Aviation minister keen to extend industry's mass reach

For a long time, Indian aviation was regarded as a rich man's mode of travel. A host of low-cost airlines changed that perception in the last decade. But more recently, with most airlines in deep financial trouble and airfares rising sharply, it is once again turning into a rich man's preserve. But the civil aviation ministry looks determined to stop this reversal.

"It is a vital sector for economic growth, and not just some rich man's play," union civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said on Tuesday.

Addressing the media post the meeting of the consultative committee for the civil aviation ministry in Bangalore, Singh said, "Despite the current financial troubles, one thing is clear, this sector is bound to grow as our middle class keeps growing."

But he cautioned about the pace of growth: "Our country's middle class cannot compete with the middle class of Britain, USA, or for that matter Australia."

The ministry is planning a slew of initiatives to help revive the industry. It is looking at a comprehensive civil aviation policy that will also focus on regulatory standards.

"The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) needs to be revamped and strengthened. We are planning to replace the DGCA with a Civil Aviation Authority by bringing in a new bill in the winter session of Parliament," Singh said.

He said when the DGCA and AAI ( Airports Authority of India) were set up, the civil aviation environment was very different. "The technology has changed, the requirements of civil aviation has gone up in terms of number of customers and the kind of planes. There are issues such as navigation problems, congestion, because in India over 60% of the airspace is controlled by the defence services."

The ministry also plans to restructure the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and to constitute a dedicated security force.

The minister said the main issue hurting the balance sheet of airlines is that ATF (aircraft turbine fuel) costs account for over 45% of an airline's operating cost. "ATF cost in India is about 60% to 70% more than that in our neighbouring countries as well as the US, partly because it's not a notified product." He added the imposition of taxes ranging from 4% to 30% by state governments on ATF is an added burden.

"We are trying to make it a notified product and are in dialogue with the oil ministry," said the minister.

The minister said there was a need to develop India as an international hub of passenger traffic and that his ministry had initiated action in this regard, including revisiting the policy regarding bilateral air service agreements with different countries.

On allowing international carriers to invest in Indian airlines, the minister said, "FDI in aviation will happen as soon as we have talked to all of our allies." At present FDI in aviation is allowed up to 49%, but restricts international airlines from participating.

Aerospace

Addressing a meeting of a group of manufacturers of aerospace products, the minister said that the aerospace industry in the country is still in its infancy. But he expressed the hope that the Indian aerospace industry would compete in the global market and would be capable of attaining international standards.

"We are hopefully that in the next decade or so the aerospace industry will be the driver of economic growth in India," said the minister and added, "Bangalore is way ahead of the rest of the country as far as this industry goes."

The minister assured the manufacturers that the specific recommendations of the Aerospace Promotion Council would be taken up with the concerned ministries and departments for speedy action and redressal of grievances.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Aviation-minister-keen-to-extend-industrys-mass-reach/articleshow/15021613.cms

Civil Aviation Authority to replace regulator DGCA: Ajit Singh

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would soon be replaced with a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to regulate the troubled sector, which has been facing mounting financial and operational issues, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said Tuesday.

"As the DGCA has not been able to effectively regulate the growing needs of the industry, including state-run and private airlines, we propose to replace it with the CAA by amending the relevant act through a bill in the winter session of Parliament," Ajit Singh told reporters here.

To strictly reinforce safety and security of millions of passengers, state-run and private airlines, their aircraft and operations, the minister said that time had come to redefine the regulator's role and strengthen it to meet the challenges of the growing sector.

"Flying is no more a luxury but a necessity in a growing economy. It is not only the rich, but also a growing number of middle class people are opting to fly to fulfil their needs and commitments. Civil aviation is a part of the infrastructure," he observed.

Admitting that the civil aviation sector was going through turbulent times due to multiple factors such as huge financial losses, higher cost of operations, high cost of aviation turbine fuel and heavy taxation, Ajit Singh said the ministry was drafting a comprehensive policy to set regulatory standards and create an eco-system for an early turn around.

"All airlines are having acute financial stress with a cumulative loss of Rs.10, 000 crore in the last fiscal (2011-12), face large credit exposure to (state-run) banks, pay more for fuel and bear multiple taxes," he lamented.

Earlier, Ajit Singh chaired a meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee of his ministry here.

AgustaWestland signs Key Supplier agreements for AW609

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that it has signed agreements with three key suppliers for its AW609 TiltRotor programme. These three major agreements form part of a succession of contracts signed with AW609 TiltRotor component suppliers since AgustaWestland acquired the tiltrotor programme in November 2011.

These latest agreements signed with Pratt & Whitney Canada, Rockwell Collins and BAE Systems are a major milestone in the programme for development and certification of the AW609 TiltRotor.

AgustaWestland remains committed to certification of the AW609 TiltRotor through FAA and EASA within the first half of 2016 with deliveries immediately thereafter.

Pratt & Whitney Canada will provide an upgraded version of the PT6 engine for the AW609 TiltRotor which will include the latest in technological developments and provide the aircraft with increased performance capabilities as well as the latest safety enhancements.

Rockwell Collins will provide a fully integrated cockpit for the AW609 TiltRotor based on its Pro Line Fusion system, allowing AgustaWestland to adopt the very latest in commercial aircraft cockpit technologies.

BAE Systems will provide an upgraded Flight Control Computer at the heart of the AW609 TiltRotor’s triple redundant fully digital fly-by-wire flight control system.

Is removal of DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan a political tiff?

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry sprang a surprise by removing the country’s aviation regulator E.K. Bharat Bhushan from his post barely a week after his tenure was extended to December.

Sources said Mr. Bhushan was in the midst of preparing a report recommending that ailing Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. be closed down. In the report, he said that Kingfisher did not have adequate number of aircraft, was finding it difficult to acquire aviation turbine fuel and had not paid salary dues for six months. Other than not keeping the promise of running the airline according to the schedule submitted to the DGCA, the airline was a danger to its passengers as pilots were flying under immense stress.

Bhushan had built a reputation as a tough administrator in his 20-month tenure. From computerising licensing exams in response to the fake pilots scam to focussing strongly on aircraft safety, he had taken a number of steps to clean up an industry that badly needed it.

The job of the civil aviation ministry is to look after the safety of air passengers. On no account must Singh compromise it in response to pressures from the airline lobby.

Ajit is expected to discuss the removal with Manmohan Singh tomorrow. The ministry has written a letter to the Prime Minister explaining why the step was taken. The secretary has also informed the cabinet appointments committee.

Jet Airways plans to launch aviation academy

Private carrier Jet Airways plans to set up a marketing services firm and launch an aviation training academy, with a total investment of Rs one crore.

The proposal is, however, subjected to regulatory approvals, including those from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Reserve Bank of India, Jet Airways said in a notice to its share holders ahead of the company annual general meeting scheduled early next month.

The Naresh Goyal-owned airline would be the second domestic carrier to foray into the aviation education segment after Kingfisher started a similar training institution in 2007.

The proposed academy would be based in Mumbai and offer certificate courses in in-flight services, ticket reservation and check-in services, according to a brochure brought out for the institute.

The move to set up a training academy and marketing services centres is aimed at boosting the Jet group's revenue through ancillary activities at a time when high taxes and jet fuel prices are resulting in mounting losses of the domestic carriers, a source said.

http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/jet-airways-plans-to-launch-aviation-academy/31053/

Air India Dream liners grounded by bureaucracy

Three of Boeing’s cutting-edge 787 Dreamliners painted in Air India colours are parked in South Carolina, waiting for the ailing state carrier to pay for them and take possession.

The 787, which promises to help modernise Air India’s ageing fleet, has instead been a source of several headaches for the money-losing carrier.

The three planes, the first of which was ready for delivery at the end of May, are caught up in a dispute between the U.S. planemaker and India over compensation to the airline after production was delayed by four years.

India has not yet signed off on an undisclosed package agreed between Air India and Boeing, according to a senior government official directly involved in the process.

“We still do not have inputs from several ministries, including departments like expenditure secretary in the finance ministry. So the process is getting delayed,” the official said on Wednesday, declining to be identified.

Air India has ordered 27 Dreamliners in total and was to be the first non-Japanese carrier to take possession of the long-haul plane, whose carbon-composite construction makes it more fuel-efficient than earlier models.

At list prices, the three planes have a combined value of about $580 million, although discounts are common. They are being financed by Standard Chartered Bank.

“Three Dreamliners are ready for delivery and are parked at Charleston, South Carolina. We are just waiting for Air India to receive those,” said Dinesh Keskar, Boeing’s vice president of sales and marketing for Asia-Pacific and India.

The Dreamliners are part of orders totalling $6 billion made by Air India in 2005, stretching already constrained finances that subsequently required a $5.8 billion government bailout.

More recently, the right to fly the 787 was at the heart of a 58-day strike by a group of about 500 pilots.

The striking pilots had demanded that their colleagues from the former Indian Airlines, the domestic state-run carrier that merged with Air India, not be trained to fly Dreamliners because they worried it could hurt their own career prospects.

The first of the three planes, showcased at an air show earlier this year in India, was ready for delivery in late May, and Air India sent a group of pilots to take delivery.

Those pilots flew back as passengers after Air India and Boeing could not agree on compensation, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs must approve the compensation but has been without a head since Pranab Mukherjee stepped down as finance minister last month to run for the largely ceremonial post of president.

“I hope we will have a decision within this month,” said another senior government official, declining to be identified.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/aviation/2012/July/aviation_July18.xml&section=aviation

Bharat Bhushan removed as DGCA

Aviation regulator E K Bharat Bhushan was on Tuesday abruptly removed from his key position in the backdrop of his tough stance against debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines over its failure to pay salaries to its employees.

In a swift move by the Civil Aviation Ministry, Bhushan, who has been the Director General of Civil Aviation for nearly two years, was replaced by Prashant Narain Sukul, a Joint Secretary in the Ministry who would be holding the position as an additional charge, official sources said.

While there was no official word on the reasons for his removal as DGCA by the Civil Aviation ministry, there has been speculation that his stern warnings to Kingfisher and Air India to pay dues to their employees may have gone against him.

As the chief of India's aviation regulatory body, Bhushan had brought in stringent measures to prevent airlines from compromising on safety on account of their financial trouble.

He had bluntly told both the loss-making carriers to pay up employees' dues soon enough so that their performance was not affected. Both the airlines have faulted on timely payment of salaries and allowances for several months.

He had said that safety could be adversely affected by a demotivated staff, particularly a pilot, an engineer or a cabin crew, if they were not paid their dues on time.

During his 20-month tenure as the head of the aviation regulatory body, 57-year-old Bhushan handled a series of major cases of flouting of aviation rules, including the fake pilots scam and fudging of records by flying schools.

Air India selects Rockwell Collins’ Dispatch Program to provide long-term B787 avionics support

Air India has selected Rockwell Collins to service and support its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft through the company’s DispatchSM Program. The program is scheduled to begin upon delivery of the first Boeing 787 to Air India.

Under the agreement, Rockwell Collins will provide Air India with guaranteed spares availability, systems configuration updates, technical repairs, and performance monitoring on Rockwell Collins’ comprehensive suite of communications, surveillance, displays and pilot controls systems onboard the 787. The total life cycle solution is coordinated by a dedicated program manager.

“Air India’s selection of Rockwell Collins’ Dispatch Program provides the airline with the most proven, cost-effective global service and support solution for our avionics and pilot controls,” said Scott Gunnufson, vice president and general manager, Service Solutions for Rockwell Collins. “We’re the most prepared in the industry to deliver fast, reliable service to Air India and other airlines adding 787s to their fleet.”

“As the Asia Pacific airline market segment continues to grow, we are positioned to provide swift, highly reliable service to our customers that keeps downtime to a minimum and cost predictable,” said TC Chan, vice president and managing director, Asia Pacific for Rockwell Collins.

Rockwell Collins’ global network of more than 80 locations provides repair and overhaul of avionics equipment for more than 6,000 commercial, business, corporate and military operations. Additional logistics capabilities include on-board services, service parts, training and simulator systems and services, technical information services and technical services.

http://weather.aviation.ca/content/view/11897/117/

Kingfisher dues may ruin Mallya’s profitable UB group

In total, Kingfisher has accumulated losses of about Rs 6,000 crore. It has not paid employees’ salaries for months and has defaulted on tax payments and vendor bills. Even the airline’s lessors have taken back a number of planes because the company had reportedly defaulted on lease rentals.  Its operations have reduced dramatically as it is flying less than 20 aircraft and its market share has crashed. It’s only rescue option is the foreign direct investment in Indian aviation, which is taking a long time for approval. Further, to stabilize its financial burden, Kingfisher is seeking loans from banks and other financial institutions.

The reason why banks are still trying to humour him relates to the collateral he has pledged: shares of parts of his liquor business. The vultures are descending not on his airline, but his pledged shares: his cash-generating liquor businesses. There is a good chance that whoever is now lending money to Mallya is buying not the airline – which is anyway a dead duck – but his liquor business.”

In a September 2011 report on Kingfisher Airlines, Canadian investment research firm Veritas had stated that both the airline and Mallya’s holding company UB Holdings (UBH) were effectively insolvent and that the two were at the mercy of Indian financial institutions.

Analysts have time and again said that the UB Group minus Kingfisher Airlines could well benefit the company’s cash cows. But the fact remains that in its efforts to support Kingfisher, the group pledged the shares of other group businesses such as United Spirits and now faces the risk of losing his only profitable business too— all thanks to his unexplained love for the airline.

Two flights return due to low visibility

Two private carrier flights returned to Madhurapudi airport here on Monday as the visibility levels dropped drastically after a thick blanket of clouds covered the entire area. The flights circled the sky for about 30 minutes before going to Hyderabad as the visibility did not improve.

The Jet Airways from Hyderabad hovered for over half an hour before the pilot took a decision to return causing inconvenience to scores of passengers. "Due to the harsh weather and poor visibility, the flights could not be landed. We could not put the passengers' lives in jeopardy as the visibility levