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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S NOTE

Why hesitate to answer

I

n October 2008, as Jet Airways was preparing to sack close to 850 cabin crew because of the deepening economic slump, Civil Aviation Minister arm-twisted them into keeping the staff on the rolls. It was the first day of the India Aviation 2008, an event to showcase the might of the country’s civil aviation muscle, and here was Naresh Goyal sacking close to a 1000 employees.

It completely changed the storyline from Hyderabad. Naresh Goyal’s teary-eyed midnight confession that the staff were like his children and there would be no retrenchment was worthy of an Oscar.

Just last week, Air India Chairman Arvind Jadhav told the corporation’s sundry trade unions that one of the options that the management was looking at was ‘retrenchment’. Now, clearly Jadhav mustn’t be serious. After all, the Ministry’s reflex action on the Jet sacking and it’s dithering on the ground handling policy (one key driver to delaying the policy is: what happens to the hundreds of employees who are involved in the process?), is indicator enough that there is no way he can send a single employee home.

Then he has told them to take a 50 per cent cut in their PLI (productivity-linked incentive).

The unions are categorical that they will not accept it or even accede to this, whatsoever the board may have said. The PLI is virtually their salary — there has been a wage revision in the two airlines but that is also a matter of controversy.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

The only other option was to accept DPE (Department of Public Enterprises and go in for wage revision that would have seen salaries rise much more slowly) and employees — even those who have a distinct distaste for the unions — have said that it will not work.

So what will work? Just as the airline is putting together a presentation for its top management on the future plans, it will have to put together a route map on the road ahead for its own family members. What sort of numbers do they want to achieve, how are they going to do it, what sort of salary cuts and for how long? No one says anything about any of this — least of all the top managers.

Finally, the airline must stop asking why the media has focused so much on it when there are other airlines around. The answer is that Air India is iconic, it represents India, and it was and will be the country’s flag-bearer in the aviation business. Not for nothing has the government asked all employees to fly by Air India.

Years ago when Qantas was on the verge of selling a majority stake to a US venture fund, Texas Pacific, the shareholders voted it out.

Later, a poll in an Australian newspaper revealed that there was an unanimous sense of relief at the failed deal. Qantas was seen as an iconic Australian product that needed to be with Australia.

Air India is, of course, not being sold (not that there are too many suitors waiting). But it enjoys a similar iconic status in the eyes of Indians (they may lament at the service and not travel by it) who want it to bloom and grow.

Therefore, the questions and the desire for some answers.

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Off the cuff

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Spaced out

Sir Richard Branson signed a deal on July 28, 2009 with Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments to enter a strategic partnership. It will see Aabar take an equity stake in the world's first commercial spaceline - Virgin Galactic (VG).

Virgin Group has invested over $100m in Virgin Galactic since its formation in late 2004. The development of its new vehicles is being carried out by Scaled Composites, the renowned Mojave CA based aeronautical firm, owned by Northrop Grumman and led by Burt Rutan.

Scaled Composites was responsible for designing and building SpaceShipOne which won the $10m X Prize in 2004 as the first privately funded manned space vehicle. The system is highly innovative: it utilises a carrier

Sir Richard Branson (centre) with Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny, CEO of Aabar (left) and Burt Rutan (right) beside Virgin Galactic’s new carrier space launch vehicle, WhiteKnightTwo (VMS Eve).

Photo: Mark Greenberg/Courtesy:virgingalactic.com

aircraft for launch of the spaceship at high altitude, a controllable and benign hybrid rocket motor and a unique wing feathering design for a failsafe re-entry. The spaceship makes a runway landing rendering it almost entirely reusable.

The new commercial vehicles are now at an advanced stage of development. VMS Eve, VG's new carrier aircraft is well into its test flight programme and is performing flawlessly. It is the world's largest all carbon composite aircraft and has a unique high altitude, heavy lift capability.

The new spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo will commence its own test flight programme before the end of 2009.

Both vehicles offer a unique environment for space tourism and a wide range of science research applications as well as a platform for small satellite launch.

Game for a flight, anyone?

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contents

MISSION ISTANBUL

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The multimillion-dollar modernization mission to make the Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul ready for its October opening, is nearing completion. And, steering the show is India’s very own airport construction giant, GMR. A first hand report.

NEWS DIGEST OFF THE RECORD

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It was a stroke of luck that took Arun Mishra to Montreal. He happened to be in the right place at the right time and is now India’s representative at ICAO. CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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The battle to reduce the price of aviation turbine fuel continues unabated. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has suggested that a Group of Ministers examine the issue. Also, what transpired at the meeting between the Federation of Indian Airlines and the Civil Aviation Ministry where the minister rejected the demand to reverse the recent increase in airport charges.

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

CHOCKS OFF

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CRUISING HEIGHTS Volume IV No 5

Editor-in-Chief

K SRINIVASAN Managing Editor TIRTHANKAR GHOSH

Consulting Editor R KRISHNAN

FOCUS

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Chennai’s airport is undergoing a Rs 2000-cr makeover. Once completed in 2010, the AAI-owned airport will be able to handle 10 million passengers against the existing capacity of 4.74 million and have parking facilities for widebody jets like the Boeing 747 and Airbus A 380.

SPECIAL REPORT

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Granting of rights to airlines to fly in and out of the country does not seem to be based on logic. It has more to do with pulls and pressures than anything else.

GLOBETROTTING

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Imagine the plight of immigration officials in South Korea who discovered that a few Chinese ladies did not possess the kind of faces they had entered into the country with!

Senior Editor RENU RANGELA

Reporter PUNIT MISHRA

Art Director BHART BHARDWAJ

Design RUCHI SINHA PRADEEP JHA

Photo Editor H C TIWARI

Director

RAVI SHARMA (Mob. 9650433900)

Gen Manager RAJIV SINGH (Mob. 9810030533)

Regional Manager (Mumbai) MADHURI REKHI (Mob. 9769439988)

Asst. Manager (Corporate Affairs) AMIT SINHA (Mob. 9650433099)

MDLR Airlines, the country’s only regional carrier from the north, has been slowly building its reputation. Today, it has plans to expand its services and touch more Tier-2 cities and in future would also like to fly to SAARC countries.

Asst. Manager (Advertising) PINTU WAHENGBAM (Mob. 9650433088)

Subscription JAYA SINGH (Mob. 9650433044)

BACK PAGE

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Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has created a website to stimulate and raise worldwide awareness on biodiversity and the preservation of threatened ecosystems among children, families and educators.

SNIPPETS

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Jet Airways has touched Riyadh while Hyderabad is getting ready for Etihad’s flights from November. All this and much more from the world of aviation and hospitality.

Cover photos: Courtesy: GMR Cover design: Ruchi Sinha

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

Executive Director RENU MITTAL Editorial & Marketing office: Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd., C-15, Sector 6, Noida 201 301, Tele: +91-120-4145555 Mumbai: Ms Madhuri Rekhi (Mob. 09769439988) Platina, 9th floor, C-Block, G-59, Next to Citibank Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai 400051, Tel.: +91 22 3953 0528 All information in CRUISING HEIGHTS is derived from sources we consider reliable. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. Opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract or in interviews are not necessarily shared by us. Material appearing in the magazine cannot be reproduced in whole or in part(s) without prior permission. The publisher assumes no responsibility for material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication, error or failure of advertisement to appear. Owned and published by K Srinivasan 4C Pocket-IV, Mayur Vihar Phase-I, Delhi-91 and printed by him at Nutech Photolithographers, B-240, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi-110020.

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PERISCOPE

Premium issue

“

Aviation-risk premiums have hardened after a series of accidents in June this year. There are also capacity constraints that will impact the premiums.

The Oriental Insurance Chairman and Managing Director M RAMADOSS on insuring aircraft this year.

Deccan Express Hyderabad is a key Indian destination not currently served directly from Abu Dhabi. It therefore represents a great opportunity for our airline especially with the large Hyderabadi community living and working within the Emirate.

LETTERS TO EDITOR

The email from Inder Sethi, Air India’s former Deputy Managing Director, to Arvind Jadhav, the present Chairman and Managing Director (‘Yes, those were the glory days, Mr Jadhav’, On Record, August ’09), speaks of the days when the Maharaja was really the Maharaja of the skies. Those days are over and the airline has become a tool for politicians and bureaucrats to do what they want.

Ranjeet Singh, Delhi

The newsitem on SpiceJet having profits in the first quarter of 2009 (News Digest, August ’09) made interesting reading. In fact, if a low-cost carrier like SpiceJet can make profits, surely there must be something wrong with the legacy carriers. Are they overburdened with extra staff or are their overheads too high? The management of the legacy carriers like Jet and Kingfisher must take a long, hard look at their way of functioning.

S K Mishra, Dehradun

Illustrations: Rajeev Kumar

Your analysis of the troubles in Air India (Tossing the AI ball around, Special Report, August ’09) deserves special mention. Everyone seems to be worried about what is happening to the national carrier but no one wants to bite the bullet.

K Subramanian, Bangalore

4

The cover story (Mission India, August ’09) clearly pointed out that the Gulf carriers are raking in business while our own carriers as well as other foreign ones have to be content with dwindling loads. What is so special about the Gulf carriers? The answer is simple: all know how to change and adapt to the situation. They might be losing money but what they are gaining is a market.

At the same time, the Dutch freighter specialist Martinair has also started flights out of Chennai as has been pointed out in the same issue of CRUISING HEIGHTS. There is a market but few have explored to find out where it is.

Raghunath Reddy, Hyderabad All correspondence may be addressed to Editor, Cruising Heights, C-15, Sector 6, Noida 201 301 OR mail to cruisingheights@newsline.in

Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive JAMES HOGAN on their new flight to the Deccan.

I love low-cost Full-service airlines are doing away with business class thus increasing seats. By doing this, airlines are putting pressure on the low-frills market. This will eventually hurt everybody.

Amadeus India Managing Director ANKUR BHATIA on the LCC phenomena.

Where is the moolah?

Our focus is to generate revenue through allied businesses like cargo, engineering and ground handling.

Air India CMD ARVIND JADHAV on beefing revenue streams of the Maharaja.

Green issues I am aware that there are constraints to expanding the present Mumbai airport.

However, as a minister, I am also committed to protecting the environment.

Environment Minister JAIRAM RAMESH on the environmental issues in Navi Mumbai airport project.

Supply baba, supply While I was running Air Deccan, on several occasions we had to grapple with the problems of a very restrictive supply chain system in India.

Deccan 360 Chairman CAPTAIN GOPINATH on his logistics dream.

Oh boy!

We’re being taxed to death.

Kingfisher Chairman VIJAY MALLYA on the high cost of fuel in India.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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Top of the busy charts

The world's busiest airports, according to ACI's 2008 passenger figures: Atlanta 90 mn Chicago O’Hare 69 mn London Heathrow 67 mn Tokyo Haneda 67 mn Paris Charles de Gaulle 61 mn Los Angeles LAX 59 mn Dallas/Fort Worth 57 mn Beijing 56 mn Frankfurt 53 mn Denver

COLD STATS

51 mn.

Close behind were the fastestgrowing airports where the number of passengers increased from 2007 to 2008: Abu Dhabi 30 per cent Istanbul 23 per cent Sharjah 22 per cent Sharm el Sheikh 21 per cent Bahrain 20 per cent Zhenghou 18 per cent Kiev 18 per cent Moscow 17 per cent Lagos 16 per cent St Petersburg 15 per cent.

The Geneva-based Airports Council International recently came out with its 2008 report. Though 31 carriers went down during the year, passenger numbers worldwide was at 4.87 billion (0.1 per cent higher than 2007).

LOOKING GLASS

New flights to Bangkok...but where is the money??????

Then and now 2006: While it is true that I do not have the expertise in the airline business as other members of the board, I believe I can add value to the company and the shareholders with certain creative inputs.

2009: I won’t be able to stay on as a director on the board of the airline because of other business commitments.

Film star SHAHRUKH KHAN on joining and quitting the Jet Airways Board.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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OFF THE RECORD

S

hould Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi be a party to employees venting their ire at the Air India management? Also, should he be meeting union members of AI’s sundry affiliated unions at his Health Ministry office in Nirmaan Bhawan?

Dinesh should know better: he is a veteran Member of Parliament who has also served as a member of the Civil Aviation Consultative committee. So how could he commit such a faux pas?

Those in the know say that Trivedi is under pressure from Mamata ‘Didi’ Banerjee to attend these meetings and show his pro-labour proclivity. Is that the right way forward is the question. The first meeting that took place in the Minister’s office had the Union Civil Aviation Secretary M Madhavan Nambiar as a witness. Dinesh had the good sense to tell his Ministerial colleague Praful Patel about his powwow with the unions and Praful in turn asked the Secretary to attend.

Well, the less said about that meeting the better. It degenerated into a slanging match with Madhavan Nambiar finally telling the unions that the issues needed to be resolved within the family (meaning the Civil Aviation Ministry and not discussed outside) and that is where the meeting finally concluded.

Just days later, Trivedi attended a wellpublicized meeting of the unions at Constitution Club, a stone’s throw from the former headquarters of Indian Airlines and the office from where the present CMD Arvind Jadhav operates. The meeting was held by the Civil Aviation Joint Action Front (CAJAF) comprising the Air Corporations Employees Union (ACEU) and the Aviation Industry Employees Guild (AIEG) and representing almost 80 per cent of the airline’s employees. The CAJAF blamed the Government for the current state of the airline. The joint front, however, said it would initially look at alternative methods to press for its demands and a strike would be the last option.

PRESSURE TACTICS: Dinesh Trivedi with Didi

Be careful Dinesh 6

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

Civil Aviation Secretary M Madhavan Nambiar

George Abraham, General Secretary, AIEG, thundered: “We will write to all MPs and demand action against the injustice that has been done to the workers by cutting salaries and not paying productivity-linked incentives. Our focus would be to reach the Prime Minister’s Office through them. Our last resort would be to strike.” Trivedi sat impassively on the stage listening to all this.

Further, there was a demand for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the alleged malpractices that has led to Air India’s present state. It was also claimed that the employees were in no way to blame for the losses incurred. A declaration released at the convention made the fantastic claim that productivity between 2007-08 and 2008-09 had actually increased as there was no loss due to any strike by the employees.

Imagine Praful Patel or some other Minister exhorting the Railway employees to press hard for their demands in public forums. That would be the end of the collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers and it would become a free-for-all. It’s one thing to take on the Marxists in street battles across West Bengal but it’s a completely different ballgame to follow the order of business and stick to protocol and propriety in matters like Air India.

Even Dinesh Trivedi saying he is doing it because ‘Didi’ wants him to do it will not wash. He must touch his heart and ask if indeed what he did was the right thing! And if the answer is ‘no’, then he must not just keep away from Civil Aviation issues, but tell ‘Didi’ that she mustn’t get deewana about issues other than railways or the Marxists in West Bengal!

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Fraport – Airport Operations from Austria to Xi’an.

The Company Fraport AG is a leading player in the global airport industry. Following its initial public offering (IPO) Fraport has become the second largest listed airport company in the world, by revenues.

Fraport’s expertise is based on more than 80 years of aviation history at Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Frankfurt Airport (airport code = FRA) is located about 12 kilometers from downtown Frankfurt. A renowned pioneer for decades, FRA serves as Fraport’s home base and as a showcase for the company’s know-how, technology, products, and services.

With outstanding connectivity to all five continents of the globe, FRA is a intermodal hub with one of the largest catchment areas in the world and direct access to the German high-speed railway network. FRA is strategically situated in the heart of Germany and the European Union. Airlines can profit from high utilization rates and traffic yields.

Range of services The company prides itself in being a leadingedge provider of integrated airport services.

Besides managing FRA, Fraport AG and its subsidiaries provide the full range of plan-

ning, design, operational, commercial and management services for airports around the world. Fraport AG serves as a neutral partner to the world’s major airlines: offering a complete package of aircraft, cargo, passenger and other ground handling services. Outside Germany, the company has ground services operations in Austria. Other areas of Fraport expertise include cargo and ground handling, real estate development, airport retailing, IT services, intermodal concepts, environmental management, hub management, training, etc.

Fraport worldwide Through investments, joint ventures and management contracts, Fraport is now active on 4 continents. Fraport served some 78.2 million passengers in 2008 and handled 2.1 million metric tons of cargo (airfreight and airmail) at the Group’s airports.

Fraport, which bids for airport management projects worldwide, was awarded a 30-year concession for operating, managing and developing Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in India. Together with state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) Fraport AG has formed “Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL)”. Fraport is the nominated “Airport Operator” and an Airport Operator Agreement concluded with DIAL –

under which it will be utilizing its extensive airport expertise developed over the past 80 years to assist with the operation, management and development of IGIA. Currently Air India offers three weekly passenger flights and Lufthansa offers daily passenger flights from Frankfurt to New Delhi.

From April, Air India plans to provide daily connections.

Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide 60547 Frankfurt am Main, Germany E-mail: marketing@fraport.de Internet: www.fraport.com www.frankfurt-airport.com Contact: Ansgar Sickert Vijender Sharma Fraport Airport Operations India Pvt. Ltd. Paharpur Business Centre Suite 302 21, Nehru Place New Delhi – 110 019, India Phone: +91 11 4120 7355 (AS) +91 11 4120 7334 (VS) Fax: +91 11 4120 7558 Mobile: +91 99 1038 2806 E-mail: ansgar.sickert@fraport.in vijender.sharma@fraport.in

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OFF THE RECORD

Pat on

the back

Y

ou can see a smiling Ajit Dubey, Executive Director (Finance), at the Airports Authority of India receiving the trophy on behalf of India at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Asia Pacific Conference recently held in Bangkok. It’s a real feather in the cap for AAI. It was a part of the sixtieth anniversary celebrations of ICAO held during the Asia Pacific Regional Conference in Bangkok, Thailand on July 13-14.

At this meet they recognized the commendable efforts made by India in improving the air traffic flow management through the Bay of Bengal and India towards Afganistan airspace and as a token of appreciation gave a trophy to India.

Situated strategically between the Europe and South-east Asian traffic flow, India has enormous responsibility to

B

Photo: H.C. Tiwari

y the time you see this in print, Arun Mishra would be in Montreal trying to settle down in his role as India’s latest representative at ICAO. Sometimes in life, you are not just in luck: you are the right person

Ajit Dubey (extreme right) receiving the trophy at Bangkok.

ensure safe and efficient flow of traffic and fulfill its mandatory obligations as part of its international commitment. In order to achieve the global objectives along with national commitment, India has consistently contributed significantly in terms of infrastructure, procedures and technology in accordance with the ICAO mandate.

Some of the major initiatives that were accomplished in the recent past are implementation of parallel ATS routes under the EMARSSH project (Europe, Middle East,

Asia Route Structure South of the Himalayas), RVSM (Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum). Another major task which was accomplished with the regional collaboration and cooperation is the air traffic flow management through Bay of Bengal and India towards Afghanistan airspace. India has contributed very significantly in this project which was acknowledged by the ICAO and this award stands as a testimony to this. The meeting was attended by ED (PR & Admn) T Prem Nath and Ajit Dubey ED(F).

Making it

to Montreal at the right place at the right time as it has happened with Arun. He was a Director in the Cabinet Secretariat getting ready to move in as a full-fledged Joint Secretary when his friends in the Ministry made sure that he came there. He was one of the two officers of the Ministry who had applied to be Secretary of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), but it was Sandeep Prakash who was chosen for the role and the general inference was that Arun would complete his tenure and return to his home cadre of West Bengal!

At that time there was a general sense of shock that the senior of the two contenders had been turned down for what was a straightforward assignment? But it now turns Arun Mishra

out that the ICAO assignment had already got mired in the bureaucratic backwaters with R K Singh’s candidature being stymied by his own friends in the system.

So, when the Ministry kept him away from AERA, they were in fact really keeping him ready as a standby for the ICAO assignment. And that’s actually what happened finally: Arun had to go in place of R K Singh.

Explaining the procedure, one Ministry of Civil Aviation official said: “The nearest comparison that I can give is the cover candidate procedure that political parties follow during elections. They have a standby candidate file papers as well just to make sure they have a candidate in the fray in case the main contender’s papers are rejected. Arun was our cover although he had to fill no forms as you do in elections!”

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OFF THE RECORD

First

impressions

A

irport Economic Regulatory Authority Chairman Yashwant Bhave has begun his job in right earnest. As part of his understanding the business regime, Bhave has visited the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) at Delhi to understand the complexities of the problems that the promoters — GMR — face as part of their modernization process. He is also scheduled to visit all other major airports including Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore and finish the tours with a trip to Hyderabad on September 7. So, what are the first reports from the airports? After dealing with Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan for years, airport opera-

Yashwant Bhave (second from let) photographed with GMR top brass during his visit to Delhi airport. At extreme right is GMR Group Chairman for Airports, Kiran Kumar Grandhi.

tors feel that in Bhave they will have someone who will be willing to listen to their point of view and perspective.

“Agreed he is also from the IAS, but he looks a different type,” said one observer.

Let’s wait and watch.

Anil Baijal

Naresh Goyal

Second

impression!

T

Vijay Mallya

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he second and almost definitive impression of all those who know Anil Baijal is that he is wasted as the Secretary General of FIA (Federation of Indian Airlines).Their complaint isn’t that Baijal is now working in the private sector but that he has to walk hand in hand with the likes of Naresh Goyal and Vijay Mallya. “After all, he was on the board of Air India. He was a Joint Secretary in the Civil Aviation Ministry and he was later Union

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

Home Secretary,” said one seasoned retired civil servant. But there is another perspective as to why any civil servant will be of use in Civil Aviation. “You need someone who understands the business, knows what we are talking about and can lead a discussion,” said one knowledgeable aviation hand. But on one thing almost everyone was in unanimity: how on earth did Anil Baijal agree to a strike call by the private operators? It simply made no sense!

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NEWS DIGEST

Fuel for thought!

T

he battle for reducing the prices of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) was being fought for more than ten years but some sort of finality was given to it by the Civil

Home Minister P Chidambaram

Aviation Minister Praful Patel when he told the Union Cabinet that it would be better to form a Group of Ministers to examine this issue since “I cannot take it any more”. In other words airlines would perish if the government didn’t `perform’, or wake up to the woes that come from the high taxes on fuel!

