcome one with more and more people taking to the skies for both work and leisure. Hence, the new law will hopefully strike a balance between the interests of passengers and airline efficiency on the one hand and the need to keep fares down and airline competitiveness on the other.

A NEW EUROPEAN UNION LAW DICTATES THAT ALL AIR PASSENGERS BE GUARANTEED COMPENSATION FROM AIRLINES WHICH DENY PASSENGERS, WITH CONFIRMED TICKETS, A SEAT ON ACCOUNT OF OVERBOOKING 30

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

But till such time we get to a Changi-like scenario, is it too much to ask that passengers be treated better at our airports? The European Union (EU) recently passed a law that ensures compensation for all air passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled at the airport. (See box). This law will be applicable to all domestic and international airlines operating from the EU airports, high-cost or low-cost. In other words, if a passenger’s flight gets cancelled at an EU airport, the law decrees that they be given free meals, snacks, refreshments, free overnight accommodation, fax, e-mail, phone facilities and due compensation in case of flight cancellation. Utopian? Well, the law certainly hasn’t gone down well with some of the non-frill airlines (Ryan Air, easyJet). But there’s no denying that it’s a landmark legislation that will vigorously protect passenger rights.

Says renowned lawyer Rani Jethmalani, “For too long have Indian air passengers been treated as a pampered, elite lot that had no right to complain if it suffered a bit at the airport. But this is utter rubbish.

Why should air passengers be excluded from the ambit of consumer protection laws? Hence, the new EU law is a highly welcome move.”

And while the EU law is holding up an exemplary template for the world to emulate, what are we waiting for? Surely, if there are any passengers whose rights need vigorous enforcement, it’s us Indians. We’re flying a lot more (international traffic out of the country has leapt 17 per cent over the last one year, while domestic traffic has zoomed by 24 per cent), there’s an aviation boom happening in the country and we’re poised to be one of the world’s most-feted economies.

Indian domestic aviation industry, said to be the fastest growing one in the world after China’s, is expected to grow at a breathless 25 per cent per year over the next five years.

In 2010, 50 million Indian passengers will use air transport!

Surely, we qualify on all these grounds.

Perhaps the Chennai-based Air Passengers Association of India (APAI), fronted by its President Sudhakar Reddy, which is fleshing out a passenger rights charter, will help put things in perspective. Of course, APAI will meet with stiff resistance from lobbyists in trying to get to its aim. Of course, it’s not going to be easy. But at least a beginning would have been made. And we can then take things up from there.

In the meantime, let’s make a pledge this year. Just cheap tickets won’t do. Nor will a slew of mint-fresh airlines. We want good service as well. And fast. Till then, perhaps Indian tourism would do well to drop ‘Incredible’ from its moniker. And try and

get a tad ‘Credible’ first!

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CHINESE

CHEQUERS The recent decision of the AAI to say no to Chinese aerobridges on the grounds of security has stirred a controversy, with the CPM jumping into the fray.

S

OME WEEKS back, the US government, more specifically, the State Department, announced that it wouldn’t be using Chinamanufactured Lenovo computers. The controversy erupted after Virginia Republican Frank R. Wolf warned that the purchase of these computers posed a security risk to the country. Not surprisingly, the State Department announced that the computers would be used for unclassified work. Earlier in the year, a huge political uproar forced Dubai ports to withdraw from their bid to takeover several US ports,notably New York.

The Chinese bogey has now come to haunt the Indian civil aviation sector, with the government saying no to the Shenzen Cimac Tianda Airport Support Ltd, building aerobridges across several airports— seventeen, to be precise—in India. After the Airport Authority of India decided that it was a ‘no go’. As far as the Chinese company was concerned, it went to the Delhi High Court, appealing the PSU’s stand. The Court, while not interfering, noted the government in the name of security should not create monopoly.

Meanwhile, the CPM MP Tapan Sen, in a letter to the Prime Minister, asked if the UPA government considered Chinese

32

WALKING IN THE SKY: An aerobridge, the lifeline of any airport, under construction. There are few manufacturers with this expertise.

