Ch November 2006

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NOVEMBER 2006

Rs 60

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Get out of the kitchen!

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T IS America's first post-war President Harry Truman who is supposed to have once famously told a General: "If it's too hot in the kitchen, then better get out." Rustic as it may sound, there is plenty of substance to that phrase. And in the Indian context, one set of players to whom its well applicable is the airline bosses.

When it gets too hot in the kitchen, they want the Ministry of Civil Aviation to come with a sprinkler and douse the flames. And invariably it's all about self-preserve. It is about their mounting losses, it is about better facilities, it is about stopping the marauding ASEAN bloc from coming into India during the winter 'open skies' season, it is about getting to fly overseas and it is about retaining the fuel surcharge.

At the first meeting that the Civil Aviation Minister had with Messers Mallya, Goyal and company, the core issue undoubtedly was the mounting losses but no one seemed interested in addressing other subjects. After three hours of heated debate, the only thing to emerge was the continuation of fuel surcharge despite the dip in oil prices because the airlines hadn't raised the price when the prices first went up.

Fair enough.

Alas, the second meeting in Mumbai went the same way: self-preservation, selfpreservation and self-preservation! Thankfully, though some attempt to cartelise and get everyone on board to hike the surcharge met with stiff resistance from one or two of those present, the whole issue were left open for a more convenient future date.

There has been little mention about the growing number of passengers and how one can improve their travelling experience or the arrangements for the annual fog nightmare in North India or attending to passengers who are getting increasingly squeezed between airport

CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

operators and airlines desperate to make money.

It's strange that Praful Patel should want to inspect the business plan of new entrants into the business. That's none of his business. It's for the banks and financial institutions to do that. After all, it's their moolah that is at stake.

If anything the Civil Aviation Ministry should keep their hands off the business and let market forces dictate events. Their bookkeeping at the public sector Air India and Indian Airlines has produced such disastrous results that both airlines have been desperately pleading to be left alone.

The problem with successive Ministers has been their reflexes are razor sharp when dealing with the private sector. If the private sector losses money, their heart bleeds; if Messers Goyal and Mallya face the music because of fuel costs, Mr Patel is a worried man. For years both AI and IA have been tossed around (including during the present regime) and ignored (when intervention was necessary) much to their detriment. Mr. Patel never worried at their losses or at the need to stem the tide. If unprofitable new routes have to be opened up, it's the job of IA and AI to do so. But when the first tranche of overseas slots was allotted, it was the private sector players who got the options.

It's a long story and one can go on and on.

But the bottom line is simple: each time the government intervenes; they make the playing field a bit more inequitable. After all, when politicians start being chartered accounts what can you expect?

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Off the cuff

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Easier check-ins

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contents GOOD TIMES FOR

After almost five years of discussion, US federal authorities cleared the way recently for a programme to provide travellers who volunteer for background checks an easier passage through airport security. The process will begin next month.

A company called Verified Identity Pass, which already operates a pilot programme called Clear at Orlando International Airport in Florida, plans to offer its service in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, San Jose and at Kennedy International Airport in New York soon, and in 12 to 20 airports over the next year.

About 20 airports have expressed interest to offer a registered traveller programme, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which would have to approve each one.

The agency has already completed the necessary paperwork that was needed for any programme to go forward.

According to an agency spokeswoman, Amy Kudwa, several other companies could receive their approval soon.

All of these would work essentially in the same way: applicants would submit to a background check and pay a fee, which is about $100 in the initial programme. Once approved, travellers would receive an identity card and a "biometric identifier" like a fingerprint or iris print would be recorded.

The registered travellers would benefit from shorter lines.

The TSA says that lines would not get longer for those who do not sign up.

AIR CARGO,BUT...

p20

Is India shaping up to be cargo's promised land? Going by the opportunities that exist in the sector, the potential to do business is growing by the day but without infrastructure, the growth story could wither away.

Where do we go from here?...

OFF THE RECORD

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Who is Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's favourite? Those in the know say that it is DGCA chief Kanu Gohain.

CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

PERSPECTIVE

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Before taking that international flight, spend a little extra time to prepare yourself. Check out a few sites on the Net that offer information and tips on air travel.

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

CRUISING HEIGHTS K. SRINIVASAN Publisher

TIRTHANKAR GHOSH Managing Editor

R. KRISHNAN Consulting Editor

PROFILE NEWS DIGEST

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Low-cost carriers have taken away the thunder from the legacy and full-service carriers. The four LCCs have cornered 27.1 per cent of the market share between July and September 2006.

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For well over 50 years, former chief of ICAO and now Governor Emeritus of IFFAAD, Dr Assad Kotaite's mission is to make the world of civil aviation as safe, reliable and efficient as possible for the benefit of all. A profile.

ANAMIKA VERMA Editorial Coordinator

DUSHYANT PARASHAR Creative Director

BHART BHARDWAJ Art Director

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

SNIPPETS TOURISM NOTES

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The tourism ministry has chalked out plans to promote the country in a big way abroad. India will be the partner country at ITB 2007.

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Air Deccan now flies to 59 destinations around the country. The carrier has not only consolidated its metro network but also moved to mini-metros and Tier-2 cities.

BACK PAGE

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Tennis maestro Vijay Amritraj taught Delhi's CEOs nuances of forehands, backhands and overhead shots at the AA's Tennis Clinic.

CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

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.

Published 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 6

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Damsel in distress

PERISCOPE

"She is begging for the return of the items.

She doesn't care how she gets them back, she just wants her stuff back."

“

HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS LINDSAY LOHAN'S PUBLICIST, Leslie Sloane on Lohan's handbag containing valuable jewellery, worth upwards of $1 million, being stolen from her luggage trolley at London's Heathrow Airport.

Virgin opines "Mess of European air traffic control is punishing the environment, with 35 different air traffic control organisations, compared with just one in America."

LETTERS TO EDITOR

SIR RICHARD BRANSON, Chairman, Virgin Atlantic, on plans to develop a shared solution to the growing issue of climate change.

AIRBUS WOES CAPA DIARY UFTAA AND KTM REVIEWS

October 2005

Rs 60

I REALLY like a good story when I see one, and your cover story this time, Help Us Please!

(October 2006) was really a good one. Praful Patel's comments were to the point and Vijay Mallya was in his usual form.

Aeroplanes overawe us, the common man. The glamour of the industry is akin to the glamour of Bollywood. But the behind-the-scene story brought out by you really shook me. The way the honchos argued, bickered and pleaded gave a glimpse of what goes behind to make those magnificent machines soar in the sky. Good job.

Raj Ratan Singh, New Delhi

THE ROLLER-COASTER RIDE IS COMING TO AN END. AS THE LOSSES MOUNT, AIRLINES WONDER, WHAT NEXT?

United we stand...

"Last year, we had self-inflicted pains due to poor management. The concept of 'airline suicide' was very much prevalent in India."

TARIT BARAN TOPDAR, CPI (M) MP, speaking at the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Civil Aviation meeting, of which he is a member.

Blunt, but right

WHATEVER HAPPENED to your Back Page? It is, rather was, one of the most interesting pages I loved to read. But of late, the news items therein do not merit even a full read. Please come up with something more interesting.

Sanjay Mahadeokar, Chandigarh I DON'T mean to be rude, but the printing quality of your magazine has come down. Earlier, even after I had read the whole magazine, I would simply flip the pages to take the once-again look at the aircraft, the views. But it is not the case now. Please spruce up the magazine.

Anil Goswami, on e-mail I LOVE reading the column Globeterotting. Especially those funny incidents that occur in the airline industry, be it at the airports or in the aircraft. It was funny, yet sad, to read about the plight of Kate Horan (Airline Loses Leg, Globetrotting, October 2006).

Smita Kohli, New Delhi

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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"Airlines are now saddled with a US $5.6 billion annual bill for security measures put in place since 2001. We have a much more secure industry, but governments are shirking their responsibility to pay the bill. In August, the European Commission agreed that its member-states must stop passing the buck to the airlines. Now we need action at state level in Europe and elsewhere. Governments have a responsibility to protect their citizens everywhere, whether in public parks, shopping malls, at schools and or on planes."

GIOVANNI BISIGNANI, , Director General, IATA, welcoming the European Commission's approval of an agreement with the US on the sharing of passenger data. Unfortunately, the talks fell through.

Boot polish, Sir "This is one of those classic services that gives travellers a moment to sit back, relax, read a paper, or strike up a conversation about the news of the day. We truly understand travellers' needs, and we want to take every opportunity to make their experience at HKIA more memorable and enjoyable."

HANS BAKKER, Commercial Director, Airport Authority of Hong Kong, on the introduction of the old-fashioned pleasure of a professional shine at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

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Shoeshine service at Hong Kong International Airport costs US $7.00 for a Standard Shine (two coats of polish), US $8.50 for an Executive Shine (three coats) and an Imperial Shine (four coats of polish) costs US $9.50.

The British Airports Group (BAG) sees opportunities for business worth $5-10 billion in India's airport development sector.

The number of Indian visitors to Nepal by air in September fell by 17.4 per cent.

COLD STATS

US airlines spent an average of $2.32 on food per passenger for the quarter ended June 30. That's 46 per cent less than the 2001 peak of $4.33 per passenger.

Zuji Survey reveals that over fifty per cent Australians admitted to packing for their holiday the night before departure.

A survey by Carrentals.co.uk reveals that more than a fifth of British holidaymakers are opting for action-packed adventure holidays, with women leading the pack.

LOOKING GLASS

Matter of privilege "The action of the security officials was very unfortunate... I had asked the officials to conduct a physical check-up and allow us to proceed, it was rejected. Owing to this, the Speaker had to come out and meet us.�

VARKALA RADHAKRISHNAN, MP, in his memorandum to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil seeking action against security officials at the Thiruvananthapuram airport for denying him permission to go near an aircraft to receive Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

Maharaja's new clothes "We don't want the A380 to be the last model we build. We want to keep making new airplanes."

TOM ENDERS, co-chief executive officer, EADS, reiterating forecasts of record aircraft deliveries the company has made throughout this year.

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PERSPECTIVE

CAPA forecasts a shakeout in 2007

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he coming year should see airlines rejig their business plans if they are serious. At least that is the message at the end of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's annual Outlook series, which concluded recently in Singapore. Outlook 2007 was the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's annual examination of the prospects for the Asia Pacific airline industry. The Singapore meet saw the participation of 30 CEOs and 300 vital stakeholders from all components of the aviation sector.

A number of leading industry watchers who voiced their views on the aviation industry in the Asia Pacific felt that the coming months would see the end of the overall revenue growth that has been seen by almost all carriers in the last few years.

However, the panel of CEOs suggested that 2007 would bring new, painful challenges to the region's - and the world's carriers that do not distinguish themselves from the field.

The Chief Economist at IATA, Brian Pearce, noted that the global economy had in all likelihood peaked in the second quarter of 2006, with "the US economy in particular having slowed very sharply."

The world was at or past the peak of the revenue boom, he said. Although, he felt the overall effect on airlines of the economic slowdown would be benign, Mr Pearce foresaw a "serious slowdown on demand for services to the US".

Don Birch, President and CEO, Abacus, said that the current period would be good for carriers in Asia than elsewhere. "We're seeing that people in Asia travel as soon as they have some extra money in their pocket, and the last two to three years has dramatically increased the amount of average disposable income among the populace."

Increases in discretionary income had been especially marked in South Korea and Vietnam.

The Japanese market was doing equally well. Chief Researcher for All Nippon Airlines, Tsutomu Ota noted that the Japanese market was, in fact, seeing a sizable increase in both inbound and domestic travel. As for ANA, it had taken the decision to reconfigure its long-haul aircraft with more first and business-class seats.

These optimistic developments illus-

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The end of revenue growth that airlines saw in the last few years is coming to an end. Air carriers in the Asia Pacific region would have to work out their business plans once again if they want to stay ahead of the pack in the coming year.

A number of leading industry watchers felt that the coming months would see the end of revenue growth.

CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

trate a trend that surfaced during Outlook: the need to focus on revenue. Numerous industry experts pointed out that the recent trend of focusing strategic attention on cost cuts had distracted attention from yield enhancement. As costs reach a point where areas for further cuts are not realistically available, the well-prepared fullservice carriers would have begun to focus on improving the value of their revenue.

Among the factors that would mean divergent fortunes for sector stars and underperformers is the future shortage of capital. With financial experts predicting that funding aircraft acquisitions with equity and affordable debt will be much

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more difficult in the near future, only those airlines that have exhibited an ability to wisely increase capacity will be able to grow their operations.

Patrick Murphy, former Chairman of Ryanair and currently Principal of Aviation Performance Consultants, explained this phenomenon, and noted that investor interest was unlikely to be piqued by the present shape of the sector as a whole, "but there are individual airlines that will outperform the industry at large." Those carriers, he said, would continue to attract the necessary levels of investor enthusiasm.

Speaking in the first CEO Panel at Outlook 2007, the chief executives of four Asia Pacific niche carriers stated that the key to their success was not following the prevailing trends, but by knowing what worked at their individual carriers and sticking to plan.

"We stay in our niche," stated Lim Kim Hai, the Singapore-based CEO of Australian regional carrier REX. Rejecting the conventional wisdom that safety was in mass, he said, "We're a small airline, but you don't need to be big to be profitable."

Similarly, Air Arabia's CEO Adel Ali said that his carrier learned that LCC orthodoxy regarding Internet distribution also did not apply to his company.

"There's no rule that says you have to sell 99% of your tickets over the Internet," he said. "We've discovered that trash transactions with a travel agent actually cost us less than online sales, which require us to pay credit card receipts."

Adam Air Chief Executive, Adam Suherman, dismissed the notion that international access if critical to success

Three chief executives from Southeast Asian low-cost carriers spoke about the unique applications of the LCC model they were using to pursue profits.

Jetstar Asia, for example, had maximised its Qantas links by focusing on connectivity.

Below: Tiger Airways plane and Singapore’s Changi Terminal (on Page 6)

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for a Southeast Asian LCC, saying: "With a population of 250 million people, only one-tenth of whom fly, there is plenty of potential in our home market.

Plus by concentrating on Indonesia, we are able to maintain our very low costs, which benefit from the Indonesian operating environment."

The CEO of Silk Air, Mike Barclay. commented that low costs were necessarily the key goal of every local airline.

Silk Air's increased profitability was linked to its offering a higher-end service. "We grew our business class revenue by 125% last year." This growth in premium revenue, he said, had helped Silk Air prove that a full-service short-haul carrier can coexist in a home market with two low-cost carriers.

Three chief executives from Southeast Asian low cost carriers spoke about the unique applications of the LCC model they were using to pursue profits. Chong Phit Lian, CEO of Jetstar Asia, explained that the Singapore-based carrier's model maximised its Qantas links by focusing on connectivity, a departure from strict low cost orthodoxy. Ms Chong, whose carrier this month took delivery of its tenth A320, mentioned that the carrier focused on higher-yielding business traffic by operating out of Changi's main terminal and operated longer routes into the main airports in regional business hubs.

In contrast, Tony Davis, Chief Executive of Singapore's other LCC, Tiger Airways, noted that the airline represented the "pure" application of the low cost model. Tiger had removed all unnecessary costs from the system and was thriving at Changi's Budget Terminal.Andrew Pyne, CEO of soon-tobe-launched Viva Macau said that the airline would operate a "fusion" airline model. The carrier had chosen widebody aircraft because then it would operate medium-to-long-haul routes (services to Europe, Australia and the Middle East are planned for early 2007), and because of their cargo capabilities.

Outlook 2007 is the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's annual examination of the prospects for the Asia Pacific airline industry. Convening in Singapore with the participation of 30 CEOs and 380 vital stakeholders from all components of the aviation sector, Outlook 2007 and the CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence is the year's premier gathering of the region's aviation decision makers, providing a forum for dialogue between leaders from the airline, airport, supplier and regulatory communities.

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Take a look before you fly

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f you've got a flight coming up soon, and a little extra time to spend preparing for your flight, you might want to try checking out a few of these sites that offer information and tips on air travel.

SeatGuru.com - Started by a frequent traveler in 2001, SeatGuru is a repository of information on the difference between airline seats. The site offers detailed seat maps, specific comments and observations about the seats, color coding to differentiate between the quality in seats, information on seat pitch and width measurements in all classes, and icons that inform on inflight services.

1000tipsfortrips.com - Those who travel frequently know the ins and outs of air travel. 1000 tips offers advice from people just like you who travel and have learned from their mistakes and successes on their trips.

ASPCA.org - What could the ASPCA possibly have to tell you about air travel?

Many pet owners often have to take their pets on airplanes, and their site offers top ten tips for safe air travel with your pet.

BudgetTravelonline.com - The magazine Budget Travel has a website that is filled with the same timely and budget conscious advice that the print magazine is filled with. For air travelers, there are the

Started by frequent travellers, the websites offer a repository of information starting from the difference between airline seats and how to handle pets on a air journey.

The site offers detailed seat maps, quality on in-flight services and a whole lot of other things.

basic travel tips about packing, advice on frequent flyer miles programs, tips for traveling with children or for sending children alone on an airplane, and advice that falls in between all of these topics.

BudgetTravelonline also has up to the minute travel deals that have been handpicked by Budget Travel's editors. There is also a free newsletter that you can subscribe to that will keep you informed on timely deals and tips.

Flyingwithkids.com - What's the best FAA approved seat that converts automatically into a stroller? What advice do flight

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attendants have for parents who bring children on board? Where can I get a pre-made carry-on packing list for my kids? All of these questions and many more are answered at Flyingwithkids.

This site, which bills itself as a place for "air travel tips for families flying with an infant or small child" has product reviews, advice, packing lists, and travel stories for those who find themselves sitting next to a small one on board. There is even a place for visitors to the site to ask questions that they don't see already answered on the page.

Seniors-site.com - There are special considerations for senior citizens when they are traveling on an airplane, and this site explains what they may be. Tips on getting discounted airfare, combating fear of flying, and dealing with delays, overbooking and involuntary bumping can be found here.

USA Today's Today in the Sky blog USA Today offers a column in the form of a blog that gives news and analysis about airlines, airports, and air travel. Ben Mutzabaugh posts news related to air travel several times a day on his blog that ranges from what laws the government is passing for airlines to which airports are cutting flights to which airline is beginning to charge for a previously free amenity. If it's timely air travel or airline news, Today in the Sky is covering it.

Since the column is a blog, readers can post comments and questions about the articles. The blog is also categorized so readers who interested in seeing the pieces just on one topic, such as baggage, can find all related entries easily.

Worldairportguide.com - Worldairportguide has taken the information from most of the major international airports in the world and put it all in one convenient site for travelers to find. The site gives basic information such as airports' addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

Smartertravel.com - Want to know which airlines offer the best ammenties?

What's the best day of the week to book air travel? What are today's top air travel news items?

TSA.gov - Six years ago, most airline travelers would have never thought to visit the Transportation Security Authority's website for information before traveling.

However, since 9/11, security has been increased for all forms of travel and especially for air travel.

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OFF THE RECORD

Minister's favourite

DOES CIVIL Aviation Minister Praful Patel have a favourite?

On the face of it, no. Mantriji makes sure that he doesn't give the impression of caring for favourites. But those in the know state that DGCA chief Kanu Gohain scores very highly in his estimation. Right from the time when he helped with several issues at the Minister's Gondia airstrip, Gohain has won high marks from Praful. The other man who scores highly with the Minister is Joint Secretary R K Singh who is the pointsperson for the IndoEU summit and virtually deals with a series of issues across the board on behalf of the Ministry. One bright officer in the Airports Authority was quick to react to the assessment at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan: "Our Chairman has done the maximum to comply with the Minister. Delhi and Mumbai have been privatised. Nagpur is a joint sector project, Gondia and Pune was given a facelift. But he is still unhappy. Maybe he should listen less to Mantriji. That will make him respect him a bit more." Good point indeed.

Airbus projects a rosy future NEVER mind the fact that the company has seen CEO heads roll recently, Airbus Industrie hopes to cash in on the growing boom in the aviation industry. In its most recent global market forecast has predicted an increase in worldwide freight tonne kilometres by six per cent annually until 2025. This forecast generates a need for 3,580 freighter deliveries (mostly conversions), of which 800, or 22 per cent, would be factory-built freighters. Airbus expects that most freight will be

Bzzz.zzz.zzzz SANJAY NARAYAN has gone as he had promised. All formalities were completed and the good man is a free bird as of October 31.He has been replaced by 1978 batch officer K N Shrivastava who

is now the pointsman for the Airports Authority of India. No one knows where he is now perched. But reliable sources state that he is at the heart of the aviation business. And that's one reason why one doesn't know where he is. After all, why get into a crossfire with the Ministry.

There is already someone else who is having problems.

JOINT SECRETARY in the Tourism Minister Amitabh Kant's tenure will see him in Delhi till January. But what happens after that. There is the ITB in Berlin that is a big-ticket event for the tourism industry and continuity would be a key element. Sources state that it is unlikely

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Yes, no, maybe!

WILL THE recent formation of the Federation of Indian Airlines help Indian aviation or will it just be a free-for-all between different segments of the aviation business, particularly the ego-ridden czars of the high profile airlines? The second meeting of FIA in Mumbai saw a battle royale with no decision taken and no consensus arrived at. D. Sudhakara Reddy, Founder and President, Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) who is an expert at issuing statements and nothing else was quick off the mark: "‌ the association seems to have been formed to rig air fares rather than concentrate on passenger welfare". He said that while APAI welcomed the formation of the association as a means to interact positively with the members in all areas of passenger welfare, it could well promote 'cartelisation'. Well, educate the air passenger, Mr Reddy. Don't just keep issuing press statements.

moved in 2025 on lanes from China to the US, from China to Europe and within China. Domestic air express within China and India will also rise sharply in the upcoming 20 years.

Airbus has forecast a general market need of 22,700 new passenger and freighter aircraft valued at US$2.6 trillion for the period until 2025. This represents an increase of some 5,400 aircraft compared with the previous forecast. The forecast creates an average delivery close to 1,100 passenger aircraft per year, up from around 800 two years ago.

The European aircraft manufacturer also forecast an increasing demand for new more fuel-efficient airliners, to help address airline operating costs as well as environmental concerns. Without surprise, Airbus forecasts a high demand for very large aircraft as well. It predicts a demand for 1,660 aircraft valued at $503 billion. The question is: how many of the aircraft would Airbus be manufacturing? Any guesses?

that Kant will go anytime in the near future. At least not until April-May if at all he does go back to Kerala.Watch this space for an update.

WITH JUST about a month and half to go for Air India Chairman V Thulasidas's tenure, the question doing the rounds is whether he will get an extension or will he move to Delhi as Secretary, Civil Aviation when Ajay Prasad retires, or will he give up the aviation sector altogether and move elsewhere.

Thulasidas isn't talking and nobody else is willing to comment on the matter.

Why take a chance? They argue

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M & As rule supreme

Overheard AT THE recent Air Cargo India 2006 in Mumbai, Emirates SkyCargo chief Ram Menen said, "For India, both the time and the environment are right for breaking through barriers. Air logistics in India now need to move from traditional forwarding to supply chain management. The industry should focus on creating a new future, and should refrain from recreating the past." Is anyone listening?

The year has been good for Emirates. In addition to launching new flights, the airline's cargo division has picked up two awards for its outstanding performance in the last year. The awards were presented at the first annual Middle East Logistics Awards (MELA) held at the Madinat, Jumeirah in Dubai.

Emirates SkyCargo was named Best Air Cargo Carrier as well as the Best Air Charter Operator of the Year. The awards were accepted by Ram Menen, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo and by Emirates SkyCargo's charters team, Nihal Wickrema and Mike Duggan, Emirates Cargo Charter Capacity Managers. The victory came on the heels of the division's award win for "Brand of the Decade" which it secured at the Air Cargo India Conference just a few days back (see photo below).