A very obliging Prime Minister did just that after he and his colleagues watched Patel make his presentation on the issue. The GoM will consider the issues of sales tax on ATF and reduction in base price of aviation fuel by oil marketing companies to bring it at par with international prices. The Minister or PP (as many privately refer to him) has by now become an expert in making Power Point Presentations or PPP (also, Public Private Partnership, another area where he

14

is fast becoming an expert) said the aviation industry has suffered a double whammy - economic slowdown which has resulted in the flight of passengers from airlines to railways and high ATF prices which has knocked the bottoms off the airline industry.

The Minister then sang the same song that unless the Union Government classified ATF as Declared Goods, the incidence of high Sales Tax ranging between 4 per cent and 30 per cent imposed by various states on ATF could kill the Indian aviation industry which was now worth $ 14 billion compared to $ 18 billion which is the worth of Indian Railways. Such comparison might appear out of place but the fact remains that something urgent will have to be done by the government to resolve this longpending issue.

The aviation sector recorded a 20 per cent average annual growth between 2003-04 and 2008-09. The total number of passengers increased from 28.5 million in 2003-04 to 70.1 million in 2008-09.

The number of aircraft increased from 158 to 396 and the number of domestic departures per week grew from 5108 to 11048 while the consumption of ATF rose from 2.4 million tonnes to 4.4 million tonnes. India is now the ninth biggest aviation market in the world but the penetration was woeful.

India has 0.02 trips per capita as compared to 0.1 of China and 2.2 of USA. With over 300 million middle class, the airline demand is expected to increase by 8.5 per cent annually till 2015. This was against an increase of passenger traffic by CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

46.4 per cent in the calendar year 2006 and 32.5 per cent in 2007 before becoming negative 4.7 per cent in 2008 due to high fuel prices. In the first seven months of the current calendar year (January-July 2009) the passenger traffic fell by 12.5 per cent year-on-year basis and even the weekly domestic departures fell to 9677.

The aviation industry made a loss of Rs 2000 crore in 2006-07, Rs 4000 crore in 2007-08 and Rs 8000 crore in 2008-09.

One major reason for the rising losses, among other things, is the high cost of fuel, which riding on high crude price of $147 per barrel in July/August 2008 completely grounded the aviation industry in India. While ATF prices have come

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel

down now, they still remain very high or nearly seven to eight times of what other airlines pay abroad. In India, ATF prices account for 40 to 45 per cent of the operating cost as against a global average of 25 to 28 per cent.

A reduction of Rs 1000 per kiloliter

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will translate into a saving of Rs 300 crore. In the last one year, ATF prices rose by 99.6 per cent as against 14.9 per cent rise for HSD (high speed diesel) and 17.9 per cent for petrol. This has resulted in shrinkage of connectivity, flight frequency, loss of premium traffic, budget travellers besides loss of jobs and complete full stop on creating of new jobs in this sector.

It may be recalled that in July 2004, soon after Praful Patel took over as the Civil Aviation Minister in UPA-I, he requested the state governments to reduce the Sales Tax on ATF but to no avail. He then made it a point to sing this tune at every available opportunity and even mobilized the airline industry, the bureaucracy, etc. towards this cause. But no State Government even bothered to react except for AP which brought it down to 4 per cent.

In August 2006, Praful Patel made yet another effort to get the taxes on ATF like excise duty reduced. But the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas felt it would result in higher taxes on other petroleum products. The Civil Aviation Minister demanded a rationalization of excise and import duties on jet fuel and simultaneously bringing ATF under the Declared Goods

Page 15

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee

category. This was rejected by the Ministry of Petroleum, which said that the excise duty on ATF had been halved at 8 per cent against a CENVAT of 16 per cent. And since revenue from petroleum products constituted a major part of government revenues (almost 40 per cent), it could not agree to lower the excise duty on ATF and it would put more pressure on getting similar reduction for other petroleum products.

On November 11, 2008, the then Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram went on record to say that he was open to the idea of amending the Central Sales Tax Act to make ATF cheaper. The amendment would ensure airlines pay a standard 4 per cent sales tax for ATF

uplifted in domestic airports for domestic flights (only on international flights out of India are airlines — irrespective of whether foreign or domestic carriers allowed to uplift ATF without paying any tax). This move would give ATF a Declared Goods status. Speaking at the Economic Editors Meeting in August 2008, Chidambaram as Finance Minister commented: “I have told the Minister of Civil Aviation that if he can marshal support for the Amendment Bill to amend the Central Sales Tax Act, we can introduce the Bill.” Since it was a Money Bill, political support was very crucial as any failure to pass the Bill would mean the elected government would lose confidence and thus have to quit. It was a possible no-confidence vote that scared the FM. This was in November 2008, days before the Mumbai terror attack. Since then, so much has happened and the Congress-led government got re-elected as UPA-II with much better numbers.

Pranab Mukherjee who took over from Chidambaram as the Finance Minister soon after the Mumbai attack was reappointed as the new Finance Minister in UPA-II. The Ministry of Civil Aviation as also the Federation of Indian Airlines

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NEWS DIGEST submitted their pre-Budget memorandum to the Finance Minister but Pranab Mukherjee (who has not given out a single statement on this issue even as headed a few dozen GoMs in UPA-I as also now in UPA-II) took no note of it in his Union Budget for 2009-10, which got Parliamentary approval at the end of July 2009.

Obviously, when the Union Budget, which is nothing but a wholesale Money Bill, could be voted and passed in the Lok Sabha, why could he not include a single line in his indirect tax proposal for getting ATF categorized as Declared Goods?

Surely, he did not want to risk another confidence vote so soon or just after getting a positive vote on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Speech to both houses of Parliament in June 2009.

All this at a time when the government itself admitted in the Rajya Sabha during the recently-concluded Budget session of Parliament where the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada admitted that Central and Sales Tax made up for more than one-third of ATF even as he said that the Government did not control the price of ATF. Giving an example, he said, if the base price of ATF in Mumbai was Rs 24.02 per liter, freight and other levies added Rs 3.68 and excise duty another Rs 2.28 per litre and the Maharashtra Government Sales Tax another Rs 7.50 per liter. All this took the price to Rs 37.48 per liter.

The beauty about Sales Tax levied by State Governments was its natureAdvalorem, that is a flat rate on the exrefinery price charged by the public sector oil marketing companies. So, if the exrefinery price, which itself is frequently adjusted to ensure import parity price but often completely distorted by various other levies, goes up, then the states Sales Tax on it pro-rata goes up too. This is a major complaint of airlines, which said that whenever ATF prices went up, the States made real moolah. When the ATF prices touched sky high in June-Sept 2009 period, the States could have easily realized an earning band of around Rs 5000 crore.

This was something that had been mentioned by former Air India CMD Thulasidas while making a presentation before the Empowered Finance Ministers of various states headed by West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta in mid2007. Later, another presentation was made on the subject in Kerala before State Finance Ministers by Arun Mishra, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Again in June 2008, Civil

16

Aviation Minister Praful Patel made a PPP to the Prime Minister first and later to the meeting of Empowered Finance Ministers in New Delhi. His plea was rejected by the State Finance Ministers.

Asim Dasgupta was later quoted as saying that the Government of India should bear the loss of 50 per cent of Rs 8000 crore in the reduction in taxes on petroleum products. He said the states were also not keen to reduce the floor rate of Sales Tax on petrol and diesel below 20 per cent. In fact, Asim Dasgupta asked a counter-question: “We would like to know why the basic price of petroleum products varied in different states? We would like base price of petro product to be uniform across states.”

There was no response from the Central Government to this demand.

The Sales Tax imposed by various states ranged from 4 per cent by AP and Maharashtra other than Pune and Mumbai, 20 per cent by Rajasthan, 21 per cent by Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Daman and Diu and Arunachal Pradesh; 22 per cent by Nagaland, UP and J&K, 25 per cent in Assam, 28 per cent in HP, West Bengal, Maharashtra (Mumbai and Pune), 29 per cent in Karnataka and Kerala and 30 per cent in Gujarat. So now we find Praful Patel finally getting the UPA-II agree to set up a GoM to look into this issue of only ATF. The question which the industry is asking is: will the government promulgate an ordinance? As for this step, Praful Patel has already said it may not be possible because converting the ordinance into a law would mean getting to introduce a similar Bill which Chidambaram had earlier indicated but for which neither he nor his successor had the courage to see through in Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, crude prices are rising again and have now stabilised at nearly $ 70 to a barrel and already the oil marketing companies have revised ATF prices twice — on August 1 and 15, 2009 — to ensure parity with global prices. While there is news coming that the global economy may at last be bottoming out of recession which is good, it also brings bad news like higher demand for oil kicking up higher oil prices. At current ATF prices, the states may be collecting on annualized basis nearly Rs 2800 crore. If ATF prices go up further, the state collections will also rise. No wonder states treat ATF as a cash cow. Will Praful be able to stop such milking?

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

FIA Fiasco

I

f the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) could find official support from Praful Patel after they dropped their plans for the one-day strike or suspension of air services on August 18, 2009 to protest high ATF prices, the same Praful Patel trashed their demand to reverse the recent increase in airport charges.

The Minister described as absolute misinformation by domestic airlines that the airport charges in India were 60 per cent higher than international rates. He said: “I can show you airports where the charges are far higher as also those where charges are lower than in India.”

In any case, AERA will look into these issues and the government would keep such issues at an arm's length. So, when the disunited FIA was talking of issues including airport charges being high in India, the long silent Association of Private Airports Operators (APAO) suddenly became active. APAO, in a communication, said that according to a survey conducted by Jacob Consultancy (a company specializing in airport and aviation consultancy) in 2008, Mumbai airport was ranked fiftieth in a survey of 50 airports worldwide in terms of airport charges. Delhi had similar rates as Mumbai and this showed that airport charges in India were among the lowest.

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Photo: H.C. Tiwari

cent discount on landing charges if payments were made within 15 days from the date of invoice. Further, landing charges on aircraft seating capacity of less than 80 seats continue to be exempted.

Rejecting the unfair charge of high airport charges in India, the Association said airport charges in India constituted only about 3.25 per cent to 3.5 per cent of total operating cost of airlines as compared to ATF which accounted for 40 to 45 per cent of the airlines operating costs.

Moreover, the Route Navigation Facilities Charges (RNFC) and Terminal Navigation Landing Charges (TNLC) did not accrue to airport operators and it went to the AAI which is responsible for ATC. If one were to include only Delhi and Mumbai airport charges hike as the basis, then, according to an official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, it could work out to nearly 5 per cent of total operating cost of CONSULTANCY Aviation Management Consulting an airline. With the setting up of the AERA AIRPORT CHARGES INDEX 2008 and its new Chief AIRPORT SDRs INDEX Yashwant Bhave taking 1 Toronto 59,143 100 2 Athens 54,714 93 over, airport charges 3 New Jersey-EWR 47,364 80 will now be fixed by 4 London-LHR 41,342 70 5 Paris-CDG 40,643 69 AERA for a period of 6 Vancouver 40,263 68 five years after which 7 Osaka 39,394 67 8 Vienna 39,340 67 they will be subject to 9 Zurich 38,270 65 revision.

10 Berlin 38,104 64 11 Prague 38,020 64 While private 12 New York-JFK 37,233 63 airports like Delhi, 13 Sydney 37,208 63 14 Frankfurt 36,906 62 Mumbai, Hyderabad, 15 Brussels 36,632 62 Bengaluru, Cochin are 16 Warsaw 36,317 61 collectively making an 17 Amsterdam 36,254 61 18 Auckland 34,218 58 investment of Rs 30,000 19 Dusseldorf 31,502 53 crore for modernizing 20 Copenhagen 31,491 53 21 Munich 31,110 53 airport and aviation 22 Moscow 30,937 52 infrastructure, state 23 Budapest 30,591 52 24 Lisbon 30,501 52 owned AAI is investing 25 Tokyo 30,069 51 Rs 12,000 crore for 26 Seoul 29,400 50 27 Stockholm 27,495 46 upgrading 35 non-metro 28 Oslo 27,440 46 airports. Obviously, all 29 Dublin 26,465 45 30 Milan-MXP 26,081 44 this needs money for 31 Helsinki 25,770 44 maintenance and some 32 Miami 24,211 41 33 Bangkok 24,056 41 return on investment.

34 Madrid 23,910 40 But one wonders what 35 Rome 23,724 40 happened to the 36 Mexico City 22,661 38 37 Sao Paulo 22,542 38 Ministry of Civil 38 Los Angeles 22,176 37 Aviation and also APAO 39 London-LGW 21,608 37 40 San Francisco 21,388 36 when at the recent June 41 Beijing 21,320 36 2009 meeting of the 42 Washington 20,049 34 43 Jeddah 18,772 32 IATA, its CEO 44 Taipei 16,803 28 Giovanni Bisignani 45 Singapore 16,547 28 46 Johannesburg 16,462 28 singled out airport 47 Hong Kong 13,202 22 charges hike in Delhi 48 Kuala Lumpur 13,171 22 49 Dubai 9,362 16 and Mumbai and the 50 Mumbai 9,280 16 need to place them in the “Wall of Shame”.

SDR - Special Drawing Right: An artificial currency unit based upon several national currencies. The Special Drawing Right serves as the official monetary unit of several international organizations including the International Monetary Why had no one reacted Fund, and acts as a supplemental reserve for national banking systems. to this disinformation?

JACOBS ALL SMILES: Praful Patel and M Madhavan Nambiar (extreme right) enjoy a joke during the FIA meet.

For instance, Toronto airport had the highest index while Mumbai airport charges were 16 per cent of Toronto’s charges. Airports in Bangkok, Singapore, and Beijing had higher airport charges than Mumbai. It was only in February 2009, that airport charges in India were increased after a gap of nearly eight years. A reference to this and rejection of airline demand to lower airport charges was also conveyed by the Civil Aviation Secretary Madhavan Nambiar while making his inaugural speech at the March 2009 meeting of the Routes Development Group in Hyderabad.

APAO said the airport charges in India were increased in February 2009 by only 10 per cent while in those years inflation had risen by as much as 48 per cent based on average annual cost inflation of 5 per cent. It was in pursuance to the recommendations of the Naresh Chandra committee report of 2003 that domestic airlines were offered 15 per

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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Mangoes better than mangroves!

A

fter the signing of Indo-US nuclear deal and agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it may become easier for nuclear companies from US, France and Russia to form JVs with Indian state-owned atomic power companies to set up new nuclear facilities in various states in India. However, it will become next to impossible to build a new airport in India because of environmentalists.

Obviously, if anyone raises environmental issues over plans to set up

IATA Chief Giovanni Bisignani

new atomic plants you can nuke them but when it comes to airports the environmentalists can always ask the potential airport developer to take a flight!

This is what has happened to the much-hyped-and-delayed Navi Mumbai Airport that has been in the making for more than three years.

Incidentally, it also marks the completion of three years of Mumbai airport being transferred to the GVK-led consortium for its modernization on a 30-year lease agreement extendable by another 30 years. The very idea of the Navi Mumbai airport found acceptance when it became very clear that because of various constraints the existing Mumbai airport or MIAL would get saturated very soon and unless another airport was built, conditions in the present Mumbai airport could become completely chaotic — something

18

inevitable with the latest missile fired by the Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh.

One can understand the problems a private promoter may find. But when the mighty state of Maharashtra is finding itself helpless, what could be said about the aviation industry in India: Do and Die and not Do or Die? Just look at the turn of events for the proposed Navi Mumbai airport. The Union Cabinet had also given its approval for constructing this airport whose idea was born in 2006.

In 2007, the Maharashtra Government under Congress-NCP (state will go to polls in October-November 2009) appointed CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra) as the nodal agency for land acquisition and initiate steps to construct the Greenfield airport. Accordingly, they selected after a bidding process, USbased company Louis Berger to work out all the details regarding the execution of the project including the developer and various work packages.

Meanwhile, separate discussions continued between Ministry of Environment and the Maharashtra Government to get all approvals including the crucial environmental clearance from the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) angle. After a rejection in March 2008 which led to a flurry of activity, the MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) reportedly gave its in-principle clearance for the nearly Rs 5000-crore Navi Mumbai International Airport. The earlier rejection was due to the plea of the MoEF that the construction of the airport would involve reclamation of low-lying areas in the ecologicallyfragile zone as well as destruction of several hundred hectares of mangroves.

So, when the in-principle approval was received, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh said: “We have received an in-principle clearance for the Navi Mumbai international airport which has been planned to ease the fast burgeoning burden on the existing Mumbai international airport. The Navi Mumbai

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

airport is expected to be completed by 2012.” When the initial objection came in March 2008, both the Maharashtra Government and the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had approached the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to seek early clearance.

At that time Praful Patel had clearly and completely ruled out the possibility as well as suggestions for changing the present site of Navi Mumbai airport located at Panvel, about 35 kilometers from Mumbai. In fact the State Government's agency CIDCO had already acquired 1560 hectares of land out of the 2060 hectares to be acquired for building the airport. This much land was necessary to build a world class airport with two parallel runways with provision for full length taxiways on either side of the runways.

The airfield had been designed to accommodate the new large aircraft compatible with aerodrome code-4E. The existing Mumbai airport which received 27 million passengers — both domestic and international — in 2008 will reach its saturation point by 2013-14 when it receives 40 million passengers.

Meanwhile, estimates show that Mumbai would, over the next two decades, receive up to 90 million passengers and therefore after or by 2013, it definitely needs a new airport and for which Navi Mumbai airport is the answer.

After the receipt of the in-principle

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan

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MINISTERIAL MISSIVES

May 18: T C Benjamin, principal secretary Department of Urban Development, Maharashtra announced: “The environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) issues which had so far hindered the Navi Mumbai project, have been cleared by the Union Government.''

June 2:

IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani writes to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on the need to decongest Mumbai airport.

“While Delhi is moving towards the capability of handling 100 million passengers, Mumbai remains a critical bottleneck. Given the constraints at the current airport location, India must develop a new Mumbai airport which can adequately serve the financial capital of the world's second most populous nation.''

June18: Environment Minister

Jairam Ramesh writes to Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, saying the state government should look out for another site for the proposed airport. “If the project was allowed on the present site, it will cause lot of environment damage, particularly to the mangroves, spread on 150 hectares of land…the original mangroves were irreplaceable and noncompensatory afforestation was possible.”

June 22: Chief Minister Ashok Chavan personally spoke to Ramesh and explained that his government clearance, the Maharashtra Government was waiting for the relevant notification under the CRZ, which meant a notification that modified the requirements under CRZ so that construction of Navi Mumbai airport could begin in April 2009. But nothing happened as Mumbai terror attack changed everything including the politics of Maharashtra and the resignations of Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh of the Congress and his Deputy CM R R Patil of NCP. Soon, elections to the new Lok Sabha were announced and the subject of Navi Mumbai was no longer hot. However,

20

moved the proposal after approval from the ministry of civil aviation.

He also made a formal communication: “Our proposal has been approved by the PMO. We are in the process of completing the basic formalities required for obtaining a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Environment.''

June26: Jairam Ramesh writes to Chavan and clarifies to the media: “We have given permission only for Terms of References under which an environment impact assessment study has to be carried out. We have not given clearance to the airport (project). The problem with the proposed area was that around 150 hectares are covered with mangrove vegetation and “therefore the experts have to suggest how the destruction of the mangroves for the construction of airport could be neutralized,” the minister said.

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh

could be built on the Navi Mumbai site.

Consultants Louis Berger had already submitted their primary report on the airport plan and its final report is likely to come in by September 2009. Pending that, it was decided that necessary tender August 18: Prime Minister papers for the selection of the developer Manmohan Singh said that would be prepared on September 30, 2009 “environmental clearances have and bids submitted by interested parties become a new form of licence raj on February 15, 2010. The developer will and a source of corruption. It is a be shortlisted on March 31, 2010 and the matter that needs to be addressed. agreement/foundation stone would be laid There are trade-offs that have to be in April/May 2010. It was estimated that made while balancing developmental the basic facilities at the airport would be and environmental concerns. But the available for formal inauguration in procedures must be fair, transparent September - October 2013. and hassle-free.”

The CIDCO MD, G S Gill, soon after the news about so-called environmental August 18: Jairam Ramesh approval notification (May 18/19, 2009) states: Prior to his assuming charge was published in the newspapers, was in the UPA-II Government, had been quoted in the media as saying that the having an “unnaturally high rate (98 challenge was now to make up for the lost per cent) of acceptance for time due to the delay by an year. In clearances”. anticipation, we had fortunately appointed consultant Louis Berger which saved us nearly six months, Gill said. The Chief of when the polls were over and UPA-II MIAL, Sanjay Reddy, said he looked assumed office, around May 18 or 19, forward to the speedy completion of the 2009, the MoEF issued a notification new airport and would wait till the under the CRZ. This was Maharashtra Government widely reported in the came out with the bidding media that at last the MoEF process. had accorded clearance to However, all this news the proposed Navi Mumbai about environmental airport. This prompted the clearance/amended CRZ CIDCO to roll out its action notification turned out to plan. Incidentally, the be false when the Minister International Civil Aviation of Environment and Organization (ICAO) had Forests Jairam Ramesh already accorded its himself said so while approval and affirmed that holding a public hearing in an international airport Mumbai on August 13, Scientist M S Swaminathan

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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2009 on the issue of amending the rules resolve to build the Navi Mumbai airport and procedures relating to CRZ. In fact, at the same site. But this was not the final Jairam Ramesh made it a point to rub the say. As we said on August 13, 2009 point in as he had quietly in June 2009 Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh written to Maharashtra Chief Minister (as told newsmen during the course of a well to other CMs on other projects) public hearing on CRZ: “Navi Mumbai asking him to considering airport has not yet been shifting of the Navi Mumbai approved”. Referring to the airport site as it could cause mangrove destruction for the irreparable damage to the Mundra Port project in coastal ecology.

Kutch, Jairam Ramesh said Jairam Ramesh is after he came to know of it, reported to have written that he had after taking over as he was shocked to discover the new MoEF decided to that the Navi Mumbai abolish the system of airport would also be built according In-Principle on 150 hectares of Approval. mangrove land and 150 From now on, a project Environment MinisterJairam Ramesh hectares of coastal marshy will be either approved or land which includes 118 rejected. As for the Navi hectares of waterbody. In fact, in an Mumbai airport, he said no decision to interview, he said since he had taken over amend the CRZ notification had been he had sent back 10 to 12 proposals which taken or notified. All that was done was to included the Navi Mumbai airport project approve the terms of reference for as it would have meant removal of conducting the Environment Impact mangroves.

Assessment (EIA). He said that IIT But in his reply the Maharashtra Chief Mumbai has been entrusted with the task Minister said that “scouting for an of carrying out EIA which would be alternative site will not be viable at this completed in 9 to 12 months time. Jairam stage. CIDCO had already acquired 77 per Ramesh had been briefed by NGOs cent of the land”. Praful Patel separately including noted farm scientist Dr M S said the site could not be changed at this Swaminathan against according stage because land was not available in environmental clearance to Navi Mumbai Mumbai and also that the airport could airport. not be built elsewhere. There were also He said the problem with the the issues of ATC and ICAO having proposed area was that around 150 already given clearance and, finally, and hectares of land was covered by most importantly the crucial issues of mangrove vegetation and hence the connectivity — rail and road — was experts would have to suggest how the possible only at the current site. destruction of mangroves for the Later in July or early August 2009, the construction of the airport could be Maharashtra Government reaffirmed its neutralized. Now, all this is fine and since Jairam Ramesh has said it will take a year, it clearly means nothing will move in the proposed Navi Mumbai airport for another year. So, instead of tying up all ends including bids, site construction, etc by end-2010, it will now be not before end-2011 and, therefore, the original plan for at least getting some basic services started by 2013 goes for a six.

Indeed, if the government of India and its environment ministry condescends, the delay could be compressed by say three months. But what does one do if the forthcoming elections to Maharashtra Assembly were to see the exit of Congress-NCP and installation of the opposition. Perhaps, then the entire airport site will be declared as under mangroves. As one politician delightfully said: “Mangoes are MIAL Chief Sanjay Reddy better than mangroves”.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

PM and aviation

I

t was indeed very thoughtful of the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to think of not just India while delivering his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi on August 15 but also Air India. This reminds us of the remarks former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee made to some journos on November 1, 1998 while returning on his VIP flight from Bangalore after inaugurating the first IT Park built by a joint venture of Singaporeans and Tatas. When asked about Air India which had then made a loss of Rs 440 crore for the year 1997-98 and still continuing to flounder, Vajpayee said: “Yeh Air India badi gambhir samasya hai. Kuch karna padega.”

However, the government fell in April 1999 and he again got elected in September 1999. Once in power, he pursued the objective of cleaning up Air India and decided to take it away from the bureaucracy and politicians. Why not sell it? Thus began the Disinvesment Drama of Air India and also domestic airline Indian Airlines.

After more than one year of the bidding process and which saw at the end only one bidder (Tata) left, which also withdrew after its partner (SIA) withdrew, Air India and Indian were back as the hunting grounds for babus and politicians.

Off and on, the two state-owned airlines made some profits but mostly it was losses if one counted out the revenue Prime Minister Manmohan Singh known as “other

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income”. Operationally, both carriers only made losses. But when the new UPA government assumed office in May 2004, the talk of merging the two state-owned carriers virtually guided the thinking of the new Minister, Praful Patel. His idea was sound and made sense. Why duplicate everything and why not merge the two carriers? Save on cost, have common facilities such as ground handling, engineering, share routes, avoid duplication and derive the benefits of Economies of Scale.

In pursuance of this, Praful Patel successfully steered the two carriers into placing orders for a brand new fleet of 43 Airbus narrow body A 319, A 320 and A 321 family aircraft. This order was approved in September 2005, nearly 17 years after the then Indian received its first brand new A 320, known as fly by wire aircraft. Air India which acquired six Boeing 747-400s between August 1993 and 1996 had not acquired any new aircraft before or after that. It was in January 2006 that Air India placed orders to buy 50 wide body aircraft - 8 of B 777-200 LR, 15 of B-777300 ER and 27 or B-787. Besides, it also placed orders for 18 B 737-800 narrow body aircraft for its subsidiary Air India Express.

On July 28, 2009 while replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said a presentation was made by the Ministry of Civil Aviation before the Prime Minister in March 2006 when an “In-Principle” view was taken that the merger of the two airlines would be in the best interest. Pursuant to this, the Prime Minister constituted a GoM to consider the proposal at pre-Cabinet stage so that a consensus could emerge on various

22

issues before the matter was placed for Cabinet approval. Accordingly, a GoM was constituted under the Chairmanship of former External Affairs Minister (Pranab Mukherjee who has since adorned the cap of Finance Minister).

Simultaneously, it was decided that the matter should first be considered by a Committee of Secretaries. Accordingly a CoS consisting of the Secretaries of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Department of Legal Affairs, Department of Revenue, Department of Personnel and Training and Department of Company Affairs under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary was constituted. The CoS and GoM, after considering the matter felt that the proposal to merge the two airlines was in the best operational and financial interest and decided to recommend to the Cabinet that the proposal to merge Air India and Indian Airlines into a new merged entity be approved.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation then appointed Accenture, a well-known US based consultant with extensive presence in India, as the consultant for the Air India merger. While Air India has never made public of what Accenture recommended, this much was known that Accenture had based all its suggestion to succeed provided the Air India merger was done at the HR level, the two airlines introduced a common code for flights, the passenger service system or reservation system was integrated into one and all this facilitated Air India's early entry into the Star Alliance.

So, when the two airlines were about to be merged the losses they made was Rs 740 crore, of which Indian's share was nearly Rs 560 crore and that of Air India CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

Rs 180 crore. After the first year of merger in April 2008 or for the fiscal 2007-2008, the so-called merged entity made a loss of Rs 2226 crore and in the second anniversary of its merger or fiscal 2008-09, merged Air India is reported to have made a loss of nearly Rs 5000 crore. Just imagine had the CoS and GoM left them alone they would have much smaller losses as the merger meant substantial matching of wages and allowances between the staff of the two airlines and also payment of arrears based on the matching exercise partially if not fully.

But in return what the organization got was reduced operations, withdrawal of routes, falling yields, low-seat factor, severe disturbance to on-time. Now, let us see how the Prime Minister will fix this problem which in hindsight would not have arisen had the CoS and GoM rolled over the issue seriously. It is true that size does matter since before the merger it was thought that having nearly 150 aircraft would mean a mega presence in this part of the globe. But mega size also brings with it the risk of mega losses which is what we are witnessing now.

It could well be impossible for an economist Prime Minister to hazard a guess as to how the losses of Air India are rising in geometric proportion while earnings are, if at all rising, in arithmetic proportion. Also, it will be wrong to blame only Praful Patel for the merger idea. After all, so many babus and brilliant politicians went over the matter for months before saying yes. It was only that they underestimated the intelligence of Air Indians who never wanted to play ball in the first place — most certainly not now.

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Seminar on Asian cooperation in civil aviation

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ith an eye to bring together all Asian airports, airlines and regulatory bodies, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India, Air India and the Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism (FAST) have proposed to jointly host a symposium on air transport. The theme of the symposium, “India - Asia: Civil Aviation Cooperation”, to be held on September 16 and 17, 2009 at New Delhi will figure prominent speakers from IATA, CANSO, ACI, FAA, EC (European Commission) and Euro Control. While Praful Patel, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation, will be the chief guest, Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez, President, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural session. M Madhavan Nambiar, Secretary, Ministry of Civil

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The Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested the FAST to organize the event.

FAST is a non-government; international, autonomous and non-profit research organization with the basic objective of promoting civil aviation and tourism, in harmony with the environment. Earlier, the Foundation had organized six International Conferences — in February 1994, December 1995, February 1998, December 2000, December 2002 and February 2007-each one of them successful in terms of deliberations, participation and outcome.

The Director General Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India, Indian private airports like Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) and major domestic airlines, including Air India, will be supporting the symposium. The organizers have invited a number of speakers and delegates from the International Airports/Airport Authorities/ Civil Aviation Departments/ airlines from the Asian countries and representatives of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airport Council International (ACI), ICAO, Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO), European commission and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to participate.

Bihar scores a first with its air taxi

t was impossible to think — till a few years ago — about an “Air Taxi” in Bihar. But it is a fact now. A private air taxi service between Bihar and Jharkhand has started from August 14 with a three-seater chartered plane making the first trip from Ranchi to Patna. A Lucknow-based private air-taxi service provider, Spirit Air Private Ltd, has entered into an agreement with DTDS Travel and Tour Planner Pvt Ltd, to begin its services to Ranchi, Gaya and Patna.

Though the government of Bihar had little role to play in the air taxi service, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has contributed his bit by ensuring a conducive atmosphere in the state. While the law and order situation has improved considerably, governmental support to entrepreneurial initiatives along with the new tourism policy of the state have contributed to a resurgence in tourismrelated activities. Realising the immense potential of tourism in the state which is

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Aviation will also be a speaker at the meet.

The importance of regional cooperation in civil aviation and its role as an important driver of economic growth will once again be emphasised at the symposium. The organizers will focus on some important issues: Opening up of the sky - Economic regulation and liberalization of international air transport;

Panel discussion on liberalization of international air transport; Discussion on economic regulations of airports and air navigation services; Policies on the economics of air navigation and airport services; Single sky helps in better utilization of air space; The Indian experience of setting up of Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA); and,

Analysis of safety data.

home to a number of Buddhist, Jain and Sikh shrines as pilgrim centres, the NDA government substantially increased budgetary allocations to the sector after coming to power in November 2005.

From a meagre Rs 3 crore earmarked for tourism during 2005-06, the allocation was raised to Rs 30 crore in 2009-10. Consequently, the number of foreign tourists visiting Bihar also multiplied. The state’s Tourism Minister Rampravesh Rai is reported to have claimed that the number of foreign

Cessnas in flight.

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tourists in the state had gone up by nearly four times in two years. The all-out efforts by the state machinery to provide facilities to the foreign tourists visiting Tarengna for the recent solar eclipse and the “online Pinddan” at Gaya during “Pitripaksha” this year are some of the major accomplishments.

G C Biswas, Associate Vice President (Marketing), Spirit Air, has reportedly said that it would be DTDS’s responsibility to book Spirit Air’s threeseater Cessna 172 Sky Hawk aircraft for a month. It would re-assess the business performance and decide whether to continue with the agreement or not. The flight operates three days a week — Monday, Thursday and Saturday — with the aircraft leaving Ranchi at 9 am and reaching Gaya at 10 am. The flight halts for half an hour at Gaya and reaches Patna at 11 am. The Ranchi-Gaya fare is Rs 3,395 per passenger while the half hour Gaya-Patna journey costs Rs 2,290.

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GLOBETROTTING

AT A GLANCE

Cosmetic issues!

DON’T get any cosmetic surgery when you are abroad. A group of Chinese women who travelled to South Korea for cosmetic surgery discovered that the post surgery immigration experience can be painful! Immigration officers were baffled when they discovered that the new looks did not match those of the smart women in front of them. The 23 women, who were aged between 36 and 54, had bigger eyes, higher noses and slimmer chins than

Nude protest shown in their passports according to a Chinese newspaper! “After they took off their huge hats and big sunglasses following our request, we saw them looking different, with bandages and stitches here and there. We had to compare their uncorrected parts with their photos very carefully,” one airport officer told a newspaper.

WHEN in anger, there can be extreme reactions. It happened to a German gentleman who staged his demonstration over what he saw as excessive security measures. He vented his frustration at the security by stripping naked in the middle of Heathrow Airport. The 49-year-old German man took umbrage to a request that he take off his belt and shoes at an X-ray

Pilot blames ‘British beer’

The wrong Sydney

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Dutchman and his grandson boarded a flight to Sydney, looking forward to visiting Australia, but ended up in a different Sydney — in Nova Scotia, Canada. Joannes Rutten, 71, and his 15-year-old grandson Nick booked the trip through a Dutch travel agency with plans to visit family living in Wollongong and Tallong, south of Sydney, according to the local newspaper, Illawarra Mercury. They set out from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport with Air Canada on Saturday but instead of arriving to views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, they touched

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down at Sydney in Cape Breton Island, off Canada’s north-east coast — more than 17,000 kms (10,000 miles) away from their intended destination. Air Canada organised hotel rooms in the wrong Sydney, a former mining town with high unemployment and a population of about 26,000, until they could arrange flights on to the right Sydney, which boasts sunkissed beaches and four million people.

“I think it was quite an adventure for the 15-year-old. They’re not seasoned travellers. Joannes was absolutely exhausted when he arrived,” Rutten’s cousin, Yvonne Wallace, from Wollongong, told a newspaper.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

NEVER drink a pint of British beer before taking a flight as Captain Joseph Crites discovered to his horror.

Turned out that the unfamiliar drink was stronger than alcoholic beverages he usually drank and he did not realize, it would put him over the limit when he turned up at Heathrow the next morning for his flight. The former US Air Force flier with an unblemished 40-year track record could have been jailed for two years but was let off with just a fine by a London Court.

Heathrow security staff had called in police after smelling booze on Captain Crites’s breath as he reported for duty at 8.45 am. Officers breathalysed the pilot and arrested him after he produced a reading of 37 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

The limit is just nine micrograms.

The flight was delayed by over an hour while a replacement pilot was summoned. A later blood test, which is more accurate, revealed 39 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, almost twice the legal limit of 20 milligrams.

Captain Crites had gone out for dinner during his overnight stop in London and was back in his hotel room by 11.30 pm the evening before he was arrested. The barrister told the court: “He did have some drinks, but the only thing he can suggest to explain this is that he had some unfamiliar beers, which were stronger than those he was used to.”

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Rainy day fund

The $10 mn chopper HOW do you like it if Hermes makes a chopper that’s designed to the specifications of the millionaires of the world? The helicopter that débuted first in 2007 isn’t going to be the exclusive toy of a reclusive millionaire.

After l’Hélicoptère par Hermès, or the Hermes Helicopter, came out in late 2007, we were wondering what billionaire’s yacht would sport it first. Now it turns out that it won’t be the private playtoy of a person at all, since a Tokyo company has purchased the ‘copter designed by the French fashion house and will offer flights between the central district of Akasaka and Narita International Airport. Hold your breath… a one-way flight will cost you $790.

Rabbis fight swine flu GUESS what a group of Rabbis are doing in the skies over Israel? Praying and blowing ceremonial horns in a plane to ward off swine flu! About 50 religious leaders circled over the country, chanting prayers and blowing horns. One Rabbi was quoted as saying that “the flight’s aim was to stop the pandemic so people will stop dying from it”. The flu is often called simply “H1N1” in Israel, as pigs are seen as unclean. There have been more than 2,000 cases of swine flu in the country, with five fatalities so far. The Rabbi added: “We are certain that, thanks to the prayer, the danger is already behind us.” Television footage showed Rabbis in black hats rocking backwards and forwards as they read prayers.

No Guardian at Heathrow LONDON’S Guardian newspaper has become the first quality newspaper publisher to scrap distribution of all its bulk copies at a major airport: a move that will cut thousands from circulation figures for The Guardian and The Observer. In the past, news-

LUFTHANSA had a new initiative: a “sunshine guarantee”. If you’re on vacation and your day was a washout, don’t worry — Lufthansa would give you 20 Euros (approximately $30) for each rainy day of your vacation, up to 200 Euros. In order to qualify, the German weather website wet-

teronline.de had to show at least five millimeters of precipitation at your vacation destination (one of 36 eligible cities).

Some of the destinations — Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Cairo, Madrid, Barcelona — all seem like pretty fair weather cities.

Illustrations by Rajeev Kumar

machine, opting to go a step further and remove all his clothes.” Is this enough for you,” he yelled before being arrested.

Well, this is the second nudity-related incident this summer. In June, a US Airways plane had to be diverted mid-flight after a male passenger stripped naked and prevented attendants from covering him.

The 50-year-old man from Bronx was still naked as he was led away in handcuffs after the plane touched down.

paper companies have used bulks in hotels and airlines as a means of sampling to new readers, while extending its official reach for advertisers. The publisher says the move is an attempt to “increase transparency across the newspaper industry”, although bulks are a much smaller proportion of its overall circulation figures than for most of its rivals.

Perfume raises a stink SOMETIMES carrying perfume can raise a stink. The Mumbai Midday reported that “Chandrashekhar Shukla, a businessman from Ghatkopar, was allegedly treated like a ‘terrorist’ at the Mumbai airport. His mistake: he carried six perfume bottles in his handbag, when liquids in more than 100 ml bottles in a handbag are not permissible on a flight.” The security guys went into an overdrive and instead of asking him to check in the perfumes, held him back for questioning causing him to miss his flight.

Who owns the name?

THE name Northwest, commonly used to refer to Washington, Oregon and parts of British Columbia, is now the centre of a lawsuit. Jack High is battling Northwest Airlines for the name of his website, GoNorthwest.com. Northwest Airlines is suing Spokane based tourist website “GoNorthwest.com” claiming trademark infringement. The Spokane-based owner of the website, Jack High, was surprised when the airline giant sent him a letter demanding he shut his website down. High says for the past decade hundreds of thousands visit the site each month for ideas on trips to the region.

In April, Northwest Airlines sent a letter to High’s attorney demanding ‘gonorthwest.com’ to shut down, saying that the names and practices of the two businesses were too similar.

High says, “We don’t do any booking, we don’t do any transportation, and we don’t operate any tours. All we do is provide info for people who want to travel the northwest.”

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Reverse discrimination!

R Krishnan

Granting of rights to airlines to fly in and out of the country does not seem to be based on logic. It has more to do with pulls and pressures than anything else.

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If there has to be a fair division of the 56 flights a week to London from various points in India, the distribution of the rights needs to be just and depend on the chronological order of entry of the airlines 28

ome kind of madness has enveloped the Ministry of Civil Aviation after it was hit by the Air India serial bomb and what used to be fashionable jargon in the good old days (just two years ago) is now a dirty word. Instead of fleet acquisition, we are now saying deferment or cancellation; network expansion has given way to network contraction; rights gained under bilateral agreements signed earlier are being kept in suspense in the name of route rationalization. This seems perfectly justified these days when the global economy continues to be a drag on even comparatively high-performing emerging economies like India, China, etc.

It is no wonder this has reflected on the aviation industry as well — and India is no exception. But as I mentioned, new challenges have resulted in new responses as can be witnessed from the redefinition of the once fashionable words which have become dirty today. I have taken up for debate the issue of network expansion or should I say diversion and use of the bilateral rights gained as a result of the air services agreements (ASA) signed earlier. My case: why should there be no freedom to the designated carriers to use the available rights, for instance India-UK-India? It looks likes some sort of informal pressure has been mounted to prevent Kingfisher Airlines to fly the Delhi-London route. I am sure some readers will mistake it as a plug for Dr Vijay Mallya and his airline.

I must clarify that I do not know Mallya nor have I met him personally for a one-on-one.

Also, I do not hold a single share in his airline.

The point I am raising is based on the principle or spirit of competition. The Ministry of Civil Aviation, which has been running for cover for the last two months seeking refuge in various newspaper offices when the Air India Bomb exploded, has informally agreed with the Bomb(er) — I mean Air India — that Kingfisher Airlines should not be allowed to fly the Delhi-London Heathrow route as it will vanquish Air India beyond what Air Indians have already done to it.

As per the revised ASA signed between India CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

and UK signed in mid-2005, the two nations were to progressively use all 132 frequencies either way between India and UK with a cap of 56 flights from India to London Heathrow. While UK’s designated carriers were British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and bmi, the designated Indian carriers were then only Air India and Jet Airways. Later, Kingfisher Airlines was added to the list after it completed five years existence. BMI got out of the race when it found the competition too hot.

As on date Air India operates 21 flights to London each week. AI flies daily from Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar to London. Incidentally, Air India started its Amritsar flight in May 2005 (it was Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto) but has now dropped Birmingham and instead it goes to Toronto via London. The other airline is Jet Airways which flies to London 28 times a week.

Earlier, it used to be a daily flight from Delhi, Mumbai and three weekly flights from Amritsar and three from Ahmedabad and an extra flight to London from Mumbai on Sundays. Like Air India which found Birmingham a commercially unviable destination and dropped it, Jet dropped Ahmedabad and began operating daily flights from Delhi and Amritsar to London and twice daily from Mumbai to London or 28 flights a week to London.

If there has to be a fair division of the 56 flights a week to London from various points in India, the distribution of the rights needs to be just and depend on the chronological order of entry of the respective airlines to the sector.

Hence, if it is grandfather’s right which Air India has, then Jet Airways should never have even half the frequencies operated by Air India. If the same logic is applied, then Kingfisher Airlines should have slightly less than Jet Airways. What will happen when other domestic carriers complete five years in 2010 or 2011? Irrespective of whether the present Minister of Civil Aviation Praful Patel continues to hold the portfolio or not, this question will snowball into a major controversy and if in the name of foresight the present policy is changed to suit the existing players, it will become even more controversial.

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A trailer of this future film is now being played out in Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan where an "alleged communication" from Air India to its big bosses (not only those at Nariman Point) responsible for the utter state of Indian aviation (indeed, aviation is a global problem) has sought to bar Kingfisher Airlines from operating the DelhiLondon sector as it will squeeze Air India even more. What a shame? If you need to rescue Air India, go ahead and do so but don’t kill the others. And, is it not true that Air India in its own presentation to the Ministry of Civil Aviation two months before it fell flat in full public view noted that the huge rise in bilateral rights granted to the Gulf sector had completely distorted the aviation business out of India — not merely to the Gulf but beyond to the UK, Europe and the US. Air India’s logic is that should Kingfisher Airlines also enter the Delhi-London sector, which already has the presence of Air India, Jet Airways, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, it will impact the Maharaja badly. This obviously implies Air India’s reported admission that entry of one more player like Kingfisher will be bad for it. I do not know nor would I hazard a guess to say that even Jet Airways may also be thinking on the same lines: lesser the completion better for existing players. So, dear readers, now cut and paste what I had said earlier in the light of grandfather’s rights. Air India should have the maximum number of flights followed by Jet and then Kingfisher Airways. But what we see today is that Jet Airways has more flights than Air India to London as the Maharaja is no more the preferred product of erstwhile ethnic subjects who have made UK their home.