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

The Chinese had offered the lowest rate, but a much higher bid from a Spanish company was accepted CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

companies working in India as a threat to national security?. He wrote the letter based on an affidavit filed by the government in the Delhi High Court, in which the government said it was not in a position to allow Shenzen Cimac Tianda Airport Support Ltd to build aerobridges in Indian airports. It was strange, Sen said, that in July 2005, AAI had short-listed the company for various jobs, including the provision of aerobridges. In fact, in 1997, the same company had built aerobridges in Bangalore, Hyderabad and then Cochin (now Kochi) airport. AAI maintained that after 9/11, security threat perceptions had changed and a “fresh categorisation of sensitive, hypersensitive and airports in

33

SPECIAL REPORT

LAST LEG: An aerobridge takes you right into the aircraft, thereby saving enormous time and fuel. border areas was carried out by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security”. The CPM MP pointed out that the Chinese company had offered the lowest rate, of Rs 79.10 crore, but was rejected on security grounds, while a much higher bid, for Rs 189 crore, from Spain’s ThyssenKrupp was accepted.

Whatever be the merits of the case, it is no surprise that a CPM MP has raised these questions. On issues concerning China, Russia, Cuba and Venezuela, there can be no compromise as far as they are concerned. Insiders, both in the Home Ministry and the Airport Authority, stated that the no to the Chinese company was not some sleight of hand by vested interests. “We had forwarded the names of all the applicants to the Home Ministry. They came back with a no objection for all the applicants minus the Chinese. Now what are we expected to do under the circumstances,” asked one senior AAI official.

As far as Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi are concerned, the official said

34

If one goes strictly by the common-sense approach, there seems no logic in holding back the Chinese company from supplying the aerobridges CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

that all three airports had repeatedly been requested to have the applicants vetted by the Ministry of Home Affairs before finalising the contract. “But what are we to do if they don’t listen to us,” asked the official.

If one goes strictly by the common-sense approach, there seems no logic in holding back the Chinese company from supplying the aerobridges. To look for a security risk behind every aerobridge is, to put it mildly, deeply xenophobic. There has been a consistent move to say no to Huwaei in the telecommunication sector. Again, on national security grounds. Well, telecom could be a different ballgame—complex and complicated. But should aerobridges fall in the same category?

Strictly speaking, the Chinese have been equally cagey in their dealing with overseas companies. Telecom, Internet and satellite TV are prime examples. But there are others as well. In a liberal democracy like India, they have a right to recourse through courts. Who is going to listen to

you in Beijing?

NEWS REPORT

P

RIME MINISTER Dr Manmohan Singh launched yearlong celebrations to commemorate 2550th anniversary of Mahaparinirvana of Lord Buddha on May 13 in New Delhi.

A national committee has planned yearlong celebrations, spread all over the country. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture has constituted further sub-committees, including Buddhists scholars, prominent figures from various walks of life, representatives of various ministries and Planning Commission to finalise the events.

National seminars on the topics related to Buddha’s teachings and their relevance in today’s world will be attended by scholars, religious heads and Buddhist experts from

Tourism Notes

agreement for undertaking infrastructure development at Buddhist sites of Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kapilvastu, Shravasti and Sankisa, in Uttar Pradesh, with JBIC for a loan assistance of Rs 395.63 crore for total project of Rs 680 crore. A major campaign, titled Come to India—Walk with the Buddha, was launched in the Southeast Asian market and in the domestic market for promotion of Buddhist circuit. In addition, Buddhism has also been identified for tourism development in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka through a common promotional campaign.

Gaining Ground Tourism gained new grounds during last

TRIBUTE: The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh paying homage to Lord Buddha by lighting a lamp and inaugurated the commemoration of 2550th Mahaparinirvana of Lord Buddha. two years not only in the number of tourist arrivals, but also in infrastructure development and international projection of India as ideal destination. Here are a few highlights: India achieved a significant growth in terms of foreign tourist arrivals in the last two years. A record growth of 26.8 per cent foreign tourist arrivals was achieved in 2004, while the growth was 13.2 per cent in 2005, taking India’s tourist arrivals from 27.3 lakh in 2003 to 39.2 lakh in 2005, indicating a robust growth of 43.6 per cent in the period 2003-2005.

various countries. The concluding function will be held at Kushi Nagar. Meanwhile, significant infrastructure upgradation of Buddhist circuits has been taken in a big way by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture through identification of 22 important Buddhist sites throughout the country.

Government of India has sanctioned 14 projects, amounting to Rs 57.22 crore, for development of tourism infrastructure in 12 sites. The infrastructure development, amounting to Rs 299 crore, has also been taken up through JBIC for Ajanta-Ellora.

The government has also entered into an CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

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NEWS REPORT making world tourism body, represented by 150 countries.

J&K Booms: Revival of tourism in J&K has been a welcome feature. Special package for revival of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir has been announced. A number of projects to give boost to tourism in Jammu and Kashmir have been declared at a total cost of Rs 279.50 crore, which include setting up of 50 tourist villages, financial support to 12 tourism authorities, establishing a new tourism circuit covering Lakhanpur, Basoli, Bani, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Sinthan and Srinagar. It also includes assistance to travel agents for marketing, training in tourism industry and developing skills of youths for employment and tourism industry.

DEAL DONE: The Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, Smt Ambika Soni, and the Minister of Culture of Latvia, Ms Halena Demakova, signing an MoU on cultural exchange programme.

Foreign exchange earnings from tourism have also shown a phenomenal growth, achieving an increase of 35 per cent in 2004, and 20 per cent in 2005 over the previous year (in dollar terms), taking India’s foreign exchange earnings from US $3.5 billion in 2003 to US $5.7 billion in 2005. World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has estimated that demand for India tourism will grow annually at 8.8 per cent over the next decade, which will be the highest in the world.

Lonely Planet has selected India amongst the top five destinations from among 167 countries. Condenast Traveller and i-explore have ranked India amongst the top-five preferred destinations in the world. ABTA (Association of British Travel Agency) has ranked India as No 1 amongst top 50 places for 2006.

Incredible India Campaign has won PATA gold award for Best Print Ad Campaign, PATA Gold Award for Best Destination Campaign. The campaign has been ranked as the highest recalled advertisement worldwide and has been given the Jury Award by Travelution, the Netherlands, for the Best Advertising Campaign for 2004. TTG Asia has ranked the Department of Tourism as best National Tourism Organisation.

India was appointed chairperson of UNWTO task force to draw strategy for rehabilitation of tourism in the Tsunami affected areas. India was elected to represent South Asia on the Executive Council of UNWTO, the highest policy

Foreign exchange earnings from tourism have shown a phenomenal growth, achieving an increase of 35 per cent in 2004, and 20 per cent in 2005 over the previous year CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Rural Tourism: In view of the huge development potential of tourism, 71 rural tourism projects have been sanctioned to spread tourism and its socio-economic benefits to identified rural sites having tourism potential. The capacity building programme has also been taken up in partnership with UNDP for 36 rural tourism sites so that the benefit of tourism reaches the community at large.

Manpower Development: Rs 17.32 crore have been released for opening up three new institutes of hotel management—one each in Haryana, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand. It has also been decided to open a new institute of hotel management in Chhattisgarh. In addition, funds amounting to Rs 37 crore were also sanctioned for upgradation of building, construction of new campuses and procurement of modern training aids for 20 institutes in the country.

Capacity building scheme for service providers was launched in its revised form to ensure quality tourism service providers through various training programmes in public-private partnership. More than 40,000 persons were given training under this CBSP scheme. Training programmes for guides were also restructured, and refresher courses were also launched. Special training programmes for women service providers were also designed.

ITDC Booms: A radical turnaround has been recorded in ITDC from a turnover of Rs 184 crore with a net loss of over Rs 37 crore in 2001-02 to a turnover of Rs 379.78 crore with a net profit of Rs 39.03 crore in 2005-06. This includes total turnaround in flagship Ashok Hotel from a turnover of Rs 35 crore (net loss of Rs 15.09 crore) in 2001-02 to a turnover of Rs 93.03 crore (net profit of Rs 26.29

crore approx.) in 2005-06.

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GLOBETROTTING

AT A GLANCE Outer space to ensure airline safety FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) has said that the future of airline safety lies in outer space, with satellites and global positioning systems, though the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) traffic control system, with satellites and a form of a GPS, is still in the developmental stages. ADS-B would beam information about sky traffic, as well as weather patterns and even information about the terrain to pilots and controllers.

The system is being tested in both the United States and Australia, but would work only if every aircraft is equipped with it.

The call to doom?

T

HE POLICE and bomb-disposal squad at Incheon International Airport, Seoul, immediately swung into action when the airport’s information desk received a phone call informing that a bomb had been placed on a Taipei-bound plane and it would detonate when the aircraft takes off. While the bombdisposal squad was immediately dispatched to search the aircraft, the call was traced to the third-floor departure lounge. Baek (47) was arrested. He reportedly told the police that he had forgotten his passport at home and feared that he would miss the flight if he went back to get it, so he decided to delay the departure of the aircraft. The bomb-disposal squad did not find explosives on the plane, naturally. Police said Baek will be charged with violation of aircraft safety laws.