Winners for the MELA Awards 2006 were determined by the Middle East logistics community through a two-stage process of nominating and voting for their choice of companies and individuals. Nomination and voting processes were audited by AGNMAK, an official auditing body for the awards. Emirates is worth emulating. Any takers?

GS Gill, Principal Secretary of Transport, Government of Maharashtra (third from right in the 2nd pic) stands with dignitaries at the Emirates SkyCargo stand with Salem Obaidalla, Vice-President, India & Nepal, Emirates Airline; Ram Menen, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice-President, Cargo, Pradeep Kumar, Emirates SkyCargo Vice President of Cargo Revenue Optimisation, and Prakash Nair, Manager Emirates Emirates Network Cargo Sales Development.

MERGERS and acquisitions in the cargo sector seem to be in vogue. In fact, it is believed that the spate of M&As would beat the numbers that was seen during the height of the dotcom boom. Such M&As have been seen in India too.

The latest one was initiated by FedEx Express, a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation. The US logistics major recently acquired its India-based service provider Prakash Air Freight Pvt. Ltd. (PAFEX) for $30 million.

PAFEX, which has more than 380 offices and serves nearly 4,400 destinations worldwide, was established in 1986 and had served as FedEx' service provider in India since 2002. FedEx first set up shop in India in 1984, and it was the first company to introduce and all-cargo flight to India in 1997. It also created the first overnight express service between India and China in 2005, and was the first express air cargo company to operate two gateways in India -- in Mumbai and Delhi-with 16 MD -11 flights per week.

Fedex seems to have set the M & A trend in India for there are a whole lot of multinationals looking to expand their operations in the country and going by the FDI rules, mergers are the trend.

By the way, it was overheard in Mahipalpur (where most of the freight forwarding agents offices are based in Delhi) that a lot of changes would be seen in BAX Global. Watch out for more news in this space.

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Two to fly THIS story should energize some of our wannabe aviation entrepreneurs into action. A start-up aviation leasing company in Limerick, with only two staff, plans to raise some $737 million (â‚Źâ‚Ź 559 million) in an initial public offering on the New York stock exchange soon.

Genesis Lease Ltd was incorporated last July in Bermuda, but the company will be resident for tax purposes in Ireland, where it will avail of the 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate and other taxation advantages. Located in a temporary office in the University Business Complex in Limerick, Genesis has no staff other than its chief executive and chief financial officer and it will outsource most of its other functions.

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NEWS DIGEST

Low-cost carriers hog the limelight THE decreasing yields notwithstanding, which seem to have been arrested somewhat by falling ATF prices, the four lowcost carriers -- Air Deccan, SpiceJet, IndiGo Airline and GoAir -- together garnered 27.1 per cent of the market share between January-September 2006, according to figures compiled by the DGCA. Jet Airways continued to dominate the domestic market with a market share of 32.8 per cent. State-owned Indian (Airlines) confirmed its second position with a market share of 22.5 per cent after Air Deccan reportedly pushed it to the third position briefly during June-July. However, for the nine-month period April-September 2006, Air Deccan recorded a market share of 17.9 per cent, Air Sahara 8.7

per cent and Kingfisher Airlines with 8.3 per cent. What is interesting to note is that while the market share of three full service carriers -- Jet, Indian and Air Sahara - registered a fall over the nine-month period, the LCCs' share actually rose. Air Deccan rose from 15.2 per cent in the first quarter, January-March 2006, to 19.3 per cent in the third quarter of July-September 2006, that of SpiceJet rose from 6

Bell to set up training academy US Chopper major Bell Helicopter is proposing to set up a training academy in India.

It will train 'copter pilots, maintenance engineers and support crew. The training academy will meet a long-term need for churning out helicopter pilots considering the fast pace at which different types of choppers are being inducted by the corporate sector, defence and public sector. This may also catalyse the demand for different makes of helicopters: Bell, Eurocopter, Augusta, McDonnel Douglas, etc. Bell Helicopter booked orders worth US $ 20 million in the last one year. India at present has 140 Bell Helicopters of which 76 are being used for commercial purposes.

14

CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

per cent to 6.9 per cent, Go Air from 1.6 per cent to 2.5 per cent, and a marginal increase for Kingfisher despite being a hybrid full service carrier. What one needs to see is the way the proposed Federation of Indian Aviation will be able to handle industry issues when its very lifeline in the form of yields continues to travel southwards as evident from losses being made by all the airlines.

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Capt Gopinath on a high IS GOPI'S fortune turning back in his favour? Perhaps, considering the fall in losses fledgling Air Deccan had been otherwise recording at a great pace in recent months. Deccan Aviation showed an improvement in its bottomline with a net loss of Rs 42.94 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2006, compared to a net loss of Rs 112.9 crore for the previous quarter of the same year. Sales also declined during the quarter ending September 2006 to Rs 358.7 crore compared to Rs 397.9 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, but total income rose to Rs 536.08 crore as against Rs 430.15 crore for the two quarters under review.

In October 2006, Air Deccan signed a deal with two European banks to raise US $ 100 million to ensure its financial balance and protect it from the vagaries of India's domestic aviation market hit by mounting losses and falling yields forcing some full service carriers to even cartelise, if they could. However, unre-

lenting low cost carriers, led by Air Deccan, refused to play ball and the cartel that wanted to fix the floor price failed to hold.

Instead, they ended up setting up the Federation of Indian Aviation, which could become a euphemism for cartel should the best private airline have its way.

Coming back to the Deccan story, the biggest LCC in India will get Rs 450 crore (US$ 100 million) including an upfront payment that would be payable in four tranches over 15 months to Air Deccan subject to compliance of certain financial covenants. While the first tranche of US$ 30 million has already been received, Air Deccan, in turn, has assigned its future aircraft supply contract in favour of the special purpose company funded by two international banks, which would carry the transaction. The bankers involved in the deal include Investec Bank, UK and HSH Nord Bank AG of Germany.

Air Deccan has already placed orders

with Airbus and IAE -- a JV between Rolls Royce and Pratt and Whitney -- for the supply of 60 Airbus A 320 aircraft with V2527A5 IAE engines to be delivered over the next seven years. According to Captain G.R.Gopinath, Managing Director of Deccan Aviation, his company will give some preference shares to Investec, which has been funding Deccan's aircraft acquisition. Investec will get the preference shares at Rs 150, which is at a premium to the original and market rate. It will, however, be transacted subject to SEBI guidelines, Gopi has said.

Through this route Air Deccan will mop up just about US$ 6 million, with every penny that is being mobilized going into the "war chest" to fund fleet expansion plans, engineering, resources and market developments. Air Deccan is also simultaneously planning to set up an independent 100 per cent subsidiary called Air Deccan Cargo.

HIAL hikes investment by Rs 523 cr GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) has decided to increase its investment in the Greenfield airport at Hyderabad by Rs 523 crore. This will help it set up additional facilities to handle 12 million passengers -- as against the originally planned 5 million passengers annually -- when the first phase is completed and the airport starts commercial operation from March-April 2008. The decision to increase investment by Rs 523 crore was taken after Hyderabad recorded a massive 40 per cent rise in traffic in the recent months. The addi-

CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

tional investment will take the total investment to establish Hyderabad International Airport to Rs 2283 crore.

Most of the funds will be raised as debts from banks. Part of the additional facilities to be created will be the parking bays, which will be increased from 30 at present to 42, the setting up of two rapid exit taxiways, full length parallel taxiways to enable quick turnaround of aircraft, additional office space for airlines and extra cargo terminal space.

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Sahara looking for buyers again THERE has been talks in the air that the top management in Air Sahara have once again started contemplating the sale of the airline. Apparently, the revival in fortunes of the air carrier after it decided to go on its own has set the management thinking.

In fact, the airline has perfomed admirably in the current quarter and the Sahara group promoters think that the time is ripe to look around for buyers. According to industry experts, the airlines has to be sold - whether now or a few months later. So, why not start the process soon. Sahara insiders point out that the sale process has not yet begun but will commence formally only

Indian Air Cargo Agents meet in Chiang Mai

BY THE time this issue of Cruising Heights makes its appearance, the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) will have finished their meeting at Chiang Mai, Thailand for the 34th Annual Convention, which began on November 30, 2006. This time around, the convention had an ambitious agenda: move the member organization even further into the world cargo mainstream as India emerges as a regional cargo hub.

The Chiang Mai meet -- the fifth consecutive ACAAI convention on foreign shores - took up issues that have come up to confront the boom in the air cargo business that the country is going through. According to Sunil Arora, ACAAI's convention chairman, the theme of this meet was: "World-class air logistics: Team initiative". The presentations and seminars at the meet also focused on co-operation among the stakeholders of the industry.

Why Chiang Mai, we asked? Arora was forthright when he pointed out: "For about 29 years, ACCAI had been holding the convention in the country. However, for the last five years, we have been holding it outside India." He went on to add, "The logistics world is not limited to India and we want to have regional view of the subcontinent apart from the participation of the host country. This Chiang Mai outing will provide a good exposure to all our participants. Incidentally, this is the first year that ACCAI is repeating the country. The reason is simple: the hospitality of the people and the support that we get from Thai Airways."

However, Arora also accepted the fact that participation from the Indian government becomes minimal when a national convention is held outside India. This time though a host of top industry leaders and officials had expressed their desire to participate in the meet. Arora mentioned that Praful Patel, minister of civil aviation, would inaugurate the convention while top functionaries from the Airports Authority of India, international and Indian airlines, the logisitics industry, IT and Human Resources experts would provide insights into the industry to make the meet worthwhile. "We

16

after the current quarter of profitable operations.

Sources close to the issue said the transaction is likely to be structured in a way that all the risk and liability arising from the litigation with Jet Airways belongs to the seller, Sahara group.

have requested the Thailand transport minister to grace the occasion and have invited representatives from the Indian embassy, too," Arora said.

The convention chairman also outlined the crucial issues that face the cargo industry and said that the aim of the association was on how to make the aircargo infrastructure adequate and relevant for the future. Among the issues that would be tak- Sunil Arora en up for discussion would be on how India could achieve world-class capabilities at airport terminals; maximize speed and cost-effectiveness for cargo transit in air and on road to meet customers' needs; strike an effective balance between government control and commercial processes, which would include aviation security, customs procedures and taxations, upgradation of technology to improve efficiency; enhance deliverables and ensure compliance; establish equations and relationships for the future between all players in the industry and, lastly, discuss the evolution of the air cargo agents into freight forwarders and logistics intermediary.

Arora expects an attendance of around 350-400 delegates. To ensure a working atmosphere from the beginning of the convention, "we have shifted the in-house discussion to the morning of inaugural day, which will focus on evolved role of air cargo intermediary and IATA resolution of 815," Arora said. The convention will have five business sessions covering the entire gamut of the air cargo industry: World class air logistics services, Gateways to the future, Excellence in performance, Embracing and exploiting technology and balancing regulations and facilitation.

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GLOBE TROTTING Aussies favour flirty flights, says survey A NEW survey by Zuji has revealed almost half of male Australians have flirted with an airhostess during a flight, while 14 per cent of females have flirted in-flight. Nearly 25 per cent Aussie women have fantasised about getting together with the male attendant of their choice. Around 45 per cent of respondents said they continue to flirt after landing and have holiday flings.

The survey also showed that 67 per cent of women and 59 per cent of men said they thought it would be most romantic to be proposed to the old-fashioned way while on holiday.

Man jabbering in Tamil raises security alert

Dino Morea quarantined THE Bollywood star was unaware that to make a trip to Surinam, South America, he needed a yellow-fever vaccine, a highly contagious fever, known to prove fatal at times.

He was locked up as soon as he returned.

The only quarantine centre in Mumbai is located at Andheri east. It comprises two rooms, housed in a building that was not very well-maintained. It was old and shabby and clearly prone to damp. When Dino was there, he was the only inmate. His condition was very bad, and he could communicate only through the door. Like they say, a shot in time...

18

A MAN discussing sports in Tamil and some English with a friend of his on the cell phone raised suspicion in an off-duty airline employee, who, in turn, alerted the flight crew. This caused the man to miss his American Airlines flight to Dallas' Fort Worth International Airport. On interrogation, he was found to have a perfectly innocent explanation that all added up. Although the airport spokesman termed it as a "big misunderstanding," he had no explanation as to why a man speaking Tamil would be considered suspicious. The detainee, who later boarded a flight to Texas, has vowed that he will not speak a foreign language on his cell phone at an airport in the future.

Continental ousts competition, again

Airline safety inadequate in Russia

THE results of a recent survey of Conde Nast Traveler readers have shown that, for the ninth year in a row, Continental Airlines has outranked all of its US competition in international business class service.

Overall rankings were determined using a variety of criteria, including seat comfort/legroom, food, cabin service, amenities/technology, airport lounge clubs and frequentflier privileges.

The Conde Nast Traveler rankings were compiled from surveys of more than 2,000 frequent business travellers.

RUSSIA'S top prosecutor has alleged that the safety of passenger flights in Russia is inadequate. Speaking at a meeting between representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office and Transport Ministry officials, he cited that over 300 people died in air crashes on Russian airlines in 2006.

It was said that the use of low-quality or counterfeit airliner parts and the lack of permits at airports and air carriers were among the most serious and widespread violations. The functioning of regulatory bodies was also revealed to be inadequate.

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Business travellers loyal to hotel brands A POLL, conducted by TripAdvisor.com, found that 68 per cent of business travellers stay at the same hotel on a regular basis when on business trips. Forty-eight per cent of travellers believed business travel is something they "don't mind too much", with 34 per cent of respondents taking between one and three business trips this year. Nearly 33 per cent respondents named "luxury sheets and fancy bath products" as the perks of business travel, while 22 per cent said having a room to themselves was their favourite part of business trips.

However, a small, but significant, proportion of business people are shunning trips abroad in favour of telephone, video and web conference.

Pilot says plane's a deathtrap

FAA considers raising pilot age limit to 65 THE Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), of the US, is considering adopting a new international standard that will allow airline pilots in command of flights to be as old as 65, if the other pilot in the cockpit is under 60.

A committee, made up of airlines, pilot unions and medical experts, constituted for this purpose, will also decide what actions would be necessary if the FAA were to change its rule requiring commercial pilots to retire at 60. This month, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will increase the upper age limit for pilots in command of flights to 65, provided the other pilot in the cockpit is under 60.

HOLIDAYMAKERS aboard an Onur Air plane was grounded when its pilot announced, "Do not fly with this plane, it is not safe." He further went on to add, "I am resigning from my job. Do not fly with this plane. It is not safe. Do not fly with Onur Air." The 180 British tourists were about to take off for Bristol Airport from Antalya, Turkey, when a strange sound came from the Airbus A321's engines. The pilot, who has not been identified, walked off the aircraft, leaving the passengers to fend in temperatures of 38 C with no air-conditioning.

China bogged down by weight problems HERE'S some bad news for overweight people who have managed to shed those extra kilos: you may not be rcognised. The dream turned a nightmare for Huang, who after losing more than 35 kilograms in a year couldn't be recognised by the airport authorities at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, in Beijing, and was almost not permitted to board the aircraft. He was finally allowed to board after they spent more than an hour checking his identity card.

In yet another case, Chinese airlines are being forced to rearrange their seating as a growing number of overweight Chinese complain about the discomfort of ill-fitting seats. China Eastern Airlines said the company had imported all its aircraft from the West, where people are, on average bigger, but now the company planned to reduce by about 20 the number of seats on the new Airbus 321 to enlarge the seating space.

Early this year, a China Southern Airlines aircraft delayed takeoff for two hours because two passengers began quarrelling over seating space.

Tags to track passengers' movements ENGINEERS are working on an idea to fit airports with a network of combined panoramic cameras and RFID (radio frequency ID) tag readers that would monitor the movements of people around the various terminal buildings. The tags, given to passengers while they check in, do not store any data, but emit a signal containing a unique ID that could be cross-referenced with passenger identification information.

The prototype technology is to be tested at an airport in Hungary, and could, if successful, become a reality "in two years". The work is being carried out at a new research centre, based at University College London, set up to find technological solutions to crime.

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ALL-ROUND ECONOMIC GROWTH PROVIDES I COVER STORY

"In India, you just fly in and open the door and it fills up" -- Emirates Airline President Tim Clark.

T

he Indian aircargo growth story seems to be growing better by the day. The figures speak for themselves: imports and exports from and to India by all air carriers and from all airports added up to a whopping 1.3 mn tonnes last year.

To top it all, there is excess capacity on almost all routes. Almost every other day, with astounding regularity, international airlines launch new charter flights. The latest to do so, for example, is Gulf Air Cargo, which has commissioned a series of scheduled freighter charters beginning November 15, only to meet the demand for capacity especially during the traditional peak season.

Gulf Air followed Emirates Airline's new passenger service to Bangalore, which began on October 29. It ushered in good news for cargo customers who were eager to increase services through Southern India's largest city and tech hub. The serv-

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AIRCA LOOKS TO GOOD India, for the IATA, is cargo's promised land. The opportu as international air carriers are discovering everyday. B end in a whimper, reports CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

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ES IMPETUS FOR THE GROWTH OF AIR CARGO

ARGO

OD TIMES, BUT... opportunities to do business in the sector are immense day. But, without infrastructure, the growth story could eports Tirthankar Ghosh.

CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

ice has provided a substantial 120 additional tonnes of cargo capacity in both directions: an essential improvement needed to meet demand jumps across the gateway.

"Bangalore is a key destination for Emirates SkyCargo and we have noted increasing demand for capacity over recent years," said Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo. "India has always represented a major manufacturing hub, but with higher expendable incomes across the Subcontinent we also see the emergence of a growing consumer market. The introduction of eight weekly passenger flights will help us to meet capacity demands, which we are now seeing in both directions," added Menen.

Vijay Kondath, president of the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI), confirmed the hike in capacity. "Look at the ground realities," he said, "there is the open sky policy, a 100-odd airports in the country, the development and growth of a number of export promotion zones and better infrastructure facilities. The all-round economic growth will provide further impetus for the growth of the air cargo

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COVER STORY

With an eye to cash in on the growth, Cathay Pacific Cargo has launched six new Photo Courtesy: TNT

industry." He also said that "a large number of airlines, which had discontinued their operations due to the slump after the attack on the World Trade Centre at New York, have returned to India to commence their operations. That is indicative of the bright future for the air cargo industry in India".

He mentioned that the air cargo market in India was growing steadily -- at a healthy rate of 13.1 per cent in both international and domestic spheres -- in comparison to what was handled in March 2005.

According to Boeing's 2006-2007 World Air Cargo Forecast, notwithstanding the high jet fuel prices, world air cargo grew in 2005 and 2006. Over the next 20 years, world air cargo traffic would triple over current levels, and the freighter fleet would double.

The Boeing forecast mentioned that in

According to Boeing's 20062007 World Air Cargo Forecast, notwithstanding the high jet fuel prices, world air cargo grew in 2005 and 2006.

2005, world air cargo traffic grew 2.0 per cent, following the 12.0 per cent growth in 2004. A major contributor to the slowdown in 2005 was the high cost of jet fuel. The spot jet fuel price increased 42 per cent in 2005, ending at an average of $1.69 per gallon. During the first six months of 2006, the spot jet fuel price averaged $1.96 per gallon. This price hike diverted some traffic that otherwise would have moved by air cargo channels to less expensive maritime trade lanes. Despite these high fuel prices and other adverse factors, world air cargo traffic has grown 3.1 per cent for the first six months of 2006, compared to the same period in 2005.

Even the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has not been forecasting healthy trends, has revised its views. The IATA reported that internation-

NON-EXISTENT INFRASTRUCTURE COULD AC 22

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al freight traffic had risen 4.7 per cent, rebounding from 3.7 per cent growth recorded in July, but below the historic long-term average growth of 6.0 per cent.

For the first eight months of the year, freight demand grew by 5.2 per cent over the same period in 2005. Average load factors for the period stood at 76.4 per cent.

Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA was quoted saying that a "strong revenue environment and careful capacity management" were keeping load factors at record levels. "Combine that with a declining oil price and enormous efficiency gains and the industry may end the year better off than the current US$1.7 billion loss projection," said Bisignani.

The growth of domestic air cargo traffic in India has been 8-9 per cent and international 5-6 per cent, but the prospects are

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Two developments have allowed accelerated growth in trade: passenger access rights being relaxed and trade barriers being pulled down, allowing better flow of imports and FDI. The relaxation on the passenger traffic access has meant that buyers, traders are now able to get to India easily. In the short term, it has created a few challenges: overcapacity, and thereby, downward pressure on yields.

bright to achieve a much higher growth.

The country's open sky policy in the matter of air cargo has indeed helped a great deal since there are no restrictions on foreign carriers in carrying goods to and from the country. Rupert Bray, Cathay Pacific's Country Manager (India, Nepal and Bangladesh), agreed and pointed out that while India's exports to US stood at $26,000 million last year, trade between India and China would touch $20 billion by 2008.

With such growths, it is no wonder that cargo carriers are upbeat about India.

Reports from almost all airports, for example, clearly indicate the high growth rates.

On its part, the government has also recognized the need to seize the opportunity. The cargo complexes at all major airports are being upgraded and a new one is being commissioned in Kolkata. In addition, special handling facilities are being created at several airports particularly to handle perishables.

The growth opportunities have also fuelled airlines to look away from the metros and at greenfield airports like Mangalore and Hyderabad to tap the huge potential. Not too long ago, Vasudevan Thulasidas, Chairman and Managing Director, Air India had mentioned at a meeting in Goa that "aviation cargo has huge potential which needs to be tapped. Airport infrastructure will work in the right direction".

Thulasidas went on to point out that the "aviation sector has enough space and we need to fill it with cargo".

However, there are quite a number of people in the air cargo industry, who believe that there is no boom. A senior member of the air cargo fraternity and Vice-Chairman, UT Worldwide (India), Virender K Khosla, said that the growth that one saw in 2005 had not been witnessed in 2006. "This was due to the additional capacity that had been injected into the market by international airlines and integrators. Today, as a result," said Khosla, "the rate of air cargo had gone down by 30-35 per cent." He also said that a number of exporters had, in fact, moved away from air cargo to ocean freight, which was a whole lot cheaper. "Ocean freight is around 15 per cent of the cost of airfreight," he said.

O P Garg, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) expressed similar sentiments. While commenting that the air cargo sector had yet to achieve a boom, he also said that on an average

D ACT AS A SHOWSTOPPER FOR AIR CARGO CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

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COVER STORY

INDIA HAS TO OVERCOME HURDLES TO BE growth in Indian exports hovered around the 20 per cent mark. "We are expecting 30 per cent growth this year but the quantity being sent by air cannot be compared to the huge tonnage sent by sea," Garg said.

"Basically, high value items like gold and jewellery, etc. were being sent by air. We can send a lot more if the government helps us out: China exports around $ 700 bn worth every year compared to India's $ 100 bn," Garg said.

This sentiment apart, the growth story has been leading international and domestic cargo carriers to rejig plans. Take the case of Chennai. Cargo out of Chennai airport has been estimated at around 12,000 tonnes a week while the weekly throughput is between 7,500 and 8,000 tonnes. One of the major operators from the southern metro is Cathay Pacific. According to Rupert Bray, there were benefits as well as challenges with the open-skies policy. He believed that the primary challenge was that demand was not keeping pace with supply. Brushing the challenge aside as a temporary one, Bray felt that more air cargo players would be seen in all the major metros.

The other international airline, which has steadily built up its share in the air cargo market, is SriLankan. The airline, incidentally, has the largest network in the country and seeks to provide the best solutions to the Indian manufacturing industry.

At present, the airline connects with 10 Indian cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.

So, what does the future hold for the country's air cargo sector? A comparatively small exporting nation by international standards - while all imports and exports from and to India by all carriers and from all airports last year totalled 1.3 million tonnes, according to the Director General Civil Aviation, Hong Kong in comparison handled over 3.4 million tonnes - there was huge scope for more players. To begin with, the state-owned carriers - Indian and Air India - were serious about entering the airfreight sector in a big way. Three old passenger planes are being modified and transformed into freighters by Indian while Air India is acquiring on lease aircraft to augment its cargo-carrying capacity. Further, negotiations are on with foreign airlines for probable tie-ups for transportation of cargo.

India, in fact, has contributed more than 7 per cent to Emirates SkyCargo's overall

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Freighter Numbers to Go Up by 100 per cent OVER THE last five years or so, the world freighter fleet has remained fairly stable. A look at the freighter fleet shows that widebody freighter deliveries were accelerating as aging standard-body aircraft and first-generation widebodies retired. This trend had helped increase the widebody freighter fleet from fewer than 250 in 1994 to nearly 900 today.

Over the next 20 years, according to Boeing forecasts, the freighter fleet size is forecast to nearly double, from 1,789 in 2005 to 3,563 in 2025. Medium-widebody and large freighter aircraft will lead fleet additions, growing from an overall share of 50 percent to 64 percent as traffic continues to build on long-haul, international trade lanes.

revenue and had a growth rate of over 40 per cent last year. Emirates is a wellknown player in Mumbai and Delhi, transporting cargo to and from its hub in Dubai.

To ensure better services to customers, Emirates' cargo division has strengthened its road feeder services and bonded trucking on several routes in India, including Coimbatore and Tirupur to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Cochin in South India, and from Ahmedabad to Mumbai.

There are others, for example, who have had the foresight to see the cargo opportunities creep up through the growth of passenger traffic, which provides belly cargo options. If reports are to be believed,

The number of cargo planes will double in the next two decades.

The world freighter fleet will rise to 3,563 airplanes from 1,789 over the next 20 years (2006-2025); 1209 as replacements for retired aircraft and 1774 to add new capacity. More than 2,200 passenger planes would be modified to freighters.

Air freight within North America and Europe will grow more slowly than the world average, as will routes involving Latin America and the Middle East.

CRUISING HEIGHTS November 2006

Aniyan Kutty, a Dubai-based Indian businessman, with links to the Dubai cargo community has started planning a passenger airline, City Air, which will operate from Chennai to other domestic centres and later on to Dubai and the Middle East.

Emirates SkyCargo's Ram Menen said that a lot of changes had taken place in the aviation sector ever since India opened up the skies. "India has historically been focusing on export-based economic

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O BECOME A GLOBAL AIR CARGO PLAYER growth, which meant that the viability of freighter operations to the Indian points was quite suspect as there wasn't much imports that could offset the cost of operation." This, Menen said, had resulted in dependence on belly capacity for the trade to grow. The open skies for freighter operations did not help much because of this factor. The challenge, he said, was that "every time Indian authorities refused/restricted passenger access rights, it was also turning away valuable cargo capacity by default. This was greatly constraining export growth." Time, he mentioned, "as everyone in this business knows is a critical factor in any supply chain;

The growth of domestic air cargo traffic in India has been 8-9 per cent and international 5-6 per cent, but the prospects are bright to achieve a much higher growth. The country's open sky policy in the matter of air cargo has indeed helped a great deal since there are no restrictions on foreign carriers in carrying goods to and from the country.

hence the need for more airfreight capacity is very critical." He then went on to point out that two developments that took place during the last two years have allowed accelerated growth in trade. These were: passenger access rights being relaxed and trade barriers being pulled down, allowing better flow of imports and FDI (foreign direct investments). The relaxation on the passenger traffic access also meant that buyers, traders were now able to get to

India easily. In the short term, it created a few challenges: over-capacity, and thereby, downward pressure on yields. But "these challenges," said Ram Menen, "are temporary and will act as a catalyst for the growth of the trade. Pressure on infrastructure is quite acute at the moment. If something is not done in the immediate term, this could act as a showstopper."

Realizing that India needs to concentrate on developing infrastructure, Menen accepted: "I know there is a lot of focus on developing the necessary facilities. However, I am afraid it is not happening fast enough. There has not been much investment in the cargo and logistics side of the business. It's not just the facilities at the airport; road infrastructure is very critical to logistics activities.”

Rupert Bray from Cathay Pacific cannot but agree with Emirates' Menen: “The Indian air cargo market has been rather small.

The recent rapid growth of the Indian aviation sector,” Bray said, “has led to both great opportunities and great challenges.

He put it rather succinctly, "For India to become a truly significant global player in the air cargo market there are clearly many hurdles to be overcome." The main challenges facing the aviation sector involved problems in airport infrastructure. "Put simply, the rate of infrastructure development and capacity growth throughout Indian airports must at least match the current rate of growth of airline capacity. In all cases," he pointed out, "this has not been the case and infrastructure levels lag significantly behind that which is required."

While there is the well-documented need to upgrade the major airports in India, he said, there are also opportunities to improve transport connections linking metro and non-metro airports. At the airports, too, the lack of equipment often regularly leads to a delay of 24-36 hours for cargo to be screened and palletised. Said Bray, "To compete on an international stage, delays of this length are not feasible." Add to that the lack of warehouse facilities in cargo terminals, which often hindered freight operations.

However, Bray said that the country had made a lot of progress to increase efficiency in the air cargo industry, especially through the use of IT. The development of online services in the air cargo business had also brought the shipping/forwarding community closer to their customers and has reduced paperwork. The moves, therefore, were all in the right direction.

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PROFILE

Champion of

cooperation Dr Assad Kotaite, former ICAO chief and presently Governor Emeritus of IFFAAD, believes that an air transport system that is neither safe nor secure cannot prosper. A votary of cooperation between states, Dr Kotaite has waged a determined battle to meet all challenges to safety, security and sustainability in international civil aviation.

F

or well over 50 years, Dr. Assad Kotaite has served the cause of civil aviation internationally. He has been with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) from 1953 and has, in fact, been the President of the ICAO Council for the last 30 years. As President, he has criss-crossed the globe many times over meeting with Heads of State and senior government representatives. Above all, Dr. Assad Kotaite has kept ICAO's mission as his top priority: make the world of civil aviation as safe, reliable and efficient as possible for the benefit of all.

Born in Hasbaya, Lebanon, on November 6, 1924, Dr Kotaite graduated in Law from the French University of Beirut (1948) and received a Doctor of Law from the University of Paris (1952). He also studied at the Institut des hautes ĂŠtudes internationales, University of Paris and the Academy of International Law, The Hague. In 1952, he was elected President of the Association of Attenders and Alumni of The Hague Academy of International Law. From 1953 to 1956, Dr. Kotaite was Chief of Legal Services, International Agreements and External Relations, in the Lebanese Directorate of Civil Aviation. From 1953 to 1970, he was a member of the Legal Committee of ICAO and was also the representative of Lebanon on the Council of ICAO from 1956 to 1962 and again from 1965 till July 1970.

From 1957 to 1959, he was a member of the United Nations Transport and Communications Commission and served as Chairman of the Ninth Session of that Commission. During Dr. Kotaite's term as a member of the ICAO Council, he served as Chairman of the Air Transport Committee from 1959 to 1962 and again from 1965 to 1968, as Second VicePresident of the ICAO Council in 1958 and as

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Dr. Assad Kotaite has kept ICAO's mission as his top priority: make the world of civil aviation as safe, reliable and efficient as possible.

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member and Vice-Chairman of the ICAO Finance Committee and Chairman of the Working Group on ICAO Financial Regulations in 1959. For several years he was a member of the ICAO Standing Group on Implementation. During the period from 1963 to 1964, when he did not serve on the ICAO Council, he was Chief of Administrative Services, Directorate General of Transport of Lebanon.

Dr. Kotaite was Secretary General of ICAO from August 1, 1970 till August 1, 1976 when he became President of the Council of ICAO. He retired on July 31, 2006, having served the international civil aviation community for 53 years.

Forthright to the point of being blunt, Dr. Kotaite was once questioned about whether he had ever imagined himself as a leading aviation authority in the world -- after all,

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he had qualified as a lawyer. He had no intention of becoming an aviation expert, he told an interviewer. "In fact, as a Barrister in Beirut from 1948 to 1949, I began my legal career with one of two objectives: either become a Professor of Law or become involved in international affairs.

To be perfectly honest, the specialized field of civil aviation never crossed my mind."

What changed his life? The turning point towards aviation came in 1953 when he was appointed Chief of Legal Services for Lebanon's Directorate of Civil Aviation with specific responsibility for International Agreements and External Relations. That was a stepping stone to bigger responsibilities since he became a Member of the Legal Committee of ICAO advising his country on bilateral negotiations. In a short span of three years, Dr Kotaite was appointed representative of Lebanon on the Council of ICAO. Those were his first contacts with ICAO. Soon enough, he realized that he had found his true vocation. For ICAO had in it everything that he was looking for: international affairs and the law.

Those early years in the organization were the perfect training ground for the post he was to hold later in his career: the seniormost position in ICAO, to which he was re-elected for a number of terms. He gained invaluable experience in the complex and delicate art of negotiation. In essence, he learnt how to find a workable solution with the agreement of different parties with diverse and sometimes widely conflicting priorities. As he told the interviewer, "Indeed, over the years, I have learned that the real secret in any negotiations is to first identify an area of common ground, no matter how small, and then to build upon it. It may not be the ideal solu-

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What changed his life? The turning point towards aviation came in 1953 when he was appointed Chief of Legal Services for Lebanon's Directorate of Civil Aviation with specific responsibility for International Agreements and External Relations.

Satellite communications: Such technologies are what Dr Kotaite has been introducing to facilitate international civil aviation.

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tion, but at least it is workable and acceptable to all. Moreover, in international affairs I firmly believe that one should avoid confrontation at all costs. It is essential that one listens to all parties and takes into consideration their point of view."

Dr Kotaite often cites an example, which validated his philosophy. He remembers the crisis that took place sometime in February 1996, when two small civilian aircraft registered in the United States were shot down off Cuba. While the government of Cuba claimed that it was protecting the sovereignty of its airspace, the US government claimed that the unarmed aircraft were shot down in international airspace.

At the request of the United States, ICAO took up the issue. In the debate that ensued, Cuba and the United States presented their views. Ultimately, the Council unanimously adopted a resolution -- drafted by Dr Kotaite -- that stated that no country should use weapons against civil aircraft.

Passionate about independence, Dr. Assad Kotaite has always placed great importance on sovereignty. "ICAO's work is based upon the fact that each of our Member States is sovereign and has the sovereignty over its airspace," the former ICAO chief told his interviewer. He was also quick to point out that the actual implementation of ICAO's standards and recommendations was solely at the discretion of each individual sovereign state.

"The raison d'etre for these provisions is the safety of civil flights, and also the fact that should any State decide not to implement ICAO standards and recommendations, it is obligated to notify ICAO to this effect," said Dr Kotaite.

Dr Kotaite is particularly proud of the fact that ICAO standards have never been refused by any country. "While a standard may not be implemented, either because of the lack of political will or financial means, never has one been refused outright," said Dr Kotaite. This is particularly important because in its long history, ICAO has had to confront dramatic changes in the world.

The organization was created in a time of world conflict and till today continues to play a primary and vital role in peacetime.

ICAO's objective has always been to provide the world with safe, efficient, regular and economic transport, all the while respecting the sovereignty of its Member States.

In 1994, ICAO established the Safety Oversight Programme. The programme ensures that an ICAO team of specialists work with a Member State to make a safety assessment of its specific needs. The end-product is a follow-up report recommending changes or improvements. If,

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however, these recommendations are not carried out -- whether it is due to a lack of political will or any other reason -- Dr Kotaite said ICAO starts a dialogue with the concerned state.

Under Dr Kotaite's leadership, ICAO has also tackled terrorism through international cooperation. ICAO, incidentally is, and continues to be, the forum where international cooperation on aviation security issues has achieved successful results. The efforts of the organization have led to the development of international conventions against air terrorism.

Working towards the objective of providing safe flights, Dr Kotaite has been successful in the implementation of the CNS/ATM Systems Concept. Based on satellite, the concept has brought about greater safety and cleared the congestion in the skies. Ground-based stations no longer have to cope with increased traffic in the skies since this global navigation satellite system will be providing superior service up to the year 2010.

Aware of the globalisation taking place, Dr Kotaite believes that global cooperation is an important factor in maintaining safety in international civil aviation. His address to the Directors General of Civil Aviation of all ICAO States, as well as representatives of International Organizations, in March this year at Montreal, showed his concern and his depth of understanding of the situation. The conference addressed mounting concerns for aviation safety following a number of airline accidents in mid-2005 and its objective was to formulate a global strategy for aviation safety for the 21st century. Dr Assad Kotaite, who chaired that conference, stated: "Transparency and sharing of safety information

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Dr Kotaite has been successful in the implementation of the CNS/ATM Systems Concept. Based on satellite, the concept has brought about greater safety and cleared the congestion in the skies.

A plane crash: These are the incidents that Dr Kotaite seeks to put an end to.

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are fundamental tenets of a safe air transport system. I believe that this initiative and others taken at the Conference will foster mutual trust between States, increase public confidence in air travel, and help maintain the integrity of the safest and most efficient means of mass transportation ever created."

Dr Kotaite's efforts have been praised around the world. He has also received a number of awards. One of the most cherished awards came to the former ICAO chief in May this year when he became the second recipient of the International Recognition Award for his remarkable contribution to enhancing MontrĂŠal's international reputation and influence. The citation of the award stated that Dr. Kotaite had played an enormous role in the orderly development of civil aviation around the world which had earned him universal respect and admiration. Referred to as an ardent champion of cooperation between contracting States of the ICAO, Dr. Assad Kotaite had helped make MontrĂŠal the capital of the world's aviation community.

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TOURISM NOTES

Tourism Policy seeks to promote economic growth

A

mbika Soni, Minister of Tourism & Culture, has said that the objective of the Tourism Policy was to position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and to harness its direct and multiplier effects for employment and poverty eradication in an environmentally sustainable manner.

She was presiding over the meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Tourism, which was held at Bhubaneshwar (Orissa) recently.

The minister said that tourism was a priority sector because it was able to maximize the productivity of the country's natural, human, cultural and technical resources; it was labour intensive and cottage or small industry-based providing employment; it was capable of being primarily focused on rural areas with appropriate and relatively low-cost programmes and it had extensive forward and backward economic linkages that build overall income and employment, especially for women and youth.

Giving details of the Ministry's initiatives in positioning and maintaining tourism development as a national priority activity, Ambika Soni said that a concerted effort had been made through the National Development Council (NDC) and other important forums by emphasizing that tourism was now considered the world over as a major engine of economic growth and several countries of the world had transformed their economies using the tourism potential to the fullest. Other initiatives include the setting up of National Tourism Advisory Council as a `think tank', the constitution of a Group of Ministers on tourism to improve policy integration and co-ordination. The development of a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) to gauge precisely the contribution of tourism to the national economy using the methodology given by UN-World Tourism Organisation and UN Statistical Division has provided an authentic tool to assess the success of the strategies.

With a view to promote India as a safe destination, all the States had been requested to deploy tourist police at major tourist destinations in the States. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, J&K, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have already deployed such police force.

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Crafted with precision and understanding, the government's Tourism Policy will usher in economic growth and employment in a big way.

The Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Mr A. K. Mishra going round the World Tourism Day Exhibition, in New Delhi on September 27, 2006.

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Matter has been taken up with Ministry of Home Affairs for issuing directions to other States.

The minister also underlined the need for physical infrastructure for tourism, which ranged from ports of entry to modes of transport (airways, roadway, railways or waterways), to urban infrastructure such as access roads, power, water supply, sewerage and telecommunication. This underscored the need for inter-sectoral convergence of infrastructural schemes and programmes that could support tourist destinations. For effective marketing of India tourism, a number of new initiatives had been taken in the last few years.

These include direct approach to the consumers through electronic and print media, joint sales efforts with the international airlines operating to India and direct cooperative marketing with the tour operators and whole-

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salers overseas. Ministry of Tourism is encouraging participation in travel marts like ITB, WTM, ATM, PATA etc. for promotion of India as a preferred tourist destination.

India to be partner country at ITB 2007 In a major initiative that is expected to greatly enhance India's profile as a worldclass tourist destination, India will be the Partner Country at the Berlin Tourism Fair2007, the biggest tourism and travel trade show in the world. An agreement was signed between the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Messe Germany, the organisers of Berlin Tourism Fair (ITB Berlin), on World Tourism day.

Speaking on the occasion, A K Mishra said that ITB Berlin, which will be held from 7 to 11 March, 2007, would provide an ideal platform to showcase the country's unique tourism products and promote India as a preferred tourist destination. As the partner country, India would be the focus of five to six million people for a week and reach out to large audience from across the globe that would include travel industry representatives, decision makers, international press, and most important, potential tourists. "This would go a long way in keeping up the momentum, as can be gauged from the fact that during the last two years, foreign tourist traffic has registered an increase of 45.5 per cent and earnings have registered a growth of 62.2 per cent in dollar terms."

As partner country at the ITB Berlin2007, India would be presented by the organisers in all ITB advertising and at all press conferences and trade shows where ITB is promoted. India would have exclusive rights to the concept and organisation of the opening ceremony of ITB 2007. Other publicity opportunities available to India as a partner country would include advertising at select spots/venues in and around the fair ground at Berlin, advertising on

As partner country at the ITB Berlin-2007, India would be presented by the organisers in all ITB advertising and at all press conferences and trade shows where ITB is promoted.

The National Council for Hotel Management and the Catering Technology and Sustainable Tourism Co-operative Research Centre, Australia, signing a MoU on cooperation in Hotel Management Education, in New Delhi on October 6, 2006.

shuttle buses plying within the fair ground and from hotels in the city to the fair ground, as well as running of an Indian restaurant at the venue for duration of the fair.

Children score high in World Tourism Day Awards The Ministry of Tourism has announced the winners of various competitions organized by it as part of the World Tourism Day. A function was organized at Ashoka Hotel where the Secretary Tourism, A. K. Mishra inaugurated an exhibition of award-winning entries of these contests.

The first prize winners in each category were: Rupin Dang, Wilderness film, New Delhi; Oxygen Healthcare, Mumbai; Shaktiki Sharma (XII-S) from General Raj's School, Haus Khas, New Delhi and Pratishtha Narayan (Class 9) from VKS Public School, Delhi Road, Moradabad, U.P. Among the other schools which won prizes were St. Cecilia's Public School, Vikas Puri, New Delhi and Poorva Secondary School, Tandwa, Muhamadabad, Distt. Ghazipur, UP has been adjusted the best school for Hindi slogan writing.

India and Australia cooperate to improve tourism, hospitality infrastructure With India aspiring to be among the top tourist destinations in the world, there is a need to develop world-class tourism management and training curriculum in the country. The National Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology signed an MoU with the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism of Australia, recently.

The objective of the MoU is to establish a cooperative relationship between the two organisations to address the hospitality education and training needs of the new tourism directions in India. The cooperation is also expected to result in joint training opportunities in National Council's affiliated institutions and exchange of tourism and hospitality academics between the two countries.

Tourism Ministry's big push for budget hotels before Commonwealth Games The Minister of Tourism & Culture, Ambika Soni while inaugurating the "Festival of Gold 2006" organized by the MMTC, called to popularize Indian jewellery all over the world and underlined the need for more jewellery producers to join the hallmarking movement to ensure an international quality bench-marking of their products.

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Soni said that the Ministry of Tourism was working closely with the Ministries of Railways and Civil Aviation to set up budget hotels which will bring in 1,30,000 rooms and convention centres across the country by 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The Ministry has also planned to organize four shopping events in three states of the country to attract more tourists and popularize hallmarked jewellery in India.

The seven-day `Festival of Gold', which had been set up at the Ashoka Hotel, provided display and sale of a large range of precious stones and designer jewellery, hallmarked for quality and purity. Over 50,000 items were on display at the festival representing various facets of Indian culture and jewellery traditions.

'Bed and breakfast' scheme launched The Minister of Tourism & Culture, Ambika Soni launched the `Incredible India Bed and Breakfast Scheme' to augment the availability of rooms for tourists. Under the scheme, house-owners can offer up to 5 rooms or 10 beds with good, comfortable working space, air-conditioning facilities as well as attached western toilets. The house owner will also be required to provide Indian/Continental breakfast to guests and display the rates to be charged for rooms as well as breakfast. The interested house owners would have to apply in the prescribed application form to the Regional Director, India Tourism offices and the local offices of India Tourism at other tourist destinations.

The Minister also released promotional films that would highlight niche tourism

products such as adventure tourism, cruise tourism and MICE (Meetings International Conferences and Events) tourism.

The Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Mrs. Ambika Soni paying tributes to revolutionaries at the monument near the Hungarian Parliament.

Mrs Soni speaking at the book release function at the IndoHungarian archives in Budapest, Hungary on October 23, 2006. The former President of Hungary, Mr Arpad Goncsz is also seen.

Ambika Soni visits Hungary, strengthens cultural ties The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Ambika Soni visited Budapest on October 22, 2006 to participate in various commemorative events celebrating 50 years of the Hungarian Revolution. Among the events was the Gala Programme at the National Opera building, which hosted by the President and Prime Minister of Hungary.

The minister also visited the National Assembly of Hungarian Parliament to take part in other events related to the revolution.

On October 24, Soni released 'India and Hungarian Revolution 1956' edited by noted Indologist, Dr. Geza Bethlenfalvy, with the Foreign Minister of Hungary, Dr. Kinga Goncz, at the Petofi Irodalmi Museum. The former President of Hungary, Dr. Arpad Goncz also graced the book release function.

In his remarks, Dr. Goncz thanked India for the close and strong attachment shown for Hungary in those difficult days, which he said, was 'rare' and 'unforgettable'. Foreign Minister Dr. Kinga Goncz appreciated the role played

by India and added that Indian intervention on behalf of Hungary saved the lives of many, including her own father.

Later, Ambika Soni held a meeting with her counterpart Dr. Istvan Hiller, Minister of Education and Culture and signed a bilateral Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between India and Hungary for the period 2007-10.

The CEP covers cooperation in the fields of art, culture, youth affairs, sports and mass media.

Mrs Ambika Soni with the Hungarian Culture Minister after signing the bilateral Cultural Exchange Programme document for 2007-2010 in Budapest, Hungary on October 23, 2006.

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SNIPPETS

THE NATIONAL CARRIERS Indian's first Delhi-Tirupati flight takes off with full load HERALDING an auspicious beginning to its winter schedule, Indian's maiden flight from Delhi to the temple town of Tirupati took off with a full complement of 143 passengers. The flight was flagged off by Indian's Chairman and Managing Director, Vishwapati Trivedi.

To mark the introduction of the new flight, Indian had offered an attractive inaugural one-way fare of Rs.2875 (exclusive of taxes). Also available was an equally attractive Tirupati Darshan holiday package which included return airfare, airport to hotel transfers, one-night stay at a luxury hotel, Balaji darshan tour and guide services. Tirupati has been on the airline's network map for over 30 years with connections from Hyderabad and other smaller cities in Andhra Pradesh. However, it is for the first time that Tirupati has been linked to Delhi and fulfils a long-standing need of pilgrims and other segments from northern India for a convenient flight.

Air Sahara's direct Delhi-Trivandrum and Delhi-Cochin dailies BEGINNING October 5, Air Sahara has expanded its network by adding Trivandrum to its route network. The carrier now offers daily return flights from New Delhi to Trivandrum via

JET NEWS Jet Airways is best airline, once again JET AIRWAYS has bagged yet another prestigious award for the third consecutive year and fourth time in the past five years by being voted India's best airline at the 17th Annual Travel Awards 2006 function of TTG Travel Asia (Travel Trade Gazette) at Pattaya, Thailand on October 12, 2006. This is the fifth award in different international and national G. Shetty categories that Jet Airways has been conferred with in the last two months.

The airline was voted India's leading airline at the World Travel Awards and won two Avion Awards for its in-flight entertainment recently. The annual TTG Travel Asia Awards honours Asia-Pacific's most outstanding organizations in the travel industry for their achievements and contribution in shaping the region's travel and tourism into what it is today. Gaurang Shet-

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Cochin and a direct Trivandrum-Delhi service making it the only airline to offer a direct Trivandrum-Delhi flight.

Air Sahara has also become the only airline to operate a direct return service between Delhi and Cochin. This is in addition to the carrier's Delhi-Hyderabad-Cochin return service making it the only airline to offer two connections between Delhi and Cochin.

IndiGo takes its fourth Airbus A320 aircraft THE country's newest low-fare domestic carrier, IndiGo, which recently took delivery of its fourth brand new Airbus A320 aircraft from Airbus Industrie in Toulouse, France, has started operating it for its daily services from Mumbai to Vadodara with a same flight-continuation to Delhi and back, and from Mumbai to Nagpur with a same-flight-continuation to Kolkata and back, from October 18, 2006.

Bruce Ashby, President and CEO, IndiGo said that within a span of three months of launching IndiGo's revenue operations, the carrier had taken delivery of its fourth Airbus A320 aircraft.

IndiGo will have six airplanes by the end of 2006 and an additional 9 next year, taking the fleet size to 15 by the end of 2007.

With its first four aircraft, IndiGo serves Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Guwahati, Imphal, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and Vadodara and by 2010, the carrier proposes to serve approximately 30 Indian cities, with a fleet of approximately 40 A320s.

ty, Vice President - Marketing, Jet Airways, received the award. The award, based on a survey among the readers of TTG Asia and voting by peers in the travel & tourism industry, honours the most distinguished travel organizations among 14 countries in the Asia Pacific region, including China. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways, commented on the award and said that the high levels of service, both on ground and in-flight and perseverance for setting benchmarks of customer service in the Indian aviation industry, had brought in the award.

Relaxation of carriage of liquids and hand-luggage for Jet's UK passengers JET AIRWAYS has relaxed norms in respect of carrying liquids, duty free products and hand-luggage for passengers travelling out of the United Kingdom from November 6, 2006.

The new regulations comprise a relaxation of the three-monthold ban on carrying any liquids aboard flights originating from the United Kingdom. The new regulations will now allow passengers to carry liquids in small quantities.

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GOAIR NEWS GoAir's co-branded credit card with SBI and Visa GOAIR has launched a cobranded credit card: the GoAir SBI Credit Card.

Targeted at value conscious smart fliers, the GoAir SBI Card offers a unique rewards programme that entitles cardholders to four reward points on every Rs. 100 spent on buying GoAir tickets with the GoAir SBI Card. Cardholders can redeem these reward points, against subsequent GoAir ticket purchases.

Commenting on the launch, Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir said that GoAir Smart fliers would be able to enjoy true rewards and loyalty schemes with the use of the credit card.

GoAir captures 4 per cent market share COMPLETING a year in service, GoAir has taken a little over four

per cent of the market share and flown a million passengers. It now operates to 13 cities with 61 flights. The carrier is now set to expand its operations, flights and fleet with an aim to garner a 10 per cent market share in the coming year of operations. From one aircraft and 6 flights a day, the carrier now operates 61 flights with 7 aircraft.

GoAir prides itself for its innovation and quality service: it has recorded 98 per cent on-time performance, with an average turn around time of 25 minutes between flights. Among the firsts by the

carrier was the first direct flight connecting Mumbai to Srinagar, which has made GoAir the leader on that sector with over 90 per cent load factors on all its flights to the J&K region.

It recently announced new daily flights ex-Chennai to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad and Hyderabad - Delhi. This route expansion has come on the back of GoAir taking delivery of its sevent aircraft.

KINGFISHER NEWS World-class innovations from Kingfisher Airlines KINGFISHER AIRLINES recently announced the launch of two world-class technological innovations to enhance guest convenience. The first cutting-edge innovation was the introduction of the Roving Agent at the airport. Now, passengers with hand baggage do not have to wait at the check-in counter to collect their boarding passes. All they have to do is approach the security check-in counters where the airline's Roving Agent will attend to them personally and book them on their choice of seats. These agents will check the passengers in using a mobile digital device and printer.

The airline also launched the facility of Web Check-in. Passengers can sit in the comfort of their homes or offices and print their boarding passes. All that they need to do is log onto the official website of Kingfisher Airlines and check-in.

Kingfisher has its own polo team DR VIJAY MALLYA, Chairman and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines, recently launched its First Polo Team. The carrier has signed up well known names like Major Ahidraj Singh, Sunjay Kapur, Basheer Ali, Vishal Singh and a few other international polo players for this polo season.

Cleartrip ties up with Kingfisher and Indiaplaza.in CLEARTRIP joined hands with Kingfisher Airlines and Indiaplaza.in. This relationship between the three players saw attractive offers on all bookings of Kingfisher Airlines' tickets on Cleartrip.com. The offer was available on all flights and sectors, which Kingfisher Airlines operated. A Rs. 1000 voucher was given for all roundtrip flights, and a Rs. 500, on all one-way flights. These vouchers could be redeemed on Indiaplaza.in.

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GOAIR NEWS GoAir's co-branded credit card with SBI and Visa GOAIR has launched a cobranded credit card: the GoAir SBI Credit Card.

Targeted at value conscious smart fliers, the GoAir SBI Card offers a unique rewards programme that entitles cardholders to four reward points on every Rs. 100 spent on buying GoAir tickets with the GoAir SBI Card. Cardholders can redeem these reward points, against subsequent GoAir ticket purchases.

Commenting on the launch, Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir said that GoAir Smart fliers would be able to enjoy true rewards and loyalty schemes with the use of the credit card.

GoAir captures 4 per cent market share COMPLETING a year in service, GoAir has taken a little over four

per cent of the market share and flown a million passengers. It now operates to 13 cities with 61 flights. The carrier is now set to expand its operations, flights and fleet with an aim to garner a 10 per cent market share in the coming year of operations. From one aircraft and 6 flights a day, the carrier now operates 61 flights with 7 aircraft.

GoAir prides itself for its innovation and quality service: it has recorded 98 per cent on-time performance, with an average turn around time of 25 minutes between flights. Among the firsts by the

carrier was the first direct flight connecting Mumbai to Srinagar, which has made GoAir the leader on that sector with over 90 per cent load factors on all its flights to the J&K region.

It recently announced new daily flights ex-Chennai to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad and Hyderabad - Delhi. This route expansion has come on the back of GoAir taking delivery of its sevent aircraft.

KINGFISHER NEWS World-class innovations from Kingfisher Airlines KINGFISHER AIRLINES recently announced the launch of two world-class technological innovations to enhance guest convenience. The first cutting-edge innovation was the introduction of the Roving Agent at the airport. Now, passengers with hand baggage do not have to wait at the check-in counter to collect their boarding passes. All they have to do is approach the security check-in counters where the airline's Roving Agent will attend to them personally and book them on their choice of seats. These agents will check the passengers in using a mobile digital device and printer.

The airline also launched the facility of Web Check-in. Passengers can sit in the comfort of their homes or offices and print their boarding passes. All that they need to do is log onto the official website of Kingfisher Airlines and check-in.

Kingfisher has its own polo team DR VIJAY MALLYA, Chairman and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines, recently launched its First Polo Team. The carrier has signed up well known names like Major Ahidraj Singh, Sunjay Kapur, Basheer Ali, Vishal Singh and a few other international polo players for this polo season.

Cleartrip ties up with Kingfisher and Indiaplaza.in CLEARTRIP joined hands with Kingfisher Airlines and Indiaplaza.in. This relationship between the three players saw attractive offers on all bookings of Kingfisher Airlines' tickets on Cleartrip.com. The offer was available on all flights and sectors, which Kingfisher Airlines operated. A Rs. 1000 voucher was given for all roundtrip flights, and a Rs. 500, on all one-way flights. These vouchers could be redeemed on Indiaplaza.in.

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SNIPPETS AIR DECCAN NEWS 35 new flights, 59 destinations: Air Deccan takes the figures to the skies INDIA'S PIONEER low-cost carrier recently announced the launch of 35 new flights across various sectors. With the addition of these new flights, the carrier has achieved a new feat of crossing 300 flights a day. The airline also added three new destinations to its wide network - Kandla, Lilabari and Imphal - taking the total to 59 destinations, which is the largest network in India.

Air Deccan in addition to consolidating its metro network, has decided to further strengthen its connectivity to more mini metros and tier-II cities like Guwahati, Vizag, Silchar, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry and Kandla while targeting tourist and pilgrim destinations like Jaipur, Tirupati, Madurai, Lilabari, etc.

Lilabari is on Air Deccan's map: Air Deccan continues to focus on the North-East and its recent announcement of new flights

AIR DECCAN WINS AWARD AIR DECCAN has been judged as "The Best Domestic No Frills Carrier" by Galileo Express Travel Awards 2006. It was given the award at a gala ceremony, which was held recently in New Delhi.

Being adjudged India's Best Domestic Low Frills Carrier was an endorsement of the Air Deccan vision of enabling every Indian to fly, according to the air carrier's chief Capt G R Gopinath. Air connectivity is the key to harness the vast potential; that the tourism and hospitality industry has in India. The award, he said, was an encouragement for Air Deccan's pioneering efforts in making air travel more affordable and accessible than ever before. from Kolkata to Lilabari (via Guwahati) is one more instance of that commitment. The new flight, which began on October 30, 2006 is being serviced by a 42 seater ATR-42. The bookings for the new flight opened on September 29, 2006.

Low-cost connection to Ahmedabad and Coimbatore:With the launching of daily flights between Ahmedabad and Coimbatore (via Bangalore), from November 2, 2006, Air Deccan has connected the two textile centres of the country. The carrier has deployed an Airbus A320 (180-seater) aircraft on the route.

Incidentally, Air Deccan set up its aircraft base at Ahmedabad recently. Coimbatore too, is on Air Deccan's daily route from Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai by daily flights.

Bhubaneshwar and Raipur within easy reach: Beginning November 20, 2006, Air Deccan has started flying from Delhi to Bhubaneshwar and Raipur. The new flights will use an Airbus A320 (180 seater) aircraft.

Creating magic at Hampi: The ancient city of Hampi, which till recently did not feature on the country's aviation map, has been connected to Bangalore and Goa. Air Deccan has started flying to the city from November 15, 2006 with an ATR 42-500 (48 seater) aircraft.

Pathankot comes closer to Delhi: Daily flights between Delhi and Pathankot have been started by Air Deccan from November 22, 2006. Pathankot, incidentally, did not feature on the country's aviation map and the low-cost carrier will be the first airline to touch the city with a 48 seater ATR- 42. Earlier, from October 17, Air Deccan started daily services from Delhi to Kullu with a 48seater ATR 42-500.

AIRLINE MAINTENANCE NEWS

MROs have great opportunity THE RAPID growth in air traffic in the country over the last couple of years and the emergence of low-cost carriers (LCC) has ushered in the opportunity for companies to start aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Several foreign MRO companies have decided to establish their facilities some more are looking for joint ventures and strategic alliance with Indian companies to explore the potential of the sector. While, Boeing recently announced to invest Rs 450 cr to set up an

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MRO unit in India, other companies like Singapore Airlines, ST Aerospace of Singapore, Lufthansa Technik of Germany and El Al Israel Airlines Ltd have also chalked out plans to set up similar facilities.

Moreover, several aircraft engine manufacturers such as GE, Rolls Royce, Snecma and Pratt & Whitney are also considering setting up MRO facilities. MRO includes five key segments namely engine overhaul, heavy checks, line maintenance, component maintenance and major airframe modifications.

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MRO NEWS Lufthansa Technik ties up with Air Deccan AIR DECCAN has entered into an agreement with Lufthansa Technik, the leading provider for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of airplanes to support its fleet of 14 Airbus aircraft.

The new contract is valued at more than 150 million US dollars.

Over the next ten years, Lufthansa Technik and its Indian subsidiary, One Stop Airline MRO Support will independently serve the fleet of 60 Airbus A320 airplanes via a Total Component Support with the provision of components at the carrier's hub Bangalore.