Among the many explanations, one that is being hurled against Kingfisher for flying to London from Delhi is that it wants to stop its Bengaluru-London service from September 2009 which it launched in September 2008. The reason is simple: there is no traffic and, therefore, not commercially viable. Kingfisher Airlines also flies daily to London from Mumbai from January 2009 and hopes to continue banking on its product and fairly okay traffic. What Kingfisher wanted was a transfer of its Bengaluru-London right to Delhi-London right seven times a week with its A 330-200. It, therefore, wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for approval which is yet to come. Apart from the alleged letter which was written by Air India it is also believed that the leadership which Vijay Mallya gave to the failed August 18 strike by private domestic carriers under the banner of the Federation of Indian Airlines caused huge embarrassment to Praful Patel who is already being buffeted on all sides by a failed Air India.

Whatever be the reasons, none of them will stand scrutiny of logic or precedence.

For instance, do people know that over onethird of the India-UK traffic is carried by Gulfbased airlines. At a recent media interaction, Praful Patel when asked about the huge increase in bilateral rights to foreign carriers particularly

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Kingfisher Airlines A330-200 on its flight to London from Bangalore.

those from the Gulf, replied that often the Ministry of Civil Aviation had to give in to the requests from the Ministry of External Affairs.

In this context, Patel said his Ministry had to accede to the request and increased rights to Qatar Airways because of an agreement that the Government of India concluded with Qatar for gas supplies. This is perfectly understandable.

But what about the huge increase in rights to Emirates, based out of Dubai, where there is neither gas nor oil!

As for Air India, one could ask what happened to the Maharaja’s withdrawal from LA, Osaka and few other destinations? It was because there was no traffic or should we say Air India could not find traffic while others still do so. And, it is here that my argument of route rationalisation assumes importance. So, Air India can do it but not others. How is it that Air India has never protested the liberal grant of rights to foreign carriers like Gulf based airlines?

I may point out here that Air Arabia ranks fourth among the top ten carriers operating to and from India. The top spot is obviously Air India, followed by Jet Airways, Emirates and then Air Arabia. The biggies like Lufthansa, British Airways, Singapore came only after the small LCC from Sharjah in the year 2008-09.

Last year, how is it that the MoCA(Ministry of Civil Aviation) agreed to additional rights to Cathay Pacific after Air India blocked it for nearly a quarter century? Cathay flies from Dubai to Mumbai and then to Hongkong. But at the same time MoCA rightly rejected SIA’s request for a stopover in Mumbai on way to London from Singapore with it’s A- 380. It is beyond me to understand what it takes to get the Babus in Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan to act or not to act. As of today, the Air India bomb has certainly sent them scurrying for cover and if you call

that action, then so be it.

(Veteran journalist and long time aviation watcher R Krishnan is Consulting Editor at CH. He can be reached at rkrishnanji@yahoo.com.)

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Owned, managed and controlled by the Airports Authority of India, the Chennai airport is undergoing a Rs 2000 cr makeover.

R Krishnan looks at what the makeover would entail.

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n aviation language, it can be said that Chennai and Kolkata have not grown the way metro airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have expanded. While there may be many reasons — notwithstanding their commercial importance — the fact remains that a Greenfield airport or a completely revamped Brownfield airport does act as a serious catalyst. That this is beginning to show in Bengaluru and Hyderabad is becoming evident since the two opened for commercial operations in May and March 2008, respectively.

In the case of Bengaluru airport, there is now talk of starting the second phase of development. Hyderabad in any case has been built with good vision and the current facilities may stand for few more years before its second phase is launched. In Delhi, the Brownfield airport spread over 5000 acres of land is being redeveloped and modernized like one would do in a Greenfield airport. Its first phase would be completed by March 2010 when its ultra modern T-3 terminal will be opened for trials.

As for Mumbai airport, the space constraint is going to saturate this airport in another five years when traffic reaches 40 million from the present 27 million. So the Maharashtra Government is getting its act together to start work on the second Greenfield airport in Navi Mumbai. Incidentally all the above mentioned airports have been and are being developed in PPP framework

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Chennai makeover

gets a

SHAPE OF THE FUTURE: (Top and bottom) Artist’s impression of the Chennai airport’s airside and exterior once it is completed.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

with the private sector holding majority stake except for Navi Mumbai airport whose fate currently is in the hands of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

So, where does that leave Chennai and Kolkata? It is the 100 per cent state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) which has been mandated by the Union Government to develop and modernize them. AAI is working overtime to see that these two airports continue to rank among the top airports in India. This could turn out to be true

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FOCUS in the case of Chennai which was always historically seen as ahead of it’s newly grown-up southern cousins: Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Chennai is also different from these Greenfield airports as its existing airport at Meenambakkam is spread over 2000 hectares and more land has been acquired both from the public and the defence to extend its airside facility and expand the domestic and international terminals.

Unlike the shutdown airports — HAL airport in Bengaluru and Begumpet airport in Hyderabad, the Meenambakkam airport had always been the beacon of air services in southern India. AAI is now spending over Rs 2000 crore to completely revamp it. At the same time, the Tamil Nadu Government has mandated and even got an assurance from the Union Government that AAI will be responsible to build a new Greenfield international airport at Sriprembudur, about 25 kilometers from Guindy where the Raj Bhawan is situated.

In November 2008, AAI launched its Chennai airport modernization. The project has since been revised upwards to nearly Rs 2000 crore. Fund shortage, then, has not constrained the project execution and work is well underway at all important sections, be it the laying of the travelator, expansion and building of new domestic and international passenger terminals, extension of the main runway and building of the bridge across the Adayar river and to extend the secondary runway so that Chennai airport is able to sharply increase the aircraft movement each hour — an indicator of how busy the airport is in comparison to other similar airports.

As per work which is being done, the new domestic terminal will occupy 67,700 sq m of space as against the existing facility spread over 19,250 sq m, and once ready by end-2010 it will be able to handle 10 million passengers against the existing capacity of 4.74 million. The peak hour passenger capacity will rise from 2000 to 3300 passengers.

Three more aerobridges are being built to take the total to six. The number of check-in counters will rise to 62 from 58 and of these seven such counters will be for e-ticketing. Following modernization and upgrade, Chennai airport will have six baggage conveyor belts of 70 meters each as against only one now. A new car park facility is being constructed that will provide space for 1200 cars and taxis against only 600 now.

In the expansion work of the international terminal building, terminal space area will be increased from the present 42,300 sq m to 59,300 sq m and the pas-

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THE PRESENT: Ticket counters at the airport.

The new domestic terminal will occupy 67,700 sqm of space as against the existing facility spread over 19,250 sq m, and by end2010 it will be able to handle 10 mn passengers against the existing 4.74 mn CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

senger handling capacity will be increased from three million to four million. The peak hour passenger capacity will be increased from 2150 passengers to 2300 passengers. One more aerobridge will be added to take the total on the international side to six.

There will be a very sharp increase in the check-in counters on the international side reflecting the rising importance of Chennai as an important gateway for foreign airlines as well as domestic carriers flying international.

The check-in counters will increase from the present 42 to 72 while the existing four baggage conveyor belts will be modernized and length extended.

Besides, there will be a sizeable increase in immigration/customs counters, both at the arrival and departure area.

The Chennai airport revamp plan also includes increase in the number of parking stands for aircraft as well as special night parking facility for widebody aircraft like the Boeing 747 and Airbus A 380. There are 60 parking stands available, which include 18 for night parking, today. While ten more

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Up, up and up At the beginning of July 2009, a total of 284 weekly frequencies were operated from the international terminal of Chennai airport: Air India 63,Air India Express 42, Jet Airways 35, Emirates 19, Sri Lankan Airlines 15, Thai Airways 15, Air Arabia 7, British Airways 5, Cathay Pacific 4, Etihad 6, Gulf Air 7, JetLite 7, Kingfisher 7, Lufthansa 7, Malaysian Airlines 7, Oman Air 7, Qatar Airways 7, Saudia Airlines 5, SIA 7, Tiger Air 7, Kuwait Airways 4 and Air Mauritius 1. From the domestic terminal there 839 departures a week of which Air India (domestic) accounted for 111, Kingfisher 238, Jet Airways 210, IndiGo 49, Paramount Airways 140, SpiceJet 63 and JetLite 28.

parking stands have been built and could get ready soon, the AAI is also planning to build seven more night parking stands that can easily accommodate either seven Boeing 747s or four A 380s.

Chennai airport has two runways.

The primary runway is 3900 meters long while the secondary runway is 2085 meters long. To this secondary runway, AAI is adding another 1032 meters, which has necessitated building a bridge across the Adayar river to accommodate the additional laying of 1032 meters of the secondary runway. While 832 meters of this will be over land, the remaining 200 meters will run on the bridge over the Adayar river.

The bridge which will be 200 meters long and 447.5 meters wide will be the first major bridge in the country capable of handling the weight of an Airbus A 380 aircraft. The AAI has acquired 127 acres of land to complete the work on the expansion of the secondary runway.

The advantage of the secondary runway will be felt once the expansion is complete since it can be used without any payload penalty. The bridge construction alone will cost Rs 190 crore

and is likely to be ready by September 2010.

It may pointed out that Chennai has already been notified as the alternate airport for A 380 in case of any emergency. By December 2010, the secondary cross runway will be complete and Chennai airport will be able to use both the runways. To ensure completion of work on the primary runway, a notam has been issued for its closure for certain hours every day for three months.

The plans, however, for building a parallel runway has been dropped for the present because of certain logistical difficulties. Normally, airports all over the world have parallel runways provided the terminal building is situated in the middle of the two parallel runways.

However, this is not possible in Chennai as the terminal building which has always been present on one side of the

WORLD-CLASS: Artist’s view of the interiors of Chennai airport’s new terminal.

The AAI is planning to build more night parking stands that can easily accommodate either seven Boeing 747s or four A 380s CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

runway cannot be shifted to the middle.

Nor is there enough land available to build another parallel runway along with the necessary terminal buildings for seamless passenger movement inside an airport as one sees in Dubai or even in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Also, the Tamil Nadu Government is very keen to have a Greenfield airport for which Sriperumbudur has been identified. It has also decided that AAI should build it in partnership with the State Government undertaking like TIDCO which incidentally partnered with Tata Industries to set up the Titan Watch factory in Hosur.

Asked for his comment, AAI Chairman V.P.Agarwal said, “The existing Chennai airport will certainly not be

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In the black, despite the downturn

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n the last four years, Chennai has lion domestic and 2.61 mn international, witnessed a phenomenal increase in the total passenger traffic rose to 8.97 the aircraft movements. From a total mn in 2006-07 comprising 6.08 mn of 69,055 aircraft movements comprisdomestic and 2.90 mn international. In ing 47,900 domestic and 21,155 interna2007-08, when the aviation industry saw tional aircraft movements in 2004-05, it a boom, the passenger trend traffic rose rose to 99,775: 76,208 domestic and to 10.66 mn comprising 7.25 mn domes23,567 international aircraft movements tic and 3.41 mn international passenin 2006-07. In 2007-08 the aggregate gers. aircraft movements rose to 115,865 comIn 2008-09, when the industry virtuprising 88,175 domestic and 27,690 ally collapsed everywhere and seat facinternational. tors were at their lowest globally, the In the next year (2008-09) after the total passenger traffic handled at Chenfull impact of the sharp rise in fuel prices nai airport fell to 9.84 mn with the was felt and airlines began to shrink domestic component falling to 6.12 mn capacity and slash network/flight frethat is even lower than the 2005-06 figquencies, there was only a marginal rise ure while international passenger traffic in the aircraft movements with the aggrerose to 3.66 mn. In fact, the phenomegate movement rising slightly to 115,964. non was universal and other metros too However, in this rise, domestic aircraft witnessed the drop. movement actually saw a drop to 85,512 while movement of international aircraft rose to 30,452. In the first two months of the current fiscal, 2009-10, the total aircraft movement stood at 18,875 comprising 13,680 domestic and 5195 international aircraft movements.

The above figures need to be seen in the context of passenger movement or traffic. From 6.78 million passenger traffic handled in 2005-06 made up of 4.17 mil- Inside the present terminal.

closed down should AAI building a new Greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur.

Unlike what happened in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, AAI may seriously consider converting the existing Meenambakam airport in Chennai for domestic operations while the new one to be built at Sriprembudur could be used for international operations.”

Industry representatives told this correspondent that AAI should not repeat the same story that happened in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, where the new airport developer ensured that that the old airports would be closed down.

Seen from this context, it will be great opportunity for AAI to run two consecutive airports in Chennai. Should that happen then the domestic as well as the international airports in Chennai run by AAI could become bigger than any other airport in India in terms of operational freedom.

British Airways, Lufthansa and a number of other international carriers

34

Emirates has shown keen interest in considering Chennai as a hub once the modernization and expansion project is completed CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

Chennai airport revenues, however, have been rising consistently. They rose from Rs 189.84 cr in 2004-05 to Rs 275.32 cr in 2005-06, to Rs 364.52 cr in 2006-07, Rs 499.09 cr in 2007-09 and to Rs 533.74 cr in 2008-09. A very significant part of this rise in revenue was the consistent rise in non-aero revenues as well as cargo against the rise in aero revenues. In fact, aero revenues which continued to exceed non-aero revenue in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, fell below non-aero revenue in 2008-09.

More importantly, the cargo revenue notwithstanding, the economic slowdown has had its effect. That the AAI controlled and managed Chennai airports has done very well is evident from the figures that have been released showing the target fixed according to the MoU signed with the Government and what it actually achieved. As against the MoU target of collecting Rs 100 crore in traffic — that is landing and parking, Rs 350 crore from non-traffic (including PSF and cargo) and Rs 131 crore as operating costs — the actuals for the fiscal year 2008-09 was Rs 98.8 cr, Rs 434.93 cr and Rs 129.88 cr respectively. have discussed the possibility of allowing crew change in Chennai and, therefore, use the night parking stands. There are also a number of cargo carriers who want to use Chennai as a base. Recently, even Emirates showed keen interest in considering Chennai as a hub once the modernization and expansion project was completed. When fully expanded, the Chennai airport will be able to handle annually 24 million passengers and it will then become necessary to build another airport which Sriperumbudur is supposed to do.

Already 5000 acres of land has been identified and AAI has paid US$ 600,000 to ICAO to prepare a feasibility report. This, after AAI conducted its own study. Come 2010, Chennai airport would be fully modernized. South India then would have all its four capital city airports to be the most modern in the country in addition to the expansion of India’s first fully private airport in

Kochi.

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COVER STORY

MISS

ACROSS ACROS ISTANBUL’S SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A DREAM RUN: D

T

urkey’s Nobel Prize winning author Orhan Pamuk has written with magical detail about the Bosphorus and what it means to the world’s only city — Istanbul — that sits one-third in Europe and two-thirds in Asia! The Asian side is across the river and it here 60 km from the heart of the city that one of Turkey’s top companies — Limak (construction, hotels and aviation) — is working round-the-clock with one of India’s best known infrastructure giants, GMR, to complete the modernization of the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport.

In Indian or Delhi terms, travelling to the SGIA terminal would be akin to a trip to Greater Noida from Connaught Place or to the Toll Terminus on the Jaipur Highway. Or, to the proposed airport at Navi Mumbai from Nariman Point as and when it comes up. That’s how far it is from the heart of town. On the other hand, Istanbul’s Kemal Ataturk International Airport is just 20 km from the city centre and a favourite of everyone.

Continued on page 40

36

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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MARMARA

UN: DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH AND A COMPLETE REVAMP. K SRINIVASAN REPORTS.

BIRD’S EYE VIEW: A panoramic view of the Sabiha Gokcen international airport.

It’s very similar in size to IGIA in Delhi and has a huge future as Turkey’s airport of choice.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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COVER STORY

“Maybe we are the fastest growing airport in the world” The new international flights terminal of the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in the Anatolian side of Istanbul is a beehive of activity. It will be inaugurated in October. Gokhan Bugday, the CEO of the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport Investment, Construction and Management Corporation, is a veteran of the airline business who was last with the ground handling company Havas.

The Sabiha Gocken airport is Bugday's single biggest professional challenge.

But he is enjoying every minute of it as is evident in this exclusive interview. demand for it but they cannot accommodate any more flights.

Q:

I wouldn’t like to travel 60 kilometers to get to my hotel or to the Istanbul city centre.

That’s the distance to the airport.

Nonetheless, you are so confident, how do you see it working?

A:

The reason why people are choosing Sabiha Gokcen Airport (SGIA) is because around 7-8 per cent of the population is flying, and it is growing. Since 2004-05, there has been a big increase on the domestic and international traffic, too. On this side, the Anatolian side, there is only one airport, which is SGIA, to accommodate passengers who wish to fly to Europe, the Middle East, the CIS countries and to Northern Africa also. More than 18 million people live around this airport, which is the catchment area and there are five cities on the Istanbul Anatolian side which has 7.5 to 8 million population. Also, most of the companies are moving their headquarters to this side and that creates another demand.

The idea is to shift the consumers from the bus companies to the airlines because of economical reasons. The Civil Aviation Directorate and the Ministry of Transportation has 21 economical airports in Turkey, which includes SGIA also. This year, the government support given till now to domestic, private and state carriers has been extended to foreign carriers, too.

That means the landing fees and airport fees will have 25 per cent discount for whoever flies into SGIA. This support is not extended to Ataturk Airport because it is constrained and it is full. There is a

38

How will you get the big carriers: Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates, etc? At the moment they are all going to the Kemal Ataturk airport at Istanbul.

That’s right. We have to create the demand.

That’s what we are trying to do right now.

The low-cost carriers are choosing this airport because operations are easier for them: easier access in … taxiing in and taxiing out in seven minutes. In Ataturk, at peak time, to taxi in and out takes as much as 3032 minutes. It’s in the Euro Control statistics. I am talking about this by the book.

This year it is going to increase more.

In SGIA, it is seven minutes and we do not have that congestion right now. But we have only one runway. That is a gap for us but there is a master plan and a budgetary provision has been made by the Ministry of Defense, since the airport belongs to them.

The underground channel under the Bosphorus, how is it progressing?

It is in progress right now. They are digging under the Bosphorus and boring on the ground. Everywhere there is construction.

We are pushing them but there is a natural demand. This is a project that is already late. They should have done this project seven to 10 years ago. Now, there is a big demand for connectivity between European and Anatolian sides and also to connect the two airports of Istanbul. The people who live around the catchment area and Istanbul city need connection between the two airports and the two sides (European side and Anatolian side).

The project — the Marmaray project (Marmaray is an undersea rail tunnel being constructed to link the European and Asian sections of Istanbul, running under the Bosphorus Strait — when completed, will be the world’s deepest undersea immersed

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

tube tunnel. Marmaray (Marmarail comes from combining the name of the Sea of Marmara, which lies just south of the project site, with Ray, the Turkish word for rail) — if there is no delay, it will be completed by 2013. It starts from the European side and goes all the way to the city of Izmit because there are a lot of industries over there. In fact, it is the biggest industrial area in Turkey. Because of this demand and requirement they are speeding it up. Also, the Prime Minister is paying special attention to this project. He is pushing the Ministry and other government authorities to finalize the project. If the Prime Minister is pushing we don’t need to push. He is the biggest man in Turkey and is pushing for it.

And there is a connection from Marmaray all the way to Sabiha Gokcen and further and loops back to this airport and goes back to the European side.

Today, you are primarily an LCC airport. Have you marketed your airport with the big operators?

We have done already. Alliances like the Star Alliance hub is in Ataturk airport — that is because Turkish is part of Star Alliance. But Turkish Airlines has some flights over here and they are going to increase their flights into SGIA in 2009-10 because their fleet is growing very fast… maybe the fastest growing fleet in the world. It is the fastest growing fleet in 2009 also even in this period of financial crisis.

Next year, they will have 35 more aircraft for their fleet. They have to bring them over here. There is no room at Ataturk.

That’s what they are planning to do very fast and they will have a decision maybe in 30 days to bring some of that fleet to SGIA for international flight operations.

And, if Turkish comes, others will follow…

If Turkish Airlines comes, then other airlines will come. If Lufthansa or British Air-

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WORLD-CLASS IN THE MAKING: The new terminal under construction.

ways want to add additional flights, there is no room at Ataturk Airport. They will come over here. So, there is a demand here too. When you look at the numbers for the first quarter, most of the routes to London and to Germany are decreasing in Ataturk airport. But the airlines which fly into SGIA, like Easy Jet, German Wings, Sun Express, Pegasus and others are increasing, the same route in terms of passenger numbers and load factors. In Ataturk, it is decreasing.

It must make better business sense as well!

Because of this financial crisis, most companies have reduced their budgets. More people have to fly with less money. That’s possible only with a cheaper flight and, therefore, they will come here. That is how we are increasing our numbers. People are getting to know well about SGIA both in terms of its future potential and about flights and capacity, too…And flights have increased 40 per cent in the domestic sector and 28 per cent in the international sector. Maybe we are the fastest growing airport in European and the African and CIS countries … maybe in the world.

What about other airports in Turkey?

Most of them are going down.

How has the government reacted to the way this project has been handled?

They are really happy with us and they believe in this project. Their feedback is very positive. They see the improvement and increase, the boom on the passenger side and the increase in traffic on the ATM (Air Traffic Management) side.

Two years back when you took over this project, did you expect this sort of growth?