747 to quell fires

It may be recalled that in February, a lovelorn sixteen-yearold student in Mumbai, in order to prevent his girlfriend from going to Italy, had informed the Alitalia counter that a bomb had been planted in its aircraft and had held up the flight.

LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS in California recently watched Evergreen International Aviation’s stripped-down 747 aircraft spray water 500 feet above San Bernardino International Airport to demonstrate how it could be used to fight wildfires. The tanker carried only 20,000 gallons in pressurised water tanks, released by four nozzles. Evergreen and the US Forest Service are discussing a possible contract in which the company would provide the aircraft and crew, but not the fuel or drop product, such as water or retardant.

APIS for IGI WHAT IS APIS and how can it reduce the waiting time? On an average, a passenger spends around ten minutes for immigration clearance. Under Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), the immigration authorities will receive advance information for passengers as soon as the flight takes off for Delhi. The information regarding the passenger’s passport and visa will have to be provided by the airlines concerned. A new software developed by the home ministry will scan the passengers’ details and check whether the passenger is wanted in any case in India, or a redcorner notice has been issued against them and the like. Upon arrival in Delhi, the passenger hands over the disembarkation card to the immigration authorities, which will then be scanned by the computer, who, on finding everything to be satisfactory, will clear them. This will reduce the waiting time for passengers at immigration counters by more than half.

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CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Keep your laces tied

Mobissimo in India

GE SECURITY, a unit of General Electric Co, has developed a machine that detects explosive material on shoes when people stand on a platform. This would allow airline passengers to keep their shoes on while going through security checkpoints in the airport. The ShoeScanner uses technology similar to a medical MRI’s to detect explosives in five to eight seconds—it shoots radio waves at shoes to agitate molecules and analyse their structure. Readings are then sent to a computer that rapidly processes it. Currently being tested by a government lab in the US, the ‘very promising’ machine, if successful, will save passengers from what has so far been one of the biggest inconveniences at an airport.

Passengers have been urged to remove thick-soled shoes at checkpoints since Richard Reid tried to blow up a Paris-to-Miami plane in late 2001 using plastic explosive hidden in his sneakers.

MOBISSIMO, A global online travel search engine, is venturing into the Indian market and says it has plans to make the country its operational hub for the Asia Pacific region. The company plans to have a physical presence in India by opening a marketing and customer relationship office, preferably in Delhi. The company has also launched the facility of booking low cost air ticket, a hotel room and a cab with a single SMS. For this it has tied up with online travel agency MakeMyTrip.com and Kingfisher, Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir and Air India Express. Further, the SMS can get you information even on up-tothe-minute travel deals from India-specific online travel agencies, major air carriers, low cost airlines, car rentals and hotels.

Super jumbo visits Heathrow LAST MONTH, the two-deck super jumbo, A380, designed to carry 555 passengers, but with room for more than 800, flew from Berlin to Heathrow. The flight was undertaken by the crew to test the airport’s (Heathrow’s) facilities to be able to accommodate the aircraft.

Around £450 million have been spent by BAA, Heathrow operator, to have the airport ready to handle the A380 when it starts making commercial flights later this year. The amount was spent on the new pier 6, specially designed to handle the A380’s twin decks, resurfacing runways, upgrading lighting and building new taxiways.

The aircraft has been developed by the European Airbus consortium for about £6 billion, and is an efficient and clean and environmentally friendly aircraft, having lower fuel consumption per seat, and produces less noise and emissions than older aircraft.

Check-in to chuck-out Illustrations by Zahid Ali

A

DISTRICT JUDGE at Bradford County Court, in the UK, threw out a suit filed by a family from Bradford against low cost airline Jet2 when it could not board the flight.

The family was due to fly from Manchester to Budapest, where the daughter was to take an entrance exam for medical school.

When the family missed its earlier train from Yorkshire, it arrived at Jet2’s Terminal 1 check-in at Manchester Airport after the flight had closed. Consequently, the family had to forfeit its three return bookings and hotel costs in Hungary. Hence the suit.