Owing to the increase in demand for Airbus rotables and consumables, created largely by Air Deccan, Lufthansa Technik will be setting up a regional pool of spares in India, to support Indian operators. Lufthansa Technik has about 130 airlines as customers for material support, which means around 1400 contracted aircraft. This agreement will facilitate the stocking of all the rotables on the Airbus at the Air Deccan facility at Bangalore. The supplied parts of rotables, as well as consumables, will be repaired and overhauled through their MRO facility.

E-TRAVEL NEWS Travel website launched TRAVELDOST.COM, one of India's largest travel and leisure portals has been launched. This exhaustive travel and leisure portal with many special features is developed by the Airtravel Enterprises group of companies, which is actively in the travel and leisure business for the last three decades.

Corporate clients or individuals can buy a large range of products like airline tickets, travel and tour packages and all other travel related services from the portal directly. Traveldost.com is that it is the first of its kind launched from Kerala. Another unique feature of the portal is that the portal is supported by the travel house, Airtravel Enterprises, with full fledged offices at 16 key locations in India and the Gulf, which will support traveldost.com for easy customer access and service delivery.

The portal also provides a wide range of Medical Tourism products offered by KIMS Hospital and GITC, the leisure arm of ATE. Traveldost.com has already tied Trup with major international and domestic airlines and offers more than 20,000 hotel rooms within India and abroad. The portal offers various products like Ayurveda, Golf Tourism packages, Helicopter services, cultural programmes, entertainment and many more.

GULF AIR NEWS Passenger numbers soar in Gulf Air's two hubs THE increase in Gulf Air flights to and from Bahrain and Oman following the airline's introduction of a two-hub strategy earlier this year has produced record passenger numbers at the airline's key hubs. Releasing passenger figures for the year till August 2006, Gulf Air announced a 31.0 per cent increase to 4.7 million passengers through the two hubs, compared to the same period last year.

"Our original studies predicted growth in the region of 25 per cent," said Gulf Air Vice President Network Fareed Al Alawi.

"However, the numbers have jumped by nearly a third over this period," he said. In the first quarter, growth of 24.1 per cent was recorded in Bahrain and 20.6 per cent in Oman. However, when the full impact of the two-hub model came into effect with the

summer schedule in the second quarter, the growth increased to 41.3 per cent and 39.0 per cent in Bahrain and Oman, respectively. Passenger numbers in Bahrain for July and August increased by 153,437 from 707,105 in 2005 to reach a record 860,542 passengers for the same period. Gulf Air traffic now accounts for 68.4 per cent of the activity at Bahrain International Airport. During July and August, Gulf Air flights through the airport increased by 31.9 per cent to 6,570.

In Oman, a similar trend was evident, and passenger numbers at the Seeb International Airport increased by 122,887 from 331,137 in 2005 to 454,024 for the period July and August 2006, while flights increased 50.1 per cent to 3,478.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES NEWS Singapore Airlines' 20th anniversary in Kolkata SINGAPORE Airlines recently celebrated its 20 years of operations in Kolkata. To commemorate the occasion, the airlines announced special fares to Singapore and select destinations in Thailand and Malaysia ex-Kolkata. A return economy ticket to Singapore was available for Rs 6000 - at a discount of 57 per cent of its current economy fare. Similarly, a return economy fare to select destinations in Thailand and Malaysia was avail-

able from Rs 6500 to Rs 7000. However, these special fares had to be booked between October 16 and October 20, 2006 and were valid for outbound travel from October 16 to November 15, 2006.

Singapore Airlines had also introduced delicacies by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, which are available for first class passengers.

Travel insurance from ICICI Lombard & Singapore Airlines SINGAPORE Airlines has joined hands with ICICI Lombard for providing travel insurance to its passengers and is valid from November 1, 2006 to February 28, 2007. This tie-up would enable passengers having a valid ticket of Singapore Airlines to avail of the Travel Insurance at a special discount of 10 per cent.

The offer is for those passengers travelling to Australia and New Zealand via any of the eight Singapore Airlines gateways in India: Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

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SNIPPETS VIRGIN ATLANTIC NEWS Virgin brings the longest jet to India VIRGIN ATLANTIC Airways flew in the Airbus A340-600 to India. The carrier has become the only airline operating the A340600 to the country. At 247ft (75.3m) long, the plane is longer than any other commercial plane and is part of a $4.7 billion order for 25 aircraft, fitted with Rolls Royce Trent 500 engine series.

The A340-600 offers the most advanced in-flight entertainment system in the world, providing passengers in all cabins with up to 300 hours of video-on-demand to watch or listen to what they want and can start, pause or rewind their chosen movie, TV show or CD. Alternatively, there is a choice of between 20 video channels along with 14 audio channels and 15 Nintendo games and a quick-find search facility. The Upper Class cabin has been fitted with Virgin Atlantic's revolutionary Upper Class Suite - a comfortable reclining leather seat for take-off which converts into a fully-flat bed with a proper mattress for sleeping - and all of Virgin Atlantic's signature innovations, including the popular onboard bar and in-flight beauty therapy area, while new seats for both Premium Economy and Economy passengers are some of the roomiest in the world. The A340-600 is configured with 45 Upper Class Suites, 38 seats in Premium Economy seats and 225 Economy seats for a total capacity of 308 passengers.

The Virgin Atlantic A340-600 features some of the most vibrant

from Meptur, Mr. Mehmet Guler from Geo Tourism, Mr. Neyat Moral from Gemini Tours, Ms. Denize Koprulu and Mr. Yamenica Emgine from Plaza Tur. British Airways unveils its ÂŁ100 million flat bed THE NEW Club World bed in British Airways first class cabin is 25 per cent wider and offers more privacy, greater comfort, with more storage. It is part of an investment programme in the airline's products and services that includes a ondemand in-flight entertainment system in every cabin across the longhaul fleet. Advances in design, technology and materials have been harnessed to take British Airways' flat bed concept to the next level, complemented by a new cabin interior. The key features include an even more comfortable six feet long fully-flat bed, a new 'z' bed position that extends to six foot six inches and allows the body to assume a position similar to that in zero gravity and ideal for watching movies, electronically-operated privacy screens using an innovative opaque material, Lumisty, a laptop locker where customers can stow electronic items, a small bag and shoes. The enhanced in-flight entertainment system allows fliers to pause, stop, fast-forward or rewind up to 100 films and

and creative design concepts ever seen. For the first time ever the Virgin Atlantic design team have had the opportunity to integrate new cabin environments and seating in each of the different classes simultaneously. This has enabled them to create a coherent design language that has reference to each of the seating and cabin products throughout the aircraft.

TURKISH AIRLINES NEWS Road show by Turkish Airlines TO PROMOTE Turkey as a tourist destination, Turkish Airlines organized road shows in south India in the beginning of this November.

The carrier has seen good loads from the Delhi and Mumbai leisure market and has been exploring options of operating from southern India. The road shows were organised in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. A delegation of Turkish agents were represented by Mrs. Ayse Berra Onder and Mr Cantekin Temiser

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TV programmes, and play games on larger 10-inch digital screens. In addition, there is an onboard Club Kitchen where customers can enjoy hot and cold snacks in between meals.

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LUFTHANSA NEWS

IATA NEWS

Kolkata is Lufthansa's 20th Asian destination LUFTHANSA recently announced that it would make changes to its flights to the Asia-Pacific region in its new 2006 winter schedule. An increasing demand for flights between Asia-Pacific and Europe has led to the addition of extra flights to Japan and India, from October 29, 2006. The winter schedule will include a new thriceweekly service to Kolkata, making it Lufthansa's 20th destination in Asia.

The introduction of the new Kolkata service will see Lufthansa flying to six Indian cities. This new addition will see the number of Lufthansa flights between Germany and India grow to a maximum of 45 per week, offering more connections between Europe and India than any other European airline..

PR.26-26/10/06 Frankfurt creates a record for Lufthansa 71,594 Lufthansa passengers left Frankfurt on September 29, this year making it a record number to be cleared at the airport on a single day. The figure has exceeded the previous record figures during the FIFA World Cup.

Passenger growth slowed in August, Freight headed up THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported 4.8 per cent yearon-year growth in international passenger traffic for August 2006. This was the smallest monthly passenger traffic increase since the end of 2003 and marked the fourth consecutive month of declining growth in passenger demand. International freight traffic rose 4.7 per cent, rebounding from 3.7 per cent growth recorded in July, but below the historic long-term average growth of 6.0 per cent.

The average load factor for August remained near record levels at 79.4 per cent, with North American carriers leading all regions with a load factor of 82.7 per cent. For the first eight months of the year, passenger demand grew by 6.1 per cent and freight by 5.2 per cent over the same period in 2005. Average load factors for the period stood at 76.4 per cent.

Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA maintained that "a strong revenue environment and careful capacity management" were keeping load factors at record levels. "Combine that with a declining oil price and enormous efficiency gains and the industry may end the year better off than our current US$1.7 billion loss projection," he said. "More importantly, we are on track for a profit of US$1.9 billion in 2007- the first black number in six years." However, he cautioned that while

Anil Bhandari of Travel House with the award

Giovanni Bisignani: A more optimistic 2007

Travel House is country's best travel agency INTERNATIONAL Travel House Ltd was adjudged the "Best Travel Agency-India" for the year 2006 for the second consecutive year by readers of the prestigious Singapore based weekly, TTG Asia. The accolade could not have been better timed as it coincides with the completion of the silver jubilee year of International Travel House.

International Travel House Limited, established in 1981 is today one of the largest 'Total Travel Management' companies in the country. It is a 'one-stop-shop' Travel Company, which offers the best travel options for travellers in Business Travel, Leisure Travel, Car Rentals, Conferences, Exhibitions & Event Management, Destination Management Services and Money Changing.

"we are moving in the right direction, nobody should be rushing to open the champagne for a US$450 billion industry returning 0.4 per cent of revenues. More change and efficiency gains remain absolutely critical," he said.

The Middle East led all regions with August demand growth for passenger traffic at 11.9 per cent and for cargo at 13.1 per cent.

Strong growth in Africa continued with the region registering 8.9 per cent and 10.6 per cent traffic increases for passenger and freight, respectively. European growth remained stable at 3.5 per cent for passenger and 2.6 per cent for freight. Bisignani also said that "while the UK terror alert had no clear impact on traffic growth, it did send some strong wake-up calls to the industry".

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Howz that!

SPORTING entertainment was the name of the game at the Emirates Airline Festival of Cricket in Dubai, when former Test legends Waqar Younis, Kim Hughes, Mike Gatting and Joel Garner stepped up to the crease at the Darjeeling Cricket Club to captain four local teams in a Twenty/20 tournament. Emirates have over the years made sports promotion a major part of its marketing strategy and cricket, of course, is the icing on the cake. With the sub-continent such a key to its operations, that's no surprise. Picture shows (left to right) top international cricketing greats Waqar Younis, Mike Gatting, Kim Hughes and Joel Garner in batting order with Emirates cabin crew member Sarah Laskie at the Emirates Airline Festival of Cricket.

Flight of Fantasy

AA and Vijay !

IT ISN'T often that you get an opportunity to play a crosscourt shot at Vijay Amritraj or for that matter forehand, backhands and overhead shots. But some of Delhi's A-list got the opportunity, thanks to American Airlines. AA's Tennis Clinic organized at the Delhi Hyatt Regency recently saw a full turnout and Vijay seemed as excited at picking a racket as he was when playing at grass courts round the world a good a quarter century back. The Hyatt-Vijay Amritraj tennis clinic has met with resounding success over the years and is considered as one of the most prestigious events in the sports and the social calendar of Delhi. This year American airlines added some more fizz to the event.

IT WAS a perfect "Flight of Fantasy" today for under-privileged children in Mumbay. It was Children's Day and as usual Jet Airways was operating a special flight for them. And what made it so enjoyable and memorable was the presence of Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi. The Boeing 737-800 Flight of Fantasy 9W 1671 took off at 11:30 hrs from Mumbai's Chatrapati Shivaji Airport flew along the coastline towards Goa and returned after 45 minutes. Bole to bahut mazaa aya. Kyun Circuit, Kyun Jhanvi !

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