At the beginning, no. But when my team

started marketing all over the world, we started getting known very well by the airlines. We are also doing the route analysis very well. We know each route and we know which airline will choose to fly those routes. So, we are visiting them and targeting them. Look at Air Arabia: it used to fly twice a week when we started. We go and knock every month and we give marketing data and research and they have increased to five days right now. And they are going to start with Casablanca and Istanbul, Morocco… They formed a new company in Morocco, which is Air Arabia-Morocco and the first flight started from Casablanca to Istanbul on July 5.

The luxury carriers try to keep the same levels instead of going down.

Turkish Airlines is growing which makes us very happy because with its growth we get more demands to bring the airlines over here and that is a big potential for us.

How is the relationship between Limak and GMR? Very good and strong relations. GMR is a corporate governed company. Limak is also one of the biggest construction, energy, hotel business companies in Turkey.

These two strong companies get on very well together and take good decisions in directing us, giving power and doing everything. Full power is given to this team to do everything at the airport.

It is quite a complex operation unlike a Greenfield.

It is a very complex operation. We are doing ground handling, fuel supply, cargo operation, terminal operation as well as construction over here. It is a mixture which is creating hard times, but it is a big potential to get to know and learn everything. This is a very good opportunity for everybody.

How do you work here?

Ninety-nine per cent of the people who work here are Turkish. We have Indian friends from GMR working here too. With technology, we communicate everything face to face. Most of the GMR people work on the JV construction site right now.

Time to time (some people) they come and visit, check the construction and the progress. So, we are sharing everything: all data, on weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. We have a Board meeting every month...

How do you get things moving?

We sit down for a general meeting and talk daily about issues and decide everything and if we need any support, we call GMR or Limak to get their ideas to try and improve the project and cut down costs and everything. We are also interested in the long-term maintenance and operational costing also. We are doing this together. It’s very easy but it’s a big complex. Around 2500 construction workers and 1300 work for me. So, when you look at it, we are managing more than 4000 people together. It is a huge operation.

They come every month…

Yes, GMR people come every month. Only in June they could not come. We get together and share all the information and we talk of our problems. We need to have quick decisions in these kinds of big projects.

What have you learnt from the GMR experience?

A lot. First is corporate governance, understanding, relationship, everything is in rule and everything is clarified very well in black and white. Yes or no — simple.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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COVER STORY TURKISH AIRPORTS PAX TRAFFIC 2008- 2009 JAN-MAY % CHANGES DOMESTIC 2009

INT’L 2008

INT’L 2009

TOTAL 2008

TOTAL 2009

ATATÜRK IST

DOMESTIC 2008 4,538,338

4,353,453

6,439,358

6,608,827

10,977,696

AIRPORTS

INT’L 08-09% 2.6%

Total 2008-2009% -0.1% 12.8%

ESENBOGA ESB

1,613,730

1,940,580

424,332

358,879

2,038,062

2,299,459

20.3%

-15.4%

A.MENDERES ADB

1,505,633

1,694,133

449,088

443,361

1,954,721

2,137,494

12.5%

-1.3%

9.4%

ANTALYA AYT

958,577

1,149,518

3,682,417

3,129,666

4,640,994

4,279,184

19.9%

-15.0%

-7.8%

DALAMAN DLM

100,685

100,949

368,087

387,947

468,772

488,896

0.3%

5.4%

4.3%

BODRUM BJV

198,481

206,973

264,223

250,806

462,704

457,779

4.3%

-5.1%

-1.1%

ADANA ADA

726,324

799,718

190,868

148,966

917,192

948,684

10.1%

-22.0%

3.4%

TRABZON TZX

540,210

575,895

25,026

19,040

565,236

594,935

6.6%

-23.9%

5.3%

SABIHA GÖKÇEN SAW

1,036,548

1,443,554

540,836

604,644

1,577,384

2,048,198

39.3%

11.8%

29.8%

TÜRKIYE

13,600,166

14,990,433

12,540,159

12,102,323

26,140,325

27,092,756

10.2%

-3.5%

3.6%

With passenger traffic of over 28.5 million for the year 2008, Ataturk is among the top 40 airports in the world in volume terms and in the top 35 in terms of international passenger traffic. It is Europe’s 10th busiest airport.

But, getting a flight out of Ataturk will, perhaps, remind you of the delays in Delhi two years back. ‘Hold ups’ of upto 40 minutes to get airborne (my flight to Doha from Istanbul on Qatar Airways took 38 minutes to take off) is common and the international terminal built in 2001 after the airport was semi-privatized in 2000 is packed to the gills. Running the airport is TAV, one of the leading airport operators in Turkey with a global footprint.

TAV was established in 1997, as a joint venture between Tepe and Akfen Groups following their successful bid for the Istanbul Ataturk Airport International Terminal Contract — one of the first samples of the airport operating projects in the world on the “build - operate - transfer” model. In 2005, TAV won the concession agreement to operate Ataturk for 15.5 years at a record-breaking amount of $3 billion, which also represents the highest figure for such a privatization project in Turkey, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Commonwealth of Independent States and North Africa.

So, why then a desperate hurry for a new more modern and spacious airport in less than a decade? Simple, like in Delhi, it is across the river and the city is expanding. Also, Ataturk Airport, like Mumbai or Chennai airport is hemmed in on all sides by the growing needs of Istanbul citizens.

There is simply no way it can expand any further. You need another airport and it’s as simple as that.

Also, the country’s largest industrial district, Izmit, is 60 km from Sabiha Gokcen airport in northwestern Turkey. It is on the main road and the rail link between Istanbul and Ankara.

It is the centre of the Turkish paper industry, has a large oil refinery and other

40

10,962,280

DOMESTIC 08-09% -4.1%

AS LONG AS THE RUNWAY: While the airport has begun construction on a second runway, their present taxiway is a carbon copy of its present runway and can be used in emergencies as a runway!

For GMR this is their first big drive outside India in the airport business.

The Limak partnership is strong and they bring to the table experience plus the collaboration of Malaysia Airports Holding CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

industries include cement, phosphate, textiles, petrochemicals, and tyres. The port of Izmit handles both domestic and international shipping. It’s like Turkey’s Sriperumbudur. The Grand Prix tracks — a big plus for Turkey —is also nearby. But as CEO Gokhan Bugday explained: “The Formula One came in (from) Monaco and most of the cars came by truck over road.

And so we could not get much air traffic because of that. And less people came than 2008.”

While the numbers may have been less for the Grand Prix, the number of passengers using Sabiha Gokcen is on the rise and the year-on-year growth is an astounding 30 per cent: unprecedented in these times of recession with fewer flights and consequently lower passenger numbers.

So, in early 2008, Airport Management and Aeronautical Industries Inc. (HEAS), a private limited company under Turkey’s SSM (Undersecretariat of Defense Industries — as in many other countries, the armed forces in Turkey run several commercial outfits) decided that this airport needed to be modernised in a public-private partnership. German magazine Flug Revue offered a vivid description of the

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COVER STORY

MEETING THE DEADLINE: Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan announced at the May 2008 ground-breaking ceremony for the new terminal that it would be inaugurated on October 29, 2009. It will be a record of sorts for a terminal of this size.

Bare facts Construction of the new international flights terminal building began on May 1, 2008.

There would be 96 check-in desks and 30 self check-in desks and automatic explosive detection system in the new terminal.

The capacity is to be increased to 10 million with the investments. The airport is targeted to handle 35-40 million ppa (passengers per annum) by the end of the concession. The new terminal would have a capacity to serve 25 million passengers. The airport was planning to serve 5.5 million passengers in 2009.

The terminal will have a 200,000square meter closed area. There will be a 120-room hotel, a four-storey parking area for 4,718 vehicles and 72 buses.

The $400 million modernisation project will be developed by a consortium including GMR (with a stake of 40%), Limak (40%), a construction company in Turkey and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) (20%), which is GMR's partner for the Hyderabad airport. The debt to equity is: 75:25.

The consortium got the management rights of the airport for 20 years on May 1, 2008. Instead of a revenue-sharing model like the Delhi airport, the developers have to pay a concession fee of $2.7 billion over the 20-year period.

They, however, do not have to pay any fees in the initial three years.

Competitors for the project included major airport developers like Fraport (Germany), Venice Airport (Italy), and Chicago Airport (USA).

42

One of Turkey’s leading conglomerates, Limak Holding is active in construction, energy, tourism, cement and food sectors.

Incorporated in 1976, it has built dams, irrigation plants, highways, pipelines, treatment plants, and turn-key factory projects CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

airport in one review: “Despite the perfect security, superior architecture and diversity of service offerings what Sabiha Gokcen has been lacking since it was commissioned in April 2001 is the most important thing, namely airlines and passengers.

Apart from pilgrim flights to Mecca and chartered flights from the Russian Federation and the CIS states, the light-flooded halls and giant apron have often lain gapingly empty.”

With Limak deciding to bid and GMR deciding to go global, it was a natural fit for the two to come togther. Both are leaders in the infrastructure business and if reports are to be believed, they were first thrown together by the financial institutions. Anyway, things moved rather fast and their partnership — Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport Investment Development and Operation Inc. (ISG)— had a 20 years’ operation rights, as of May 1, 2008, of Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, including the management of the existing terminal buildings, car park, ground handling, cargo and aircraft refuelling operations, the airport hotel, VIP and CIP facilities.

The ground-breaking ceremony took place in May 2008 (see cover) and in an astonishing display of ingenuity, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan (holding the mike in the photo on the cover) had the GMR-Limak group undertake to have the airport inaugurated in October 2009: 17 months from the day of the ground-breaking ceremony for a project that should normally take 30 months.

Overseeing the breakneck construction schedule on behalf of GMR is Richard Meredith, as pucca a Britisher as you can get, who oversaw the tunnel that constructs the new Hong Kong airport to the city,

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COVER STORY TURKISH AIRPORTS ATM TRAFFIC 2008-2009 JAN-MAY % CHANGES ATATÜRK IST

39,598

36,679

60,509

64,997

100,107

101,676

-7.4%

INT’L 08-09% 7.4%

ESENBOGA ESB

15,191

16,033

4,469

3,386

19,660

19,419

5.5%

-24.2%

-1.23%

A.MENDERES ADB

13,882

13,689

3,890

3,651

17,772

17,340

-1.4%

-6.1%

-2.43% -6.37%

AIRPORTS

DOMESTIC 2008

DOMESTIC 2009

INT’L 2008

INT’L 2009

TOTAL 2008

TOTAL 2009

DOMESTIC 08-09%

ANTALYA AYT

9,483

9,517

23,667

21,521

33,150

31,038

0.4%

-9.1%

DALAMAN DLM

1,048

1,009

2,437

2,571

3,485

3,580

-3.7%

5.5%

2.73%

BODRUM BJV

2,086

2,005

1,681

1,644

3,767

3,649

-3.9%

-2.2%

-3.13%

ADANA ADA

6,133

6,259

1,688

1,391

7,821

7,650

2.1%

-17.6%

-2.19%

TRABZON TZX

4,424

4,182

249

255

4,673

4,437

-5.5%

2.4%

-5.05%

SABIHA GÖKÇEN SAW

9,337

11,272

5,141

5,519

14,478

16,791

20.7%

7.4%

15.98%

TÜRKIYE

112,640

111,906

100,618

101,843

213,258

213,749

-0.7%

1.2%

0.23%

ALMOST HYDERABAD: The design, the modular concepts are all global in nature, but the airport reminds you time and again of the new Hyderabad Airport.

later moved to the GMR Hyderabad Greenfield operations and is now the Joint Project Director for upgrading of SGIA. In a unique partnership, what Limak and GMR have done is set up a 50-50 JV called the LimakGMR Joint Venture that has built the new terminal and hand it over to ISG. “We operate cargo, ground handling and aviation fuel, but other aspects of the airport including apron control, security, VVIP, landing and departures is handled

by HEAS and the Air Traffic Control is handled by DHMI (the management of the airports in Turkey and provision of the Air Traffic Service and its control in Turkish Airspace is performed by General Directorate of State Airports Authority).This is the model they have chosen in the three or four airports that have been privatized in Turkey. But we are different in that, all the others are only operating the terminal, here we have other businesses: we have ground handling, aviation fuel and cargo. The reason for that is the others are DHMI and this is SSS,” said Meredith as we toured the new terminal building even as lifts were being installed and tiles put in place.

Also, unlike in the other airports that have been privatized, SGIA shall remain with ISG for a period of 26 years (20 years

44

Total 2008-2009% 1.57%

It’s a unique business proposition: the airport belongs to the Defence Ministry and they handle the ATC as well. The MRO is with Turkish Technic and it’s just the airport that’s with GMRLimak-Malaysia Airports Holding CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

as per the initial agreement and two extensions of three years each for the additional work they are expected to undertake during the course of these two decades). Bugday accepted that they had the best deal, “Compared to other agreements, I must accept that we have had the best deal.”

Bugday and has team are also fortunate that at the helm in Turkey is Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He is the former mayor of Istanbul and the project is close to his heart.

Side by side to the SGIA modernization, the Prime Minister is pushing hard to make sure that the ambitious Marmaray project, that will link the Asian and European side of Turkey from Istanbul to as far as Izmit through the Marmara Sea, is bang on target and ready to be commissioned by 2013.The project like Delhi’s Metro is expected to be transformational for Istanbul.

If that is not enough, they are also fortunate that Turkish, the country’s national carrier, is expected to receive close to 20 aircraft in the next few months and is one of the fastest growing fleets in the world. With no space at Ataturk for any more parking, almost all these aircraft will have to move to SGIA. In fact, a large section of Turkish domestic operations will slowly move there.

There is no doubt that there will be a big boost in traffic year-on-year as the figures so far suggest, but in real terms the big rush will come once the Marmaray link is ready. Till then, it will be a steady but effective growth for Turkey’s airport of the future. As one local observer said: “SGIA will, in the next few years, be right behind Ataturk as Istanbul’s airport of choice. Ataturk for its location and SGIA for its depth and range of facilities.”

Finally, Sabiha Gokcen? She was the adopted daughter of the hero of modern Turkey, Kemal Mustafa Ataturk. According to Wikipedia, Gok means sky in Turkish and Gokçen means ‘belonging or relating to the sky’. She was a distinguished pilot with the Turkish Air Force and the airport is named in her honour.

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SPECIAL REPORT

MDLR: Lone ranger with high ambitions Having flown across the airpockets, regional carrier MDLR Airlines is keen to consolidate and then expand services to touch more Tier-2 cities in the country. Tirthankar Ghosh found out that the carrier — given the opportunity and the necessary permission — would like to touch foreign destinations that well-established carriers have kept away from.

N

owhere close to the domestic aviation biggies, regional player MDLR Airlines with its fleet of three planes — 70seater, four-engine Avro Regional Jets — is quite content to be on its own. The carrier — or rather its Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director Koustav M Dhar —showed its independent spirit when it told the Federation of India Airlines (FIA) that it would not support the August 18 strike call. Dhar said that the strike was “no solution” to the problems of the aviation industry. Committed to serving the customer, the MDLR chief pointed out that “we strongly believe that causing inconvenience to passengers by a strike is no solution to the impending problems of the Indian civil aviation (Industry) and the same should be discussed maturely with all airline representatives together with Minister of Civil Aviation”.

That move might not have gone down well with the other private airlines members of the FIA. On its part MDLR is well aware of the ground realities. Its business model is sound and so are its future plans. To enable the airline to continue its services - it flies presently to Chandigarh, Goa, Jamshedpur,Kullu and Ranchi from Delhi and it will be re-starting services to Kolkata and Lucknow from October 1, 2009 while it plans to add Amritsar, Dharamshala, Jodhpur, Pune, Shimla and Surat to its list of destinations in the near future — the whole fleet has been going through C-checks. “This year June-September, we

“Today, we are the most preferred airline out of Ranchi to Delhi simply because we do the reverse.We are not metrocentric…”

— Koustav M. Dhar MDLR COO & ED

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

had planned to do the C-checks of our aircraft. It was a bold decision costing us around $1.2 mn. We had to ground all our three aircraft — one by one — but we have done that,” said Dhar. By the next month, September 2009, MDLR will have its three aircraft and another one out of C-check all with 3000 hours. An upbeat Dhar said that “till July next year, we believe that our on-time performance will be 90+ and despatch will be 95 per cent. The CEO confessed that these figures would not be very interesting to consumers till they start flying “when they realize that the airline has a high on-time performance”.

The downturn or the problems faced by the legacy carriers in the country has not troubled MDLR. “We are on course and we would like to expand our services,” said Dhar. “Loads have never been a problem in India,” he emphasized. Singling out the example of five airlines Spicejet, Paramount, Indigo, Go and MDLR - Dhar pointed out that “if five of us are doing pretty decently and the others are not then there is something definitely wrong. It has nothing to do with full-service carriers and low-cost carriers because Paramount and MDLR would have been extinct by that logic.” He believes that branding is more important.

Today, he feels, one cannot differentiate between the two products — a low-cost and the other full-service — offered by a single carrier. He gave an example: “If you were to book a ticket on one of the legacy carriers, you would not know what to expect when you get into the plane: would it be the full-service or the low-cost? Travellers,” he said, “would most likely take an airline which they are familiar with because they know what

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they would get.” He felt that there should be some form of demarcation between the many avatars of the legacy carriers.

“Does each one cater to different markets?” he asked.

As for MDLR, “We are very clear about our business product,” said Dhar.

There has been no experimentation with the product from the day the carrier started. Add to that what the CEO refers to as constants: on-time, standard services and fares that do not fluctuate. “Today, if you were to fly on MDLR, you can expect a certain fare to a destination and not more.

It is the perception that matters,” said Dhar. The CEO was clear about the carrier’s USP: “We conceptualized the first vegetarian airline in the world and it was certainly not a wrong decision,” he said.

The move was prompted by the fact that “there is 50 per cent wastage with non-vegetarian food. Add to that the perishability factor that is very high with non-vegetarian foods”. Today, said Dhar, “My food costs are low even though we have an elaborate menu.”

That is, perhaps, why the carrier has become, what MDLR claims as the most preferred airline from Ranchi and Chandigarh. According to Dhar, the airline has experienced only a few cancelled flights. The load factor from Ranchi to Delhi is 93.3 per cent. “Today, we are the most preferred airline out of Ranchi to Delhi — an accolade given by corporate houses in the Jharkhand region — simply because we do the reverse. We provide the opportunity to the Ranchi passengers to come to Delhi at their timing. It is the same with Chandigarh: we leave Chandigarh at 7.30 in the morning for Delhi and

46

There has been no experimentation with the product from the day MDLR started operations. Add to that what the CEO refers to as constants: ontime, standard services and fares that do not fluctuate CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

go back in the evening. We are not metrocentric,” said Dhar, “once you become the airline for those cities (like Ranchi, etc), you become the preferred airline.”

Over the next few months — and once the travel season sets in — MDLR will go ahead to expand its services and offer flights to some more destinations.

This, despite the troubled times that the aviation industry is going through in the country. Dhar mentioned that MDLR’s operations on the low-fare, full-service model had strengthened its presence as a scheduled regional operator and the only one at that. At one point of time, a number of new regional airlines had applied for permits but only three managed to get the green signal: MDLR Airlines, Jagson Airlines and Star Aviation. While the other carriers either shelved their plans or have deferred commencement, MDLR started off and has held its own for quite sometime now.

“We are doing eight destinations now. By December 2009, we will go to 17 destinations…Now we plan to consolidate and expand intelligently in the coming months.” As a regional carrier, the business model, Dhar said, demands connections to important regional cities, including state capitals. “Once we can do that successfully, it would not only increase the confidence of passengers in these cities, but would also assist them to choose their own airline and with the lowest fare guarantee and the best of services.” The new destinations and routes that MDLR would like to touch have not been used by other airlines and if they have done so, the timings are not as convenient, said Dhar.

“This time around, we will be doing a lot of zigzag trafficking,” Dhar said, revelaing some of his strategies. “We have postponed our Goa departure to as late as seven in the evening and we discovered that we had a 98.7 per cent load factor on the flight. It was a revelation to us.” Indeed, if figures are important, MDLR had a 94 per cent load factor overall in June 2009. Dhar agreed that the downturn had affected MDLR as it had other carriers. “July and August are supposed to be the lowest in terms of loads for sectors like Kulu and Goa,” he said, “we saw only a 2 per cent drop in the load factor. From a 95 per cent it has come down to 93 per cent. That, said the MDLR CEO meant that the market was expanding and also pointed to the fact that travellers were moving beyond the usual holiday season to explore.

Globally, aviation figures show that on an average 70 per cent is leisure traffic and about 30 per cent is business traf-

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fic. The trend, however, in India has been different: it has always been 40 per cent leisure traffic and the rest business traffic. Dhar said that “If we target another 5 to 7 per cent growth in leisure traffic this year, MDLR would do reasonably well for itself”.

One of the prime targets that MDLR hopes to focus on among the new markets - that Dhar believes are emerging — will be the 113 SEZs coming up in the country. “Their establishment simply means that there will be traffic to them — from the metros to the SEZs and viceversa. Wooing the travellers to those SEZs is our long-term plan,” said Dhar.

In addition to servicing the regional pockets of the country, MDLR, although a comparatively new entrant in the aviation sector, has foreign ambitions too.

The carrier, CRUISING H EIGHTS was informed, had successfully crossed the initial airpockets and had now mapped out its long-term course. “Given a choice we will still be a regional airline,” said Dhar. “Yes, we would like to add on one more metro to our destinations — although it will not be Mumbai at this moment.” But, he hoped, the government would permit MDLR to fly abroad.

As he put it: “Our desire is that the government opens up the regional international routes for carriers like us. Let us go to Dushanbe (the capital of Tajikistan)

48

One of the prime targets that MDLR hopes to focus on among the new markets will be the 113 SEZs coming up in the country. Their establishment simply means that there will be traffic to them — from the metros to the SEZs and vice-versa CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

or Baku (capital of Azerbaijan), Kabul, Kathmandu, Bhutan, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations and in and around the region. Since the other carriers do not seem to be interested, we should be allowed to create and build a market that is not there,” said Dhar.

Whether it is allowed to fly overseas or not, MDLR is getting ready. To begin with, it will be acquiring two more aircraft — the slightly larger RJ-5s — which “we are looking for on the leasepurchase option”. In addition, it has already built up a common spares pool.