Jet2 recommends passengers arrive at least 90 minutes before the scheduled departure time, with check-ins closing strictly 40 minutes before take-off.

The District Judge heard both parties, considered the evidence tendered, and ruled that the airline was not at fault and that the family had simply not allowed enough time to check in.

The family was also ordered to pay court costs, the airline’s

attendance expenses, as well as any legal fees the airline will have incurred.

Jet2’s boss, Philip Meeson, said that while they sympathise with the family, especially because an important exam was missed, it is a cautionary tale for air passengers that they should aim to check-in on their flights at least 90 minutes before departure. This was necessary as the airline had to ensure that all its flights departed on time, to avoid subsequent delays to the next wave of departures and the inconvenience that this can cause.

The family’s poor timekeeping will have cost it thousands of pounds of avoidable expenditure, misery and hardship.

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The 1st IPC Congress - The International Congress for Personnel Certification will bring together organizations and professionals from personnel, product and system certification, standardization and accreditation markets. You will have the opportunity to meet professionals from different countries, exchange views, present findings and plan for the future.

Congress Sessions (in brief) 22 August 2006 Morning Session

: Personnel Certification and Accreditation

Afternoon Session

: Definition of competence and examination methods

23 August, 2006 Morning session

: Personnel certification and standardisation

Afternoon Session

: Personnel certification as a statutory requirement

24 August 2006 Morning session

: Testing and examination

Afternoon session

: Training as an integral part of personnel certification

For more information regarding the Congress, you may visit the Congress website at www.ipc2006.gr or contact the International Personnel Certification Association (IPC) Secretariat at:

346A, Vouliagmenis Avenue, Ag, Dimitrios, GR 17342, Greece Tel: +30 210 9952577/9952276 Fax: +30 210 9937225 Email: secretary@ipcaweb.org.

Supported by National Registration Board for Personnel & Training C/o Quality Council of India Institution of Engineers Building, 2nd Floor, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002, Tel /Fax: +91 11 23370567/2337 9260 Email nrbpt@qcin.org

SNIPPETS

Deccan Khabar

TAAI Hosts UFTAA Congress

Flights postponed

The LCC has postponed the launch of its Delhi-Patna-Delhi flights from June 1 to June 15. Delay in the induction of the 13th Airbus into its fleet has been cited as the reason for the postponement. Passengers booked for travel on the sector concerned between June 1 and June 14 will be entitled to a full refund of their ticket amounts or a free re-scheduling of their tickets to the next available flight after June 15.

Captain knighted

Capt Gopinath has been awarded the prestigious Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the President of the French Republic, Mr Jacques Chirac, by decree of April 18, 2006. Mr Dominique Girard, of the French Embassy, in his letter to the MD and CEO said, “I warmly congratulate you for this distinction.

Your name is indeed associated with exceptional dynamism and quality of Indian industry. By this award, France acknowledges also the decisive role that you play for the development of the business relations between our two countries.”

UNIVERSAL FEDERATION of Travel Agents Associations (UFTAA) World Congress 2006 Rajji Rai will be held in Delhi from September 15-19, 2006, with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) being the organiser and host. The Congress will be held at Ashok Hotel and over 250 delegates from all over the world, apart from an equal number of delegates from India, are expected to attend. Rajji Rai, Hon Secretary General, TAAI, has been appointed as the chairman of the organising committee, which comprises of President Ashwini Kakkar, Vice President C.V. Prasad and Hon Treasurer Sunil Kumar, among others. UFTAA returns to India after a gap of 22 years and also coincides with the 40th year of its inception.

UFTAA is a world body representing the travel agency and tourism industry and was founded in Rome in November 1966 as a result of a merger of two organisations—FIAV and UOTAA—and began its operations as a federation on January 1, 2003. It represents travel agents’ and tour operators’ views on both inbound and outbound travel by continuous dialogue and consultation with other international organisations, such as International Air Transport Association (lATA), International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Jet News Celebration time The airline completed a year of flying its popular MumbaiLondon (Heathrow) flight on May 23. Further, it also earns the distinction of completing one year of uninterrupted flying without a single technical cancellation. The Mumbai-London (Heathrow)-Mumbai flight is operated with a fleet of young A340-300E aircraft in a 38 Premiere and 231 Economy class seat configuration. The carrier is also to fly a second MumbaiLondon night departure flight from July 10, which will complement the existing service.

Kiosk check-in launched The airline has launched India’s first-ever domestic kiosk check-in facility, wherein when customers use kiosk check-in, the system performs a name check, verifies the PNR, enables

Jodhpur Park Plaza Now Open

passengers to select their preferred seats and print their boarding passes using the printer integrated with the kiosk. Kiosk checkin enables only passengers holding a valid E-ticket and carrying only hand The Kiosk check-in facility. baggage to proceed directly for security check and thus experience a hassle-free check-in. Initially this facility is available at Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore airports, and will be rolled out to other airports in a gradual manner.

SAROVAR HOTELS has opened Jodhpur Park Plaza in Jodhpur, the second largest city in Rajasthan and home to some glorious tourist spots, such as the imposing Mehrangarh Fort, the magnificent Umaid Bhawan Palace and the fascinating Jaswant Thada.

A state-of-the-art business boutique hotel, ideally located in the heart of the city, it has 45 elegantly designed guest rooms and suites. The services comprise valet service, in-house laundry service, 24-hour room service, mini bars, satellite cable TV, safe-deposit vaults, tea/coffee makers and bathrooms with telephones. Oasis the Coffee Shop and the Poolside Grill offer an array of cuisines and Geoffrey’s the English Pub engages guests in exotic cocktails, drinks and coolers. The Health Club is exclusively for the hotel guests and includes hi-tech cardiovascular exercise equipment, showers, changing rooms and a swimming pool.

The two banquet halls, boardroom and lawns are ideal for meetings and banquets. The Business Centre offers a wide range of facilities, including secretarial services, courier services, photocopying and computer workstations.

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SNIPPETS

THANK YOU: Subhash Goyal, President, IATO, presents mementos to Anil Goyal, former Commercial Director, Indian Airlines, while former DG-CA Satinder Singh looks on, and Ajeet Bajaj (right), Managing Director, Snow Leopard Aventure Pvt Ltd

IATO Honours Veterans INDIAN ASSOCIATION OF TOUR OPERATORS (IATO), at its luncheon meeting at Hotel The Claridges, in May, honoured Ajeet Bajaj, Satinder Singh and Anil Goyal.

Bajaj has won the distinction of being the first Indian to

conquer the North Pole recently; Singh and Goyal, who had retired as DG-Civil Aviation and Commercial Director, Indian Airlines, respectively, were lauded for their valuable contribution to the growth and development of civil aviation and tourism and were offered IATO’s honorary life membership. IATO President, Subhash Goyal, also presented mementos to all the three on behalf of IATO. Major Murlidhar, Sr Vice President, IATO, gave a vote of thanks.

ITH’s PAT up by 52.83 per cent DURING 2005-06, International Travel House (ITH) has recorded a turnover of Rs 490.33 crore, compared with Rs 400.85 in 2004-05, an increase of 22.3 per cent. Profit After Tax came to Rs 7.00 crore, as against Rs 4.58 crore in the previous year, showing a growth of 52.62 per cent. Profit Before Tax rose from Rs 7.31 crore to Rs 11.66 crore, up by 59.50 per cent. The board of directors has approved the company’s financial results for the year. The ISO 9001 certified travel house is today one of the largest total travel management companies in the country. It has ten IATA offices across the country, and had opened, during 2005-06, two additional offices each in Mumbai and Bangalore and one additional office in Gurgaon.

MakeMyTrip.com Awarded MakeMyTrip.com has been awarded with the CNBC-TV18 & ICICI Bank “Emerging India Awards” in the Travel & Tourism (T&T) category for the year 2006. These awards are a pioneering initiative to recognise the contribution of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) towards the growth of the Indian economy. The CNBC-TV18 Emerging India Awards initiative recognises the most sustainable value creators among SMEs in the country. This prestigious award received 35,000 nominations this year and MakeMyTrip.com won the top honours in the T&T category. In the recently concluded Abby awards the online travel company won the gold and a silver for its marketing campaigns, Chidya Uddi and Chalo Lanka, respectively, in the Digital Innovation category. It also bagged a gold and bronze for its marketing campaign at the recently concluded AAAI Goafest 2006.