With similar aircraft, the cross-utilization of commanders, co-pilots, engineers, etc., it will enable the carrier to expand.

The carrier is also in the process of building hubs across its areas of operation. “Delhi,” said Dhar, “is our large hub. We are also using Chandigarh as a hub and we are building Ranchi as a hub to penetrate the North-east and the eastern sector,” said Dhar. MDLR is also thinking of tying up with another lowcost carrier for “push-in, push-out services” — get the passengers from beyond and behind. Lastly, the carrier has plans to extend its expertise in running small airlines: it has been approached, said Dhar, “by one of the defunct regional international airlines to run their services

from East Asia”.

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n every conference or convention related to tourism the ubiquitous statement that every chief guest quotes that tourism sector is the largest employer. After a few platitudes it is status quo once again related to woes of the sector requiring attention. “We would change that with a strong representation to the governments at the State and at the Centre with our proposals to make tourism a vibrant industry,” mentioned Vijay Thakur, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), the largest association in tourism sector with 4,000 members. Chairman of Convention Committee Arun Anand said, “A few states are extremely proactive and you can notice that through index of growth in these states.”

There is resurgence in Karnataka in promoting the State for tourists. The new

I

motto is: ‘One State, Many Worlds’. It indeed, emphasises K. Jothiramalingam, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, Karnataka. At the road show recently held in the Capital K Jothiramalingam said, “We have unpolluted beaches, quiet mountain resorts, verdant forests with teeming wildlife, historical monuments to explore and unmatched rich cultural tapestry.” Of course, these attributes have been there for long and not new.

However, what it lacked was marketing and showcasing.

In picking Bengaluru as the venue for the convention there is a meeting of minds, views and interests of Karnataka’s Department of Tourism and IATO. Bengaluru’s prominence as IT and Biotechnology hub of the country is comparatively a recent phenomenon. It has always been an open and cosmopolitan city than any other

Karnataka to roll out the

red carpet IATO’S BANGALORE CONVENTION WOULD BE A WIN-WIN PROPOSITION FOR THE ASSOCIATION AS WELL AS KARNATAKA TOURISM. WHILE THE STATE’S TOURISM PRODUCTS WILL GET A HUGE BOOST, THE MEET WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO THE COUNTRY’S TOUR OPERATORS TO INTERACT AND IDEATE, REPORTS NANDU MANJESHWAR.

“It will be an opportunity to network with various arms of the tourism sector” Vijay Thakur, President, IATO, is confident that the convention will help enhance the prospects of the tourism sector.

Q: What is the objective of this con vention?

The convention definitely serves the purpose of discussing issues con fronting the tourism industry. Our members come from different parts of the country and there are prob lems that are state-specific which may not be universally applicable.

This is also a platform where mem bers from aviation, hospitality, tour operators and allied members of the travel industry interact and get to know each other and enhance the prospects of the tourism sector.

The tourism ministries of various States also participate to showcase the prospects of tourism in their respective States. The convention, therefore, helps in networking with various arms of tourism sector.

Let me emphasise here that IATO also works as an extended arm of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) in marketing the country. Also, the problems faced by the travel and tour operators are presented to the government. Let me give you an example: when tourists are taken on the Golden Triangle tour, the coach es pass through three States, each levying different tariffs. At each tax collection points our coach drivers spend enormous time and foreign tourists fail to understand the sys -

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna (centre) at the inauguration of the Karnataka Utsava in Delhi.

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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tem. It irks them.

So, we have taken up this matter with the government wherein they could have a single point collection centre and tourist coaches can pass through State boundaries without any problems. There are many more such issues in different parts of the country.

Q: Are your proposals accepted by the government?

Yes, we do get patient hearing. The tourism industry is such that there are too many ministries involved in solving a simple problem. Again to give you an example: there is a visa on arrival scheme for a select few countries. You will be amazed to know that there are half a dozen ministries involved in getting the nod.

Naturally, members of IATO ask me about its status. It would have been better if all the ministries involved got together in firming up the policy before issuing a press release.

Q: There are too many organisa tions purporting to represent travel and tour operators. Won’t they be working at cross purposes?

Yes, I do agree there are too many organisations but I have not come across organisations working at cross purposes. There are many members of IATO who are also members of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI). In fact on crucial issues we consult each other and support each other.

A recent case is that of stoppage of commissions paid by the airlines.

When TAAI took up a strong posi tion against certain airlines, IATO supported it and we worked in tan dem. In fact, many of our roles converge.

in the country.The city is also blessed with educational institutions of excellence.The climate is salubrious. And, above all, people are friendly, polite and cultured.

There has, however, been lackadaisical tourism promotion in the past. Agreed K Vishwanatha Reddy, Director (Tourism), Karnataka: “The new five-year policy that

50

we have introduced is extremely protourism industry and proactive to enable investments in the state.There will be special zones that do not impede either protection of environment or preservation of heritage.”

Janardhana Reddy, the state’s Minister of Tourism, was candid in mentioning, “We owe a lot to S M

Krishna (former Chief Minister of Karnataka and presently External Affairs Minister).

As the Chief Minister of the state he gave tourism sector the industry status to derive the benefits. It was a major step on which we are progressing further.” S M Krishna understood the potential of tourism for employment generation.

This was the first time Karnataka’s Department of Tourism was

doing road shows beyond the State’s boundaries. In due course, G Janardhana Reddy assured such road shows would be conducted in capital cities of each State. Said Vijay Thakur:”This makes enormous marketing and economic sense. A tour operator or a travel agent will offer a product what a tourist wants though, I agree, some of them specialise on certain states. We normally remain impartial and cater to the needs of our clients in our business.”

“From north to south, east to west, each state has a few unique things to offer to tourists. When my friends tell me of their wonderful trips either to Europe or Southeast Asian countries I ask them a simple question - have you explored India first? May I ask what we don’t have that these countries offer? Snow-capped mountains to sandy beaches, deserts to verdant forests and unique wildlife within, variety of folklores, art and cuisines: Is there a country that offers all these?”

S M Krishna posed this question to the audience.

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“Convention will provide platform for fraternity to ideate” sage, therefore, is that the industry needs to synergise and various seg ment s must w or k closely w i t h each ot her t o be able t o cope w i t h t h e slow dow n.

Arjun Sharma, Senior Vice President, IATO, on what the Bangalore meet would achieve

Q: Wh a t i s t h e me ssa ge t h a t I A TO w ou l d like to send out through the Bangalore co n ve n t i o n ?

Th e t o u r o pe r a t o r s a r e di st u r be d t o se e a dr op i n bu si n e ss w h i ch al so appl i e s t o al l o u r ma j o r t o u r i sm pa r t n er s bu si n e ss. Th e hotels, airlines are showing lower num bers and bottom lines are under pres sure and in some cases are negative.

Th e r e f or e , w e n e e d t o se e w h a t w e can do as an association, what we need to do during these difficult times in the pr e se n t ma r ke t si t u a t i on . Th e X X V A n n u a l Convent i on pl ans t o help delegat es, bet ter understand the changing travel sce nario. Our convention theme, “Manag ing the downturn”, is the need of the hour and we intend to deliberate and create a stronger platform for industry su st en an ce t h r ou gh t h i s even t . Th e mes -

Q: What results do you expect from the Bangalor e convent i on?

This convention will have immense sig nificance as it will focus on the various aspects of sustaining business and pro vide a common interactive platform for the fraternity to ideate and share infor mation and knowledge. It will also look at new emerging segments of the busi ness, diversify into new niche products a n d w or k o n mo r e a f f o r da bl e pa ck a ge s.

Th e a i m i s t o syn e r gi ze me mbe r s t o w or k smarter, address costs and try to over co me t h e sl u mp.

Q: Given the present travel scenario, what moves should IATO initiate in the sector?

The i ndust r y i s f aci ng a demand gap f or t he comi ng season f r om i t s i nt er nat i onal sour ce mar ket s. In i t s endeavour t o play a steering role in the present scenario, IATO will play a very active role in mar keting India overseas through an active participation in the MoT (Ministry of Tourism) initiatives. At the recently con -

cluded Overseas Marketing Meet, IATO consent ed t o bei ng a nodal body t o pr o mote Incredible India successfully in bo t h pr i ma r y a n d se co n da r y so u r ce ma r kets for inbound tourism. A large num be r of r oad sh ow s h ave t ake n pl ace an d ot h e r s a r e i n t h e pi pe l i n e . Th i s h a s cr e a t ed oppor t uni t ies f or member s t o par t ici pate and get introduced to new agents and eve n new mar ket s f or t hem t o t ap.

Q: How does IATO plan to counter the challenges posed by on-line travel por tals?

On-line travel portals, in my opinion, have added a new dimension to travel.

Wi t h ma n y por t a l s of f e r i n g dyn a mi c pr i c i ng opt i ons f or ai r t i cket s, hot el booki ngs and even package t our s t hey have act u ally cont r i but ed t o i ncr easi ng t he domes tic consumer base and also given the inbound traveller the added flexibility of t r avel choi ces bet w een i mpor t ant t our i st de st i n a t i on s i n I n di a .

IATO firmly believes that on-line portals ar e a new and est abli shed t r end and cer tainly an ancillary business opportunity for the industry to consider as a long term revenue model in addition to per sonalized and tailor-made holidays syn o n ymo u s w i t h I n di a n h o spi t a l i t y.

policies. If we ask for infrastructure development it is not going to be exclusively for the tourists. The same infrastructure would benefit the local residents too,” opined Vijay Thakur.

Raakesh Lamba, a leading tour operator, pointed out: “When we place a few demands the impression generated is that the tourism sector is asking for undue

He elaborated further the importance of tourism. “Each time, a person travels from east to west or from north to south, gains enormous knowledge that no school or coffee table books would offer,” opined Krishna. His speech was in sync with the audience’s mood. The representative of a South-based hotel chain mentioned, “Dur-

52

ing his tenure he provided tremendous impetus to the industry. After this speech, perhaps, we hope to see a slew of policies benefiting tourism sector from the present dispensation in Karnataka.”

“We are not asking for special treatment. All that we seek is uniformity in

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

favours. It is not so.When there is a consensus on VAT and GST, on pan-Indian basis, why not on other taxes?”

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(L-R) G Janardhana Reddy, Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure Development, Karnataka; K Jothiramalingam, Principal Secretary, Tourism; K Viswanatha Reddy, Director, Department of Tourism, Karnataka; and, Vinay Luthra, Managing Director, KSTDC.

are full of ‘meltdown’ and ‘recession’ news and in this scenario how would the tourism industry cope with the downturn?

Thakur opined, “Frankly the recession has not affected the tourism industry to the extent it has in other sectors.Yes, people

may cut down on air travel or stay in highend hotel and apart from this the domestic tourism is still vibrant.” Outbound travel is still recording robust growth. Some of the Southeast Asian countries have waived off visa fee to attract Indian tourists.

“Some of their representatives ask me how is it that recession has not touched India?” asked Raakesh Lamba. He added, “We have seen a dip in inbound traffic and on the other hand domestic tourism has perked up.”

India is considered as a low cost country but room tariffs of $ 800 or more in high-end hotels puts off an international traveller.The country lacks good mid-range hotels to attract international as well as domestic tourists.

“We seem to be obsessed with starrating. Today most of the five-star hotels do not even have 50 per cent occupancy whereas mid-range hotels are doing exceedingly well,” opined a Bengaluru-based hotelier.

“Yes, we will be discussing this aspect too at the Convention with the representatives of major hotel chains who are participating in the Convention,” mentioned Thakur. Since the Convention is being held in Bengaluru the emphasis would be on creating infrastructure in Karnataka. For

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example, thousands of tourists visit Belur and Halebidu each year but there is neither a decent hotel to stay nor hygienic restaurant to eat and perforce tourists have to stay at Hassan.

The situation is not different at other famous heritage sites that the State’s tourism ministry is eagerly promoting. The consensus is that the tourism ministry should act as a facilitator to attract investments in such areas to boost tourism. The spin off would be employment generation in these areas as well. K Vishwanatha Reddy agreed, “Our new policy is aimed towards this end only. I plan to elaborate the plan at the Convention.”

In addition, it will also be an opportunity for the State’s tourism department to showcase its new initiative: the Green Police. Karnataka’s “Green Police”, is a dedicated police force to prevent any untoward incidents and tourists can visit sites without hassles. “This year IATO Convention will be different from that of the past. The Karnataka Government is extremely cooperative,” exuded Thakur with enthusiasm.

The slogan “God’s Own Country” did wonders to Kerala tourism and “One State, Many Worlds” would do the same for Karnataka.

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IATO after the Convention. Among them will be the ancient and medieval historical spots of Badami, Hampi, Belur and Halibedu and the wildlife at Kabini. The first stop, however, will be the city of Bangalore.

BENGALURU The city needs little introduction. Once described as a city of pensioners and a garden city, Bangalore or Bengaluru as it is known today is all chrome and glass buildings.The transformation from a leisurelypaced city to one that is fast-paced has to be seen to be believed with the information technology revolution gripping the city.The city is home to some of the biggest IT companies in the world.

Lest we forget, as we marvel at its modern and cosmopolitan face, the city has a historical past as well. It is said that King Veeraballa of Vijayanagara kingdom after losing his way in the forest stumbled upon an old woman’s hut who fed the hungry Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha

THE STATE HAS ENHANCED FACILITIES FOR TRAVELLERS FROM FAR AND NEAR. A SNAPSHOT OF THE DESTINATIONS WITHIN EASY REACH OF BANGLORE... he IATO Convention will be held at Bangalore and Karnataka Tourism has seen it as an opportunity to showcase the vast improvements that have helped the state in terms of destinations, facility and tourism infrastructure.

Said K Vishwanatha Reddy, Director (Tourism), of the state: “Today Karnataka is among the top destinations in the country that are being considered for a holiday.

After doing much ground work in terms of developing destinations and attracting new players into the industry over the years, the IATO Convention is a welcome opportunity for us to showcase the destination in a new light to the prime tourism consultants and opinion makers in the country.This will help us connect better with the consumer in times to come.We in Karnataka Tourism see this event as a success both for us as well as for the hundreds of tour operators who are going to

T

Belur temple

56

Karnataka:

Showcase of wonders be part of this meet.”

Apart from the on-going efforts to boost tourism within the state, Karnataka Tourism has taken a number of domestic travel initiatives.Vinay Luthra, Managing Director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation pointed out: “We have worked out packages with quality transportation at a value fare and consumer satisfaction remains our top priority. We have continuous efforts to enhance our product offering to make our customers experience more enjoyable.”

A number of well-known tourist destinations in the state will be showcased

Halebid

CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

king baked beans.The humble meal, the king found, was tastier than his palace’s rich fare and named the place “benda kalu ooru” or the place of baked beans! Thus the name Bengaluru!

After a few centuries of interregnum the city finds mention in the 16th century.

Kempe Gowda built a modest fort which was expanded later by Tippu Sultan. Later in the 19th century the Wodeyar king of Mysore built a palace patterned on Windsor Castle.Today, the Castle is open for tourists.

Lal Bagh, a 2,400 acre park, is credited to Hyder Ali and his son Tippu Sultan added

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horticultural wealth by importing trees and plants from several countries.The Glass House within the park, gives the feel of London’s Kew Gardens and becomes the centre of attraction during the bi-annual flower shows.

The city has expanded so fast in the past two decades that a few of the tourist attractions that were considered to be in the suburbs are now within the city limits!

A whistle-stop tourist may not have time to visit each site but do visit Tippu’s Palace and Bull Temple.The former is a modest two-storeyed building to have an appendage like palace and used as a summer retreat.

Interestingly, it is a wooden structure having exquisitely carved pillars and arches.The latter is a 15 feet tall and 20 feet long bull, that normally faces Lord Shiva in temples, was built by Kempe Gowda. It is carved out of a single stone!

A visit to Bengaluru is not complete without a pub-crawl or a disco-hop. It is normally said that good business deals are concluded on the golf course - why not try a pub?

KABINI A popular destination for wildlife enthusiasts, the place derives its name from the Kabini River. It is also easily accessible - only 208 km

from Bengaluru and 80 km from Mysore.

The parkland is spread over 55 acres and abuts another famous wildlife reserve Nagarhole. Kabini was once a private hunting ground of Mysore royalty, akin to the Keoldeo Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Likewise it was a popular hotspot for British Viceroys and Indian royalty.Today the shooting is done only with cameras!

The park consists of several water bodies, a perfect home for avian species. In winter, Kabini attracts several species of migratory birds while the resident species are equally colourful even when one visits it during summer months.The best option to see birds is to go in a boat.

At times wildlife from Nagarhole park can be seen wandering though it is mostly elephant herds.Those interested in sighting big cats will have to visit Nagarhole.

Those planning to visit Kabini park will have to book well in advance since availability of accommodation is limited.This, perhaps, is the reason why the place still retains its old charm and has not fallen prey to commercial exploitation.

MYSORE The second largest city in Karnataka, Mysore was the capital of Wodeyar royal dynasty

before Independence. It still carries that imperial ambience with numerous palaces and a number of temples steeped in history and some even with a mythological bearing.

The name Mysore itself has a mythical past though chronicled history starts with the Ganga dynasty in 2nd century AD.Thereafter various dynasties - Cholas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara - ruled.

Mysore is synonymous with the annual Dussehra festival complete with pomp and panoply.Today the city is also known for IT sector and a number of KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) companies which have set up shop here.The city is considered to be the second best choice after Bengaluru with the salubrious climate another choice factor.

For touch-and-go tourists the must-see attractions are the Palace, Brindavan Gardens, Chamundi Hills and Tippu’s Fort where Tippu Sultan fought and fell fighting against British troops.

The Maharaja’s Palace built in IndoSaracenic style with domes, turrets, arches and colonnades is a treasure house.The majestic Durbar Hall has an ornate ceiling and many sculptured pillars.The exquisite jewel-studded golden throne of the Wodeyars is displayed only during the Dussehra festival.

HOTEL OM TOWER JAIPUR Hotel Om Tower, Jaipur, is a full service hotel with 60 contemporary, well-appointed AC rooms. The hotel has all modern amenities like Wi-Fi, Direct Phone Line, mini-bar, Tea/Coffee Makers, Board Room, Conference Hall, Revolving Restaurant, Bar-Disco, Swimming Pool, Health Club, etc.

HOTEL OM TOWER Church Road, M.I. Road, Jaipur Tel: 0141-4046666 Delhi Office: 011-29565552/3/4/5 Mobile:9871453707 E-mail: omtower@yahoo.com CRUISING HEIGHTS September 2009

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Elephants at Kabini

Mysore Palace

Brindavan Gardens would be etched in the minds of film buffs as numerous songand-dances sequences have been filmed here.

The Gardens had a major revamp in 2004 and the musical fountain is a treat to watch.

A winding 13 km road takes one up to 335 m high Chamundi Hill.There are steps too from the base to the top which the health conscious use on the weekends. At the top is the 12th century temple of Chamundeshwari, the patron goddess of Wodeyar royals.The summit offers a panoramic view of Mysore - its lakes, parks and palaces.

Tippu’s fort is a bit dilapidated though it retains its essence despite massive encroachment. A visitor would be approached several `guides’ to show where Tippu fell and blood-soaked ground!

HASSAN This is a district headquarter and a convenient base to visit Shravanabelagola, Belur and Halebidu.All these three places are small hamlets; as a result tourists either stay at Hassan or prefer to cover in a one-day tour from Bengaluru.

Belur and Halebidu are famous because of its temples which are aptly described as “symphonies in stone”. It would not be an exaggeration to mention that there are no temples in India to rival artistic and exquisite carvings of sculptures as in these temples.

Both belong to the era of Hoysala rule and the temple architecture and artistry in stone carving reached its zenith in 12th century.

The Belur temple, 38 km from Hassan, is located on the bank of the Yagachi River.

It was said that Belur was once the capital

Bhuthanatha Temple, Badami

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of Hoysala empire though hardly material or physical remains are found today to prove that.The main deity is Chennakeshava, an avatar of Shiva. One enters the temple complex through a simple gateway only to be awestruck once inside.The sculptures are exquisite and no wall or a pillar is devoid of magnificent artistry. Another fascinating aspect is that the stone exude different hues while lit by sunshine and another hue in the shade! Imagine it took 103 years to complete the entire temple complex!

The temple construction at Halebidu, 17 km away, was perhaps started during the same period but one comes back with the feeling that there was less enthusiasm in completing the temple though one does not find any shortcomings in sculptural artistry. It is dedicated to Hoysaleshwara.

Like in all Shiva temple Nandi bull guards the entrance and it is said even after 86 years of work on it, it remains incomplete.

Shravanabelagola is an important Jain pilgrimage centre. At the top of the hillock stands 27 m tall monolith of Lord Bahubali.

Every twelve years Mahamastak Abhsheka is performed here.

HAMPI There is an interesting tale behind the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire: it was established by a saint named Vidyaranya with two of his disciples Hakka and Bukka in 1336 AD.The empire in due course of time not only flourished, its territorial area extended to cover parts of today’s states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, the largest swath of land in southern history.

Hampi, the capital of Vijayanagara empire, became a cynosure for architects of that era.

It was an admirable achievement considering that the entire 26 sq m area that encompassed Hampi was built amidst huge granite boulders and stony ridges having very little vegetation.The Tungabhadra river per-

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Ruins at Hampi

haps provided water to the habitants living amidst this rocky outcrop.The 14th century city fell prey to the iconoclastic marauders of the Mughal army and today even in ruinous state Hampi conveys its glorious past. It was declared as a World Heritage Site - undoubtedly, even the ruins speak of its glorious past.

It is not possible to cover the entire area in a day’s outing.When constrained for time the best option is to walk along “Hampi Bazaar” as most of the famous landmarks of that period are located in its vicinity. As in other Hindu kingdoms, temples abound here too.Vithala temple complex is worth a visit to listen to the sounds of 56 musical pillars. A massive Stone Chariot nearby is chiselled out of a single block of stone and believe it not one can rotate the chariot’s wheels on its axis!