India’s Classiest News Magazine Please accept my subscription for 12 issues of

CRUISING HEIGHTS

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45

SNIPPETS

Seven Golds for Malaysia

MALAYSIA WAS awarded an astounding seven out of 31 coveted trophies from Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in the opening ceremony of the 55th PATA Annual Conference in Pattaya, Thailand, from April 23 to 27. The categories in which Malaysia won were Industry (Business Hotel): Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Environmental (Corporate Environmental): Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort, Industry (Spa): Angsana Spa, Kuala Lumpur, Heritage and Culture (Culture): Rainforest World Music Festival, Sarawak Tourism Board, Travel Advertisement (Print Media): The Journal, Sabah, Sarawak & Langkawi Tourism Malaysia, Website: Tourism Malaysia Europe Website, and Travel Poster: Sarawak, Sarawak Tourism Board. The winning campaigns were selected from more than 200 entries by panels of international experts in each category. The awards were open to both PATA and nonPATA members.

Malaysia Airlines Wins Award

MALAYSIA AIRLINES recently received Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Platinum Award 2006 for the Airline category. Dato’ Abdul Rashid Khan, Commercial Director, MAS, received the award from the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia, YB En. Ng Lip Yong at The Reader’s Digest Asia’s Trusted Brands 2006 Awards Ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur.

The consumers were asked to rate the brands on six qualitative criteria, which includes Trustworthiness, Credible Image, Quality, Value, Understanding of Customer’s Needs and Innovation. Post the global rating and consumer research, MAS emerged as the clear winner in Airline category. The Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Award Ceremony is an annual event organised by Reader’s Digest since 1999.

long-haul flying and Virgin is delighted to introduce it for its Indian passengers. The Upper Class Suite offers a comfortable reclining leather seat for take-off and converts into a fully-flat bed with a proper mattress for sleeping at a touch of a button. This is all in addition to the existing features of Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class, which include an onboard bar to chill out with friends or colleagues; a relaxing massage at 35,000 feet and a chauffeur-driven pick-up and drop service for easy travel to and from the airport.

Gulf Air Reports Growth

GULF AIR has reported strong improvements in major key performance indicators during the first quarter of 2006, as the airline’s two-hub strategy took effect.

During the first three months of the year, the seat factor increased to 73 per cent, reflecting a 6.3 per cent increase in premium passengers and a strong increase in Haj traffic. Unit revenue for the same period rose by 6.6 per cent over 2005. Gulf Air passenger traffic at Bahrain International Airport in the first quarter showed a 24 per cent increase year on year, while there was a 20 per cent increase at Seeb International Airport for the first three months of the year.

Amadeus Ties Up with Hayleys AIG

AMADEUS LANKA has announced its collaboration with Hayleys AIG for offering online travel insurance solutions for the new-age traveller via the Amadeus system deployed at a travel agency location. The partnership makes Amadeus Lanka the first company to offer online travel insurance solution in Sri Lanka. Currently, only five per cent travellers buy travel insurance in Sri Lanka. With this partnership, Amadeus Lanka aims to simplify the process of issuing policies and making it available as part of travel booking at the agency level and thereby increasing the share to 40 per cent.

Samsung’s MPI for aircraft

Virgin Offers Bed

VIRGIN ATLANTIC Airways has recently launched its award-winning Upper Class Suite in India on its daily flights on the Mumbai-LondonMumbai and Delhi-London-Delhi routes. Joe Thompson, GM (India), Virgin Atlantic, commented that the Upper Class Suite represents the return of glamour and luxury to

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SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO. LTD has joined the Airliner Cabin Environment Research (ACER) project funded by the US government with its proprietary Micro-Plasma Ion (MPI) technology.

MPI is a technology that generates large quantities of activated hydrogen and oxygen ions that exterminate viruses and allergy-causing microbes in the air. The process is being seen as a breakthrough in improving aircraft cabin air quality and preventing the spread of infectious disease and viruses. Some countries, like the US, have demanded that steps be taken to remedy the air quality situation onboard aircraft. In addition to aircraft, the technology is being studied for use inside automobiles. Developed after more than three years of research, the effectiveness of the technology was proved in studies at Kitasato Medical Centre, a renowned

CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006

Etihad News

research centre on viruses, in Japan, and British Allergy Foundation, in the UK.

Crystal’s Sales Conference

Continental Wins Two OAG Awards

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES won two major awards in the OAG Airline of the Year Awards 2006. It won Best Executive/Business Class for the fourth year in a row. It also won Best Airline Based in North America for the third year in a row. The awards are based on votes by frequent flyers around the world, who subscribe to OAG print and electronic travel information products. Tim Kennedy, Continental’s Managing Director Sales & Marketing-Europe, Middle East & India, accepted the awards on behalf of the airline at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. In the same ceremony, OAG’s Outstanding Service Award 2006 was presented to Maria Benson, Manager of Continental’s ‘We Care’ programme, in recognition of her dedication and inspiring leadership in helping fellow employees who were victims of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans last year.

KLM-Northwest Launch Exclusive Website

KLM-NORTHWEST AIRLINES recently launched an exclusive website for their trade partners. Travel agents across the country can now access up-to-date information on the two partner airlines any time of the day. The easy-to-navigate website is a one-stop info shop for travel agents and will provide latest information on KLM and Northwest Airlines, Flying Blue (frequent flyer programme), special meals, baggage, promotions and fares. The website will also provide information related to general reservations, the airline’s hubs worldwide, special reservations like stretcher, unaccompanied minors, etc.

BAE Systems Leases Planes to Yeti

BAE SYSTEMS Regional Aircraft has concluded an agreement with Nepalese regional carrier, Yeti Airlines, for the long-term lease of four 29-seat Jetstream 41 regional turboprop airliners.

The first aircraft was delivered to the airline in early May and the remaining three aircraft will be delivered in the coming months. Yeti Airlines is a privately owned carrier that first commenced operations in September 1998. It currently operates a fleet of four 19-seat DHC6-300 Twin Otters and three 36-seat Saab 340Bs, and offers the most intensive domestic network of any Nepalese airline with a concentration of flights serving the rural inaccessible areas of the country. It also operates charter flights.

Etihad Crystal Cargo, the cargo division of Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, hosted its recurrent sales conference in Abu Dhabi on May 19-20, Geert W. Boven (right); CEO 2006. Nearly 100 General Acting, Etihad Airways, and Sales and Services Agents Ingo Roessler (left); Vice (GSSA’s), business partners President, Cargo Etihad and team members of Airways, congratulate Titus Etihad Crystal Cargo from E. Gonzales General all over the world, attended Manager, TDG Int. Aviation the two-day communicaServices, GSSA, Manila. tion platform, reviewing and enhancing the services and product portfolio within Etihad’s cargo division. On the occasion, the airline honoured the outstanding performance of its partners.

Since its last sales conference, held in Abu Dhabi, in September 2005, the cargo division has grown phenomenally.

Eight brand-new aircraft and twelve routes have been added, further boosting Etihad Crystal Cargo’s capacity. To further improve the services levels of Etihad’s cargo division, several investments in new infrastructure and technologies have been made as well.

A high technology Portal Scanner, capable of x-raying a trailer in 90 seconds, was introduced at Abu Dhabi International Airport, dramatically reducing processing times of cargo, and further increasing security within the cargo supply chain.

New flight to Jeddah

THE AIRLINE has added Jeddah to its network, its 31st destination within three years. The three-times-a week service, served by either its brand new 777300 ER or 330-200, operating between Abu Dhabi and King Abdulaziz International Airport, is the carrier’s third destination in the Kingdom, complementing existing flights to Riyadh and Dammam. It will fly to Jeddah throughout the year, which will be especially popular during the annual Haj season, when every year more than two million pilgrims travel through Jeddah to take part in the important religious festival.

Launches flights to Doha

THE AIRLINE is launching its new service to Doha from the 18th of this month, marking another key destination in its expanding global network.

The UAE’s national airline will operate six flights a week to the Qatari capital every day of the week, except Tuesday, on its hree-zone Boeing B767-300 aircraft.

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BACK PAGE

SOCCER HEROES

Japan is soccer mad. No wonder, even airlines want to cash in on the fever. A Japan Airlines aircraft, decorated with a photo of Japan's national soccer team, is moved from a hangar during an unveiling at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

United we fly

FLAT TYRE: Who says

Air India alone has a flat on landing? This Indonesian domestic airliner trails smoke as it lands after blowing a tyre at Adi Sucipto Airport, in Yogyakarta, Central Java.

The incident closed the airport to air traffic for about two hours.

In a further evolution of the Star Alliance network, they will now work under one roof at Tokyo's Narita airport. Picture shows logos of different airlines displayed at the check-in counter of the departure floor.

The Star Alliance group of airlines opened an exclusive terminal area at Narita Airport, integrating its members' checking-in and other systems.

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CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2006