BADAMI The Chalukya king Pulakesi founded the kingdom in 540 AD and subsequent rulers expanded their territory covering the present Karnataka and parts Andhra Pradesh.

Once again legend comes into play here.

Agastya Muni destroyed two demon sblings, Vatapi and Llvalan.Two of the hills in Badami are supposed to represent these two demons.

The Chalukyas are credited with some of the best traditions of Dravidian architecture including an experimental blend of south Indian temple architecture and the nagara style of North India. It is home to several rock-cut cave temples: the important being four rock-cut cave temples -- the first three has Shiva and Vishnu in various avatars while the fourth cave has Jain Thirthankara Parsvnath.

Badami fort too has two temples.The upper temple built by Pulakesi II, a devotee of Vishnu, is marked by sculpted tales from mythology on its outer walls.The lower temple is devoted to Ganesha. Nearby there is a 16th century cannon looking down upon the township while the watchtower nearby dates back to 14th century.

Virupaksha Temple Car Festival and Mallikarjuna Temple Festival are famous in the region.

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Chennai is reason enough for Martinair Cargo Dutch freighter had India on its radar for a long time but feels this is the perfect time to start operations.

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hen Dutch freighter specialist Martinair Cargo landed a Boeing 747-400 ERF in Chennai on July 2 for the first time, it was not an easy decision - especially during a slowdown. But as Harm Winkeler (Vice President, Asia Pacific) of Martinair Cargo put it, “we take pride in calling ourselves the ‘Can Do Crew’ and with good reason”.

The new twice weekly service on the Hong Kong-Chennai-Sharjah-Amsterdam route had been started, according to the carrier’s Senior Vice President Cargo Sales and Marketing, Meta Ullings, because the current market trends offered sufficient potential. By expanding capacity, Martinair Cargo hopes to satisfy market demands; the growing demand for air freight from China to India and the Middle East, increasing traffic within Asia and limited capacity from America and Europe to the Middle East.

The Boeing 747-400 ERF with an air freight capacity of 120 tons takes off from Hong Kong and flies via Chennai to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and then on to Amsterdam.

At the party held to celebrate the commencement of the service, Harm Winkeler also emphasized the potential for air freight from China to India and the Middle East.

He also said that the country’s air freight market had good potential and Chennai was projected as one of the fastest growing cities of the country.

Why India now? Was this the right time to come to India considering the economic meltdown, we asked Harm Winkeler. “The Indian market,” he emphasized, “especially the southern states still offers an

opportunity even in these times. Chennai, in particular, shows promising figures.”

He pointed out that Europe and the Americas “still look to India for a lot of garments, leather, textiles and engineering goods”.

As for the slowdown, Winkeler said: “Look, every economic meltdown offers an opportunity to Harm Winkeler introduce capacity where there is a sustainable demand at desired yield levels. Focussing on that opportunity and choosing the route requires planning and market studies, which concluded with the rationale to enter the market.” He agreed that it was not an easy decision to enter the market during a slowdown but Martinair’s ‘Can Do Crew’ was more than willing to take on the challenge.

“It is at these times that a carrier such as Martinair addresses the needs of the forwarding community and is committed to fulfilling the same. We had India on our horizon for a long time but it is now that we are certain of the need to have our presence,” Harm Winkeler said.

He forecast that air cargo traffic between India and Europe, and India and South-east Asia/China would be on a growth path — barring the minor blip of the slowdown now. “India and Europe will continue to grow although the rate of growth will not be as fast as in the previous quarters.

Ex-Chennai, the first quarter of 2009 saw the outbound tonnage vis-a-vis 2008 maintaining an almost similar figure. That is encouraging given that we are in a socalled slowdown. As you would know,

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Europe is Chennai’s biggest market at approximately 40 per cent of the overall tonnage. The inbound tonnage ex-Far East has grown tremendously of late”, he said.

He praised the Indian Government’s decision to provide the necessary infrastructure, facilities and energy.

That has seen a number of industrial consumer units deciding to set up base in Chennai and the adjoining areas. Winkeler said that while there was a clear and visible need for the improvement in the infrastructure at airports, particularly at the automation and storage areas, he was “impressed with the projects underway at Chennai Airport such as the new facility being built for the warehouse and the automated storage bins”. That clearly showed the authorities’ commitment to make Chennai a world class cargo facility. “Together with the services offered by the authorities and ‘can do’ attitude of the staff, this is a definite win-win situation for both Martinair and the airport authorities”.

The increase in the foreign direct investment has also been a contributing factor to the growth of the manufacturing market. Imports from the APAC region, especially from the Pearl River delta basin in China are strong in the Chennai market. “In fact, Martinair was one of the first European freighter carriers to serve the HKG market which we do so even to this day,” Winkeler informed. As for Martinair flying into other Indian airports, “at this moment we will concentrate on Chennai. Other airports in India are not on the radar at this moment,”

said Harm Winkeler.

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DOMESTIC AIRLINES SpiceJet declares Rs 26 cr profit LOW-cost carrier SpiceJet has reported Rs 26.3 crore profit for the quarter ended June 2009 compared to a loss of Rs 129.2 crore in the same quarter last year. The profits have come from a 15 per cent increase in Revenue from Operations and a 24 per cent reduction in Cost per Available Seat Kilometer. In addition, the operational performance for the quarter has shown a 21 per cent growth in number of passengers and a load factor increase from 70 to 76 per cent.

According to Sanjay Aggarwal, SpiceJet’s CEO, the carrier saw an increased acceptance of its service by consumers.

“This helped in absorbing the additional 10 per cent capacity that we deployed over last year. Our market share improved from an average of 10.4 per cent during April-June’08 to 12.4 per cent during the current quarter. We expect the yields to remain under pressure during the quarter July to September, which are traditionally weak months for travel.”

Website is 3D compliant: In compliance with the RBI mandate of making online transactions more secure, SpiceJet’s website has become 3D compliant from August 1, 2009.

This means that credit card transactions through the website

distribution presence of Jet Airways.

Having achieved even greater synergies with this integration in its reservation systems, individual travellers and agents of both Jet Airways and JetLite will now experience a kind of flexibility while choosing flight timings, accessing a wider network of almost 400 flights a day, and accruing enhanced mileage points, like never before. Besides increasing the GDS presence, this will give Jet Airways and JetLite guests and the travel trade ease of operation while booking Jet Airways and JetLite flights.

Paramount bags Glory of India Award

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are now more secure and safe. Consumers purchasing tickets online can log on to spicejet.com and provide relevant details for authentication and registration. On completion of the registration process, a prompt will request for a password as an extra security measure. Once the correct password has been entered, customers can complete secure online transactions.

This process can also be completed at the websites of the card provider or the issuing banks.

New connections: The carrier announced 23 new connections within its existing network spanning 18 cities. This will help travel, through interconnecting flights, to destinations that were earlier not connected on SpiceJet. Tickets to multiple interconnecting destinations can now be booked on one PNR through spicejet.com, SpiceJet reservation by calling 1800-180 3333 / 0987 180 3333, SpiceJet airport counters and through Travel Agents.

CHENNAI based Paramount Airways has received recognition from the Institute of Economic Studies for its outstanding performance in the current economic slowdown in a ceremony held recently at Hyderabad.

The Glory of India award was bestowed upon M. Thiagarajan, Managing Director, Paramount Airways, for his exemplary contribution to Indian civil aviation industry. The company also received the Gold Medal for successfully countering the tough economic challenges.

In his acceptance speech, M. Thiagarajan said that the two awards were recognition of the successful business model of the company. “We will continue to raise the bar of excellence and provide the demanding customer innovative services.”

Jet enhances services with JetLite codeshare

Indian airport charges among lowest

JET Airways has opened up the entire domestic JetLite flight network as codeshare flights for sale within India. Now, JetLite’s domestic flights, denoted by 9W will be on display on the Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and the airline’s website jetairways.com Hitherto, JetLite flights were only available in conjunction with Jet Airways operated flights, as codeshare flights.

These flights are now being sold as individual flights, or in conjunction with another Jet Airways flights as a connecting product. Customers can now take full advantage of the global

AMIDST talks about the state of the airlines and their operating cost structure in the current economic environment, the Association of Private Airports Operators (APAO) has declared that there was a misconception that airport charges in India were amongst the highest in the world. In fact, in a survey conducted in 2008 by Jacob Consultancy, a global company specializing in airport and aviation consultancy, Mumbai airport was ranked at 50th place in a sample of 50 worldwide representative airports. This clearly indicated that charges at Mumbai (Delhi airport has similar charges) were amongst the

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lowest. Toronto airport had the highest index, while Mumbai airport charges were 16 per cent of Toronto charges. Even airports in Bangkok, Singapore and Beijing had higher airport charges than Mumbai.

In February 2009, airport charges in India were increased after eight years only once by 10 per cent as against the aggregate inflation of 48 per cent, based on average annual cost inflation of 5 per cent. Moreover, pursuant to the recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee, domestic airlines were offered a 15 per cent discount on landing charges, if payments were made within 15 days from the date of invoice. Further, landing charges on aircraft with seating capacity of less than 80 seats are exempted. Hence, airports continue to support airlines in these challenging times.

It is often said that the airport charges in India constitute a very high portion of an airline’s operating costs. The fact is that airport charges in India constitute only about 3.25 per cent to 3.5 per cent of total operating cost of airlines as compared to ATF which constitutes 40 per cent of the costs. Further, contrary to general belief, Route Navigation Facilities

Charges (RNFC) and Terminal Navigation Landing Charges (TNLC) do not accrue to airport operators as they relate to navigation services provided by Air Traffic Control and are charged by AAI. Till recently, the aeronautical charges in India were regulated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India. Now the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has been constituted to scrutinise and regulate all aeronautical charges. Hence there is no question of airports fixing charges unilaterally.

benefit of passengers, DIAL has displayed posters prompting passengers to contacts the health desks. Advanced Life Saving Ambulances for mobility on airside and city side are available with paramedics round the clock at the Airport. IGI Airport, now has the most modern Yellow Fever Hospital and Quarantine facility available at the airport complex.

Fire station at IGI inaugurated: DIAL recently inaugurated a new Fire Station at Indira Gandhi International Airport to handle any emergency situation arising in the event of an aircraft crash or fire at airside or terminals. With this, IGI Airport has four well-equipped and 24x7 working fire stations now.

An investiture ceremony was also held for the new fire fighters and a demonstration of fire fighting and rescue operation was given by the Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Team. The highly trained contingent of ARFF has 33 more fire fighters now taking the total to 189.

The fire-fighters have also been equipped with new helmets, aluminum coated protective suits and boots, all complying with global fire safety standards. DIAL’s fire-fighters have been trained in Malaysia, Delhi and Hyderabad to fight crash aircraft in fire or without fire and rescue the passengers by keeping the lives as well as property risk at the lowest.

Programmes also trained the fire-fighters to the necessary investigation aspects of the crushed aircraft. DIAL is committed to providing the best of facilities to its passengers and customers at IGI Airport.

DIAL has ten, state-of-the-art Aircraft Crash Fire Tenders (ACFT) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as part of the existing fleet of Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Vehicles. These Panther 6x6 ACFT vehicles are manufactured

by Rosenbauer International AG of Austria. The vehicle is the most modern fire fighting unit posted at any airport.

DIAL sets up facilities to tackle H1N1 SUPERIOR medical facilities and screening sessions have been set up at IGI Airport, New Delhi. Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) is working closely with the Health Ministry and Civil Aviation Ministry, Immigration, CISF and other authorities by providing them with the infrastructure and services including placing of four thermal scanners.

DIAL has provided counters along with screens for doctors and nurses, who operate in four shifts. Announcements are being made at regular intervals for passengers at airport and by airlines on board, to report at the health desks. For the

Kiran Kumar Grandhi, MD, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), inaugurating the new fire station at the IGIA.

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INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES Jet Airways touches Riyadh JET Airways recently launched four services a week to Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from Mumbai, effective August 6, 2009. This was the airline’s second service to Saudi Arabia, complementing the airline’s existing daily Mumbai-Jeddah service.

With the introduction of this new flight, Jet Airways flies to 8 cities in the Gulf, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah and Riyadh.

According to Jet’s CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, “ With the launch of our second daily service to Saudi Arabia, we are confident of further reinforcing our position as among the leading carriers on the Indo-Gulf sector.”

Jet Airways also started a new, daily service to Dubai from Hyderabad, its fifth daily service to the Gulf emirate and Wolfgang Prock-Schauer second from southern India; as well as its second daily service to Bangkok from Mumbai, effective August 16, 2009. A new Kochi-Sharjah service is expected to start from September 1, 2009.

the Melbourne Cup Carnival, which runs from October 31 to November 7, 2009.

Each year, Flemington Racecourse’s Birdcage enclosure features an array of unique hospitality marquees lining the narrow walkways. This world famous enclosure is also known for being an international celebrity hub during the Carnival.

Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airline & Group, said that the Emirates marquee promises to bring everything that is India to life in the very heart of Flemington Racecourse. “We look forward to welcoming our guests and taking them on a lively journey through this amazing destination, as they enjoy the thrill and excitement of the Melbourne Cup Carni-

Emirates to touch Durban THE start of Emirates’ flights to Durban from October 1, 2009 will open a new chapter in the economic development of South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal province, according to the airline and regional officials.

Speaking at a media breakfast in Durban, jointly hosted by the KwaZulu Natal Tourism Authority and Emirates, Nigel Page, the airline’s Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Americas and Africa, said that the province was well-known as a manufacturing base and was significant in terms of South Africa’s GDP. “Emirates,” he said, “is effectively opening the door to the world with its daily service into Dubai and our vast route network beyond.” Emirates will the only carrier flying international routes on a daily basis out of the city. “Our new daily flight will enhance Durban’s position as a trading hub, given the city’s existing status as the busiest port in Africa,” Page said.

The flights also mean good news for tourism — with official figures indicating that 20 per cent of all tourists heading to South Africa visit KwaZulu-Natal.

Unbeatable Ramadan: With Ramadan fast approaching Emirates has developed some exciting accommodation packages for passengers travelling to or via Dubai during the holy month of Ramadan, from August 20 to September 20, 2009.

Emirates’ passengers holding a one-way or return ticket to or via Dubai are eligible to book a three-night stay in some of Dubai’s most sought after properties, at incredible prices. With packages starting from only US$67 per person, per night, based on two people sharing, the Ramadan offer is expected to generate substantial interest from travellers globally.

A total of 12 properties are taking part in the Ramadan offer including five star hotels and apartments, allowing customers to select an option that meets their individual needs. All properties are conveniently located close to shopping malls and restaurants offering guests easy access to some of Dubai’s newest attractions such as Dubai Mall and the awe-inspiring Dubai Fountain.

‘Birdcage’ spiced up: Vibrant colours; cosmopolitan culture and the rich heritage of India will fill the famed social hotspot of the ‘Birdcage’ at this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival in Australia: the venue for this year’s Emirates marquee. Emirates is the title sponsor of the Emirates Melbourne Cup and Principal Partner of

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The Lake Palace at Udaipur: inspiration for the Emirates’ marquee designers.

val,” Flanagan said.

Emirates’ marquee designers are currently travelling through exotic Indian locations including Delhi, Udaipur and Jodhpur, sourcing ornate design pieces that will showcase the unique Indian lifestyle and culture in the most opulent trackside setting at the Melbourne Cup Carnival. Guests of Emirates can expect to delight in brilliant coloured saris, textured turbans, rustic swing seats and ancient artwork of Maharajas when they step through the striking carved entrance. Entertainment in the marquee will vary from the traditional to bhangra to the Bollywood themes made famous by the eight-time Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Jeddah to welcome Cathay Pacific CATHAY Pacific Airways has announced that it will launch flights to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second major commercial city, with effect from October 25, 2009. The four-times-weekly service will operate through Dubai on the way to and from Hong Kong.

The new service, to be operated by an Airbus A330300 aircraft in a two-class configuration, will increase the airline’s presence in the increasingly important Middle Eastern market, connecting business and leisure passengers to Cathay Pacific’s extensive international network through the Hong Kong hub.

Cathay Pacific launched its service to the Saudi Arabia capital, Riyadh, in 2001 and the number of flights per week to and from that city has also been increased from five times a week to daily from August 1, 2009 in response to sustained demand. The new service to Jeddah will offer Saudi Arabian travellers more flexibility and convenience when travelling to the Far East and beyond.

Jeddah will become Cathay Pacific’s 46th online passenger destination when flights begin and will mark the airline’s latest destination launch since Chennai in June 2008.

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GOURMETS’ DELIGHT: A selection of the goodies that are served to SIA passengers and (below, L-R) Hermann Freidanck, Manager F & B, Singapore Airlines, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and C W Foo, General Manager India, Singapore Airlines at the meal presentation.

SIA creates gourmet magic in the air IS it possible to recreate the luxury of an authentic pan-fried fish fillet with white wine sauce, 30,000 feet above the ground? If you are a Singapore Airlines traveller, your answer is likely to be in the affirmative. So, how exactly does the airline decide how small the mushrooms be chopped, temperature at which the steak be prepared; that the rice has an enticing fragrance and the dressing on the salad is perfectly layered? A unique meal presentation organised by Singapore Airlines, the world's premier airline at Taj Sats in Delhi recently gave an insight into the meticulous planning undertaken by the airline to bring alive the finest gourmet experience on-board. It showcased the menu available on its First and Business Class.

Present on the occasion was renowned celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who is a part of Singapore Airlines’ International Culinary Panel. The panel was set up nearly a decade ago and comprises award-winning chefs from the culinary capitals of the world, who specially create the unique selection that is available on-board.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjeev Kapoor said, “As part of the International Culinary Panel at Singapore Airlines we are constantly looking to offer an innovative gourmet menu that can augment the overall experience of the Singapore Airlines traveller. The shahi thali is a favourite and we keep reinventing the Indian meals to constantly sur-

prise and delight the patrons on-board.”

Kapoor showcased a range of delectable Indian meals exclusively created for the Indian routes. From vermicelli upma, hara bhara tikki, Indian vegetable stew with neer dosa, to the elaborate shahi thali — a host of Indian specialities were showcased. Apart from the Indian cuisines, there was also a range of Asian, Continental and Thai dishes ranging from lamb roulade with rosemary sauce to pan-fried chicken with herb roast gravy.

Also present on the occasion was Hermann Freidanck, Manager, F&B, Singapore Airlines who shared some significant facts about the cuisine on-board. “In order to serve a high quality meal on an airplane, one has to overcome huge obstacles in terms of the in-flight temperature and pressure. Today passengers want options in meal service and Singapore Airlines offers it. Also, the passengers expect much more from the airline food. From the right spice to the perfect temperature at which the meal is served, all details are kept in mind by Singapore Airlines.”

C W Foo, General Manager, India, Singapore Airlines said that Singapore Airlines had constantly been a symbol of high-quality culinary service on-board. “Our expert panel of chefs is engaged to create delicacies for our customers that are innovative and authentic. We are recognised for a wide selection of gourmet menu to offer a delightful experience on-board.”

Apart from the First and Business class, the airline also has an eclectic economy class menu. The meals are tailored to suit the customer needs and on its longhaul flights, the airline has on offer refreshing snacks apart from the main course meals.

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SNIPPETS Air Namibia joins IATA-BSP in India

AIR Namibia the national carrier of Namibia, represented in India

by Aviareps has joined the IATA-BSP system as the newest BSP airline in India.

The participation of Air Namibia in India would help agents across the country to book and sell seats on the carrier’s international, regional and domestic routes. Air Namibia operates internationally from its hub in Windhoek to Frankfurt and London. It also operates a widespread regional and domestic network.

Joseph Fernandes, General Manager, India Air Namibia said that the association with IATA-BSP would allow the airline to meet the needs of the Indian market more effectively and would strengthen the distribution network in the country. “This development will provide all IATA agents in India air connectivity through out Namibia and Africa one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world,” said Fernandes.

Lufthansa is ‘Best International Airline’ in India LUFTHANSA was recently voted the “Best International Airline in India” at the CNBC AWAAZ Travel Awards 2009. “We constantly strive to set new standards in passenger service at competitive prices. This award proves that Indian travellers trust Lufthansa and honour our rigorous focus on customer satisfaction,” said Axel Hilgers, Lufthansa Director, South Asia.

Deep historic roots help the airline understand the needs of Indian travellers. 50 years after starting its first flights to the country, Lufthansa has emerged as the number one European carrier here, serving 7 destinations with 54 weekly flights. The airline has continuously expanded and upgraded its services and is a leader in bringing innovative products to India. Recent examples include its First and Business Class Lounge at Mumbai’s CSI Airport and a first-of-itskind Business Jet Service linking Mumbai and Munich. Winners of the CNBC AWAAZ Travel Awards 2009 were selected through an objective and comprehensive study conducted

by Synovate, a leading international market research firm. This study was conducted across 12 major Indian cities in which the respondents voted for their choice of travel services and destinations. Participants were frequent travellers and travel experts: entrepreneurs, top executives, managers of leading travel agencies, senior members of Indian travel trade associations and general public.

Hyderabad gets ready for Etihad in November ETIHAD Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is all set to add Hyderabad to its expanding global network.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline will become the first airline to operate flights between its home base and the state capital of Andhra Pradesh, when it launches its non-stop, four times a week service from November 2009. The service will become daily from the start of 2010.

The addition of Hyderabad brings the number of Indian destinations served by Etihad to seven and follows successful bi-lateral talks between the governments of the UAE and India, aimed at further liberalising flying links between the two countries.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive, said that Etihad had made no secret of the fact that it wanted to build up its

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Indian services and looked forward to expand its flying programme to India. Hyderabad was a key Indian destination which had not currently served directly from Abu Dhabi. “It, therefore, represents a great opportunity for our airline.”

Etihad currently operates 38 flights a week from the UAE to India, with flights from Abu Dhabi to the commercial capital Mumbai, the national capital New Delhi, and also Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kochi (Cochin) and Kozhikode (Calicut) in the southern Indian state of Kerala, as well as Chennai (Madras).

Air Arabia’s net profit up 21 per cent AIR Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC), has announced its financial results for the period ending June 30, 2009, highlighting the fundamental strength of Air Arabia’s business model in these challenging global economic conditions.

The company’s net profit for the first half of this year stood at AED 193 million, an increase of 21 per cent compared to AED 160 million for the first six months of last year. During the first half of 2009, the company registered a turnover of AED 922 million, up 6 per cent from AED 871 million for the first half of 2008.

Air Arabia’s net profit for the second quarter of this year rose by 10 per cent on a total revenue of AED 458 million, recording AED 90 million compared to AED 82 million for the second quarter of 2008.

The airline served 1,953 million passengers during the first half of 2009; a 20 per cent increase compared 1.6 million passengers during the same period last year. The LCC’s average seat load factor — or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats — for the first six month of 2009 stood at an extremely impressive 80 per cent.

“Tough economic conditions continue to impact the global aviation sector”, said Adel Ali, Board Member and Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia. “We are pleased with the positive results achieved today amidst the ambiguity of global economy performance and the impact of swine flu on air travel trends. Air Arabia’s continuous profitability and growth figures demonstrate the fundamental strength of the airline’s dynamic business model.”

Dhaba kids to get help from Air France A 380 auction IN a unique initiative, Air France has announced the auction of 380 seats on each of its two inaugural Airbus A380 flights, operating Paris to New York/JFK on November 20, 2009 and New York/JFK to Paris on November 21, 2009.

This exclusive auction, the terms of which will be presented at a later date, will take place on the internet in October 2009 and will be available to all markets. The profits thus earned will be used to fund three humanitarian projects supported by the Air France Corporate Foundation, in India, South Africa and France.

In India, this project ‘Association Plan France’ India benefits 500 child workers in Delhi, by improving their living conditions,

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enabling them build a better future for themselves. The Dhaba Kids project in South Delhi, includes initiatives to specifically help children working in dhabas (roadside tea bars) and street rag pickers.

The project also supports the action of non-formal education centres imparting knowledge in academics, sports, cultural visits and creative activities. In addition, they distribute kits covering health education to the children and their parents/employers, thereby raising their awareness of health risks and hygienic practices.

Speaking on the initiative, Pierre Henri Gourgeon, Chief Executive Officer,Air France said, “Since 1992, the Air France Corporate Foundation has supported over 500 projects in 67 countries in order to enable sick and disabled children, as well as those in great distress, to have access to education, leisure activities and culture. We believe it is important that the first Air France Airbus A380 flight should not simply symbolize a technological achievement at the service of our customers, but also an operation in support of those in distress.”

Expedia signs deal with Travel Boutique Online EXPEDIA Affiliate Network (EAN) recently announced a partnership with Travel Boutique Online (TBO), leading airline consolidator, to offer its customers access to Expedia's market leading hotel product.

The Expedia global hotel product numbers more than 100,000, including an extensive choice of one to five star properties, individual guest houses and bed and breakfasts. The size and scale of the organisation enables EAN to offer the broadest spectrum of accommodation options at the best prices, both in popular

and emerging destinations.

TBO is used by over 4,000 travel agents across 130 cities in India. The partnership with EAN enables these agents to offer customers access to EAN’s extensive hotel offering through one convenient, easy-to-use, online platform. Jens Uwe Parkitny, Managing Director, EAN APAC, comments, “The EAN solution has been tailored to ensure that it meets the needs of the TBO customers. It is a comprehensive solution that will deliver the potential to increase ancillary revenue for the agents that access it.”

Sham Nijhawan, Chairman, Nijhawan Group, said, “The partnership with EAN will help TBO provide a complete portfolio of hotel products across all categories of hotels to its agent base, which still primarily only sells air tickets. The partnership with EAN will enable agents to follow the logical booking progression by offering customers the ability to combine booking their hotel and flights. Hotel sales provide healthier margins for agents than air tickets and as margins continue to shrink in the travel trade, it will be very important for these agents to add new products like hotels and packages.”

Globally, acceptance of online buying as a tool for hotels has been a difficult transition from the standard offline system of calling the supplier. Jens Uwe Parkitny, continues, “The concept of booking hotels’ online is still relatively new in India, but the solution offered by EAN is flexible, easy-to-use and efficient. Agents can make real time bookings for their customers and assess all the options before committing to ensure they get the travel options to match their individual customer’s needs.”

TRAVEL & TOURISM Canada Tourism woos Indian travellers THE Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), Canada’s national tourism marketing organization, recently launched its operations in India to develop it as an important tourism market. Launching the initiative was Andrew Clark, Vice-President, Market Development and Derek Galpin, Managing Director - China and India, both from the Canadian Tourism Commission.

The CTC has appointed Buzz Travel Marketing India Private Limited as its representative in India for all its marketing and promotional activities. The CTC plans to focus on its marketing activities primarily in Delhi and Mumbai and then later incorporate other Indian cities that have the potential to generate more visitors to Canada.

India is considered a very important market with huge potential and India’s outbound travel to Canada is expected to grow, despite the global economic crisis. Last year, 1,10,000 Indians visited Canada including a mix of business, leisure, VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives), MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition) and student traffic. The CTC is looking forward to develop the tourism market from India to Canada by joining hands with travel agency partners throughout India to assist in promoting Canadian tourism.

The CTC’s return to India has been facilitated by the Canadian government that is providing additional funds to develop this important tourism market. The marketing budget for the remainder of 2009 would strongly focus on the Indian travel trade and media. This would include dinner Andrew Clark

receptions, press conferences, training programmes for travel agents, invitation to key travel agencies for FAM trips to Canada and supporting individual marketing initiatives by the travel agencies who are interested in developing Canada tour programmes.

In November, the CTC plans to bring Canadian suppliers to India to meet their Indian counterparts for Showcase Canada B2B programme, which will be beneficial for both Indian and Canadian agents to conduct serious business.

To facilitate and educate travel agents, the CTC has also developed an online training programme for Canada specialist agents to provide an introduction to Canada. Agents just need to log in and learn about the destination, answer a few easy questions to be eligible to take the next module. To be launched by the end of the year, the next module will provide an extensive and comprehensive training platform for all agents with a serious interest in selling Canada and certified specialists will get free Canada FAM trips, information sessions, timely newsletters, promotional vouchers, window displays and other important promotional material.

Derek Galpin

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A big Selamat Datang for Indians In her first trip to India after assuming office, Dato Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Tourism Minister of Malaysia, rolls out the welcome mat for Indian travellers.

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he global economic downturn may have restricted travellers from visiting foreign shores but that has not deterred the spirited Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Minister of Tourism, Malaysia, to woo Indian tourists to her country. Barely into her fourth month in office, the lady confessed that she loved India enough to undertake a hurricane tour of five Indian cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai — to meet travel facilitators and the media. Addressing a media conference, the Minister acknowledged the growing prominence of India, as a source market for tourism. In addition, she expressed her interest for closer bi-lateral tourism ties between India and her country.

Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen made it quite clear that India was a priority for her: she had visited China soon after becoming the tourism minister and India was her next stop. Also the presence of the high-level official delegation including the Director-General Tourism, Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab Beg was proof enough of Malaysia’s intent to welcome Indian visitors. Dr Yen said, “In 1999, we had 29,000 tourists from India. In 2000, it was 1,32,127. Last year, the number grew to 5,00,738. Despite the global slowdown and H1N1 flu, we have a target of 6,00,000 tourists this year. We are the 10th largest provider of tourist to

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India and are tying to turn Malaysia into a world class tourism destination.”

The ministerial visit had been planned to explore mutual avenues of business partnerships with the Indian Tourism Ministry and to create awareness about each country’s tourism products and attractions.

Elaborating on India and the specific initiatives, Dr. Ng Yen Yen pointed out that Malaysia was keen to explore possible avenues to increase tourism, investMalaysian Tourism Minister Dr. Ng Yen Yen’s visit highlighted Malaysia’s strong interest in India as a source for tourist arrivals ‘One Malaysia, endless experiences’ marketing campaign launched to offer composite Malaysian holiday experience; ‘One Malaysia, endless experiences holiday package’ @ INR 17,000 for travel from anywhere in India to Kuala Lumpur Revenue received from India market stands at US$ 427 mn in 2008 The Indian market had one of the highest tourism potentials for Malaysia, targets 600,000 arrivals for the year 2009.

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ment and cultural exchanges between the two countries. During her meeting with the Indian Minister of Tourism, Kumari Selja, Dr Yen Yen invited her to visit Malaysia and promote its Commonwealth Promotion Roadshows.

Launching the ‘One Malaysia, endless experiences’ Campaign’ with a new logo, the Minister said that the consumer-centric campaign aimed to highlight the appeal and diversity of Malaysia’s tourism products at a value for money price proposition. Indian travellers would have on offer a choice of Malaysian holiday experience with short breaks in Kuala Lumpur and other cities like Langkawi, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak. The overall objective of the campaign was to enhance Malaysia saleability quotient at an attractive price proposition. The campaign would cater to wider segments of travellers namely G3A: “Golden 3rd Age”, SSS:”Super Smart Shoppers” or the FET: “Family Enrichment Tourism”.

In addition, the Minister also launched the ‘One Malaysia Holiday’ package for 4 days / 3 nights@ Rs 17,000 inclusive of airfare and accommodation. Jointly offered by Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines and hospitality partners in Malaysia, the package for Kuala Lumpur is available for Rs 17, 000, destinations beyond Kuala Lumpur like Langkawi, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and other exotic destinations were available for Rs 19,500. The key highlight of this package is the seamless travel opportunity from the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad to any place in Malaysia.

Dr Ng Yen Yen said that she wanted to position Malaysia as a premier holiday destination. Hence, Tourism Malaysia was keen to target the large potential base of first-time travellers from emerging Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

She pointed out that statistics revealed that Kuala Lumpur and destinations in

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the vicinity were much visited by firsttime travellers.

In her effort to attract repeat visitors from India, Dr Yen Yen said: “We are positioning tourism products like rainforest excursion, diving holidays, soft adventure activities, fly and drive options. We are also looking at enhancing our products to suit certain market segments, namely ‘Sophisticated Office Ladies and Men’ by positioning spa, high-end shopping, and golfing options.

For senior citizens categorized as the Golden 3rd Age group with MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home Programme) and for youths and students we have the Building Bridges Programme through home stays and ‘Dive for Certificates’ (international diving certificates) in Malaysia.”

To accommodate the growing number of tourists from India, low-cost carrier Air

Asia was offering direct daily fights from Trichy, which would soon be enhanced to two daily flights. In addition, national carrier Malaysia Airlines offered 27 weekly flights from the five gateway cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Connectivity to Malaysia would be further enhanced with the addition of the fourth Malaysian Airlines flight from Hyderabad.

Hard-selling her country, the minister said, was also looking for MICE with its state-of-the-art convention centres, luxurious accommodation, modern facilities and easy accessibility. Tourism Malaysia, she informed, would go all out to support MICE conventions held in the country by co-hosting special dinners, which would be well complemented by Malaysian cultural performances.

In keeping with the global economic scenario, she mentioned that Tourism

RED CARPET FOR INDIAN TOURISTS: At the launch of the special campaign in Delhi (L-R) Noran Ujang, Director, Tourism Malysia; Manoharan, Director, Tourism Malaysia; Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Director General, Tourism Malaysia; Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Minister of Tourism, Malaysia; Tan Seng Sung, High Commissioner of Malaysia to India; Azahar Bin Hamid, Regional Manager South Asia, Malaysia Airlines; Khairi Azali Ibrahim, Counsellor (Immigration & Consular).

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Malaysia remained open to explore tactical alliances with trade partners featuring smart initiatives with airlines, neighbouring NTOs and other industries in India to offer value-for-money propositions or tangible benefits for the consumers.

Dr Yen Yen also launched an India centric website ‘www.malaysiajao.com’’ on the occasion. “The website will focus on Malaysia’s tourism product offerings, keeping in mind the Indian needs and interests, while looking for a holiday destination”, she said.

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Now, a Fortune resort in Mussoorie ITC’s wholly owned subsidiary Fortune Hotels announced the launch of Fortune Resort Grace at Mussoorie. Centrally located at Gandhi Chowk close to the famous Mussoorie Library, the hotel has 75 well-appointed rooms and offers the look and feel of the Fortune brand of hotels. In keeping with the brand’s focus on cuisine, the Resort offers plenty of variety to its guests. There is a multicuisine restaurant, a terrace barbecue, an Indian specialty restaurant and a bar. There is also a convenient conference area that can accommodate upto 200 persons.

On June 29, 2009, Fortune Hotels also signed a contract for Mussoorie’s famous Savoy Hotel. With these two hotels, the Fortune chain will now be able to offer its guests a variety of varied experiences. Pawan Verma, Senior Executive Vice President, ITC Hotels Division says, “The opening of Fortune Select Grace is an important addition to the Resort category of the chain and we are now waiting for the open-

Disneyland Resort all set for major expansion

OPENED on February 8, 2001, Disney’s California Adventure anchored a major expansion of Disneyland Resort. The expansion included Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa and Downtown Disney, a 300,000 square-foot shopping, dining and entertainment district.

Disney’s California Adventure has become one of the nation’s most visited theme parks. The 55-acre park is filled with dozens of shows, adventures and attractions that appeal to guests of all ages. Through Disney’s legendary story-telling, the fantasy of California comes to life in four themed lands: Golden State, Paradise Pier, a bug’s land and Hollywood Pictures Backlot.

Opening in spring 2010, “World of Color” will bring night-time excitement to Paradise Pier with a Next year will mark the debut of Disney’s World of Color, an innovative nighttime spectacle that will be presented on Paradise Bay. Photo shows the Pocahontas World.

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ing of the Savoy, within the next six months or earlier.”

Recently, Fortune Park Hotels Ltd, also announced the signing of an agreement with Zanders Resorts, for its 55th hotel in Bhatinda, Punjab. A Greenfield project, it is expected to be completed by mid-2011 and will be part of the chain’s Fortune Inn category of hotels. There are already five Fortune Inns operating in Jammu, Pune, Vizag, Noida and Manipal.

The upcoming project will have 60 rooms, built in accordance with the chain’s specifications for the Fortune Inn category. According to Pawan Verma, the chain has been looking out for properties in the northern belt. “The Fortune Inn at Bhatinda will be in a location that is fast emerging as one of the most vibrant business locations in Punjab,” he said.

With the addition of the new hotel to its portfolio, Fortune Hotels now has 55 hotels with 4506 rooms located in 42 cities across the length and breadth of the country. panorama of spectacular water effects, dancing fountains and music that will bring Disney animation to life with a new creative and technical approach. “World of Color” boasts a 9,000-guest viewing area.

The first major attraction based on Disney’s classic “The Little Mermaid” is coming to the park’s Paradise Pier area with leadingedge animation and special effects. Guests will be able to dive into the magnificent scenes and magical songs from the movie when The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventure debuts in 2011.

In 2012, a brand new gateway to Disney’s California Adventure will welcome guests into the Los Angeles that Walt experienced as a young artist arriving with big dreams in the 1920s. Red Car Trolleys reminiscent of the old Pacific Electric Red Car Line will travel up and down Buena Vista Street alongside new dining, shopping and entertainment experiences. A new visual icon inspired by Los Angeles’ historic Carthay Circle Theatre, which premiered “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937, will draw guests into the heart of the park.

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SNIPPETS Amadeus dishes out unmatched solutions AMADEUS India recently introduced a comprehensive range of software products and automated solutions that will significantly enhance the value offered by travel consultants across India. The new range of travel solutions will be delivered through the Amadeus GDS platform and will provide access to products from over 790 airlines, 262 hotel chains accounting for over 82000 properties and

by 29 top suppliers from Britain and Ireland, 18 suppliers from Britain and 11 suppliers from Ireland.

This B2B workshop, followed by networking dinner in each city, will be a platform for the India travel trade to meet and do business with UK suppliers, to learn about new regions and its products and weave new itineraries to suit the ever-emerging needs of the market. The BIIM is a reflection of VisitBritain’s and Tourism Ireland’s ongoing support to the tourism trade in India, as VisitBritain’s new CEO, Sandie Dawe, aptly said, “India is a key emerging market for inbound travel to UK and we are committed to supporting our friends in the travel trade who play such a crucial role in inspiring Indian travellers to visit and explore UK.”

Tourism Australia woos Indian Travel Agents

Amadeus product road show in progress at Delhi.

over 30 international car rental companies. In addition, the new range of solutions being introduced includes booking of Indian Rail tickets, a comprehensive self-booking tool for corporates and TMCs and a state-of-the-art automated back-office system.

Commenting on the new product range, Ankur Bhatia, Director, Amadeus India said, “The global market environment has had its impact on the Indian travel industry too. Today, it is imperative for companies to innovate and deliver tailored solutions to not only sustain but potentially grow demand. As the market leader, Amadeus has consistently invested in developing solutions that enable and empower travel consultants to not only provide the required value add and improve efficiency but also generate new revenue streams. Our portfolio of solutions introduced today includes several industry firsts and I am confident that these will be widely accepted and utilized.”

VisitBritain, Tourism Ireland on 3-city mission VISITBRITAIN, in partnership with Tourism Ireland, is hosting the Britain and Ireland India Mission (BIIM) in the three cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore between September 7-10, 2009.

Led by the new CEO, Sandie Dawe, this mission will be attended

TOURISM Australia hosted one of the largest delegations of Indian Aussie specialist travel agents to Australia for the “India Mega Famil and Workshop” (IMFW) held at the Gold Coast from August 10-14, 2009. The mega event saw the participation of 100 Indian buyers from across 20 cities who met 70 sellers from Australia. This was the largest travel agent delegation from India to visit Australia for a trade event.

Commenting on the IMFW, Maggie White, Regional General Manager, South, South East Asia and Gulf, Tourism Australia said that the India Mega Famil and Workshop was an excellent platform to bring together trade partners from both countries to explore suitable business opportunities.

Abhilasha Jain, Country Manager, India, Tourism Australia pointed out that the response to the India Mega Famil and Workshop had been phenomenal. This reinforced “our strong belief and faith that Australia is a popular holiday destination amongst Indian travellers.”

APPOINTMENTS Subhomoy De is Royal Sarovar GM SUBHOMOY De has been appointed as the General Manager for the soon-tobe-launched Royal Sarovar Premiere at Siliguri. Royal Sarovar Premiere with 65 guest rooms and suites, is an upscale 5-star hotel scheduled for opening by September 2009.

Subhomoy De

Claridges’ super luxury resort open NESTLED in the lap of the forested and tranquil Surajkund neighbourhood on the outskirts of south Delhi, The Claridges, Surajkund blends the best of an exclusive business hotel and luxury resort. The hotel offers 285 elegantly designed rooms and suites amidst fabulous landscaping and sylvan surroundings. The rooms, some with their own private terrace, overlook the central courtyard with a synchronized water fountain and lush surroundings. In the first phase the hotel has opened with 150 guest rooms, 18,000 sq ft of banquet, an all-day dining, bar, an art lounge and an outdoor swimming pool. The business and conference facilities, spread over 18,000 sq ft includes an elegant ball room with prefunction area, four meeting rooms, three board room and a business centre.

In addition to its classic ambience, the hotel along with The Claridges, New Delhi, has entered into an exclusive alliance with Cornelia Fifth Avenue to offer their products as standard guest amenity. A globally venerated lifestyle brand dedicated to delivering brand offerings that surpass guests’ expectations, Cornelia

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Fifth Avenue is the revolutionary pioneer of Day Resort category, the first beauty company to marry the luxury day spa experience with the refined hospitality of a Five Star Hotel. One of their most luxurious lines, the Cornelia Signature Collection offers bath, body, home and tea products.

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ave you been to www.seethebiggerpicture.org? Almost 3,00, 000 young visitors have been to this site created by Airbus to stimulate and raise worldwide awareness on biodiversity and the preservation of threatened ecosystems amongst children, families and educators.

The UN declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). To support the UN’s initiative, Airbus, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and National Geographic have teamed up to launch a worldreaching biodiversity photo contest, “See the bigger picture”.

Through this site, Airbus is creating a virtual community of children committed to biodiversity around the world. Kids celebrating the amazing variety of species on our planet and discovering the earth’s natural wealth have already uploaded almost 1000 pictures and voted for their preferred photo.

The “See the Bigger Picture” photo contest calls children from 6 to 16 years of age worldwide to take photos of biodiversity, to illustrate the diversity of nature around them and to consider their role in conserving it.

So, if your kids are nature lovers, let them upload their pictures on www.seethebiggerpicture.org for a chance to win a trip to National Geographic’s headquar-

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ters in Washington DC and share their experiences of biodiversity.

‘See the Bigger Picture’ is a joint initiative between Airbus, the National Geographic Society and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The initiative supports ‘The Green Wave’ for biodiversity and it leads up to the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010.

The photo competition was launched in June 2009 and ends on September 8, 2009. It is a campaign designed to stimulate and raise worldwide awareness on biodiversity and the preservation of threatened ecosystems amongst children, families and educators.

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NATURE ACCORDING TO KIDS: a) Pilar, a 15-year-old’s photo of a small waterfall and some nenuphars; b) Elias Danner (16) shows a caterpillar resting; c) Karl (14) captures scenic beauty; d) Natalia (16) presents a dark forest illuminated by the evening sun; e) Danielle Mangham (14) caught a bathing tiger; f) Winter morning after the first snowfall by Amber Toseland (11); g) Reeshav Chatterjee (10) tries to show that biodiversity still exists; h) Stefan Mangham (11) captures two flies making sure that they won't become extinct; i) A snake eating a toad by Marisa Joy (10); j) Chloe Vick (14) caught a yawning cat and named it as ‘Save Our Planet, or the animals will fight back’; k) Veselina (15) found the fish in an aquarium in Antwerpen beautiful; l) Aakash Mally (14) shot two Siberian ducks in Chitwan National Park, Nepal; m) Zoe Hamelin (16) was fascinated by the butterfly; and, n) Fabian (9) asked his mother to take a picture of the huge butterfly.

Photos: Courtesy www.seethebiggerpicture.org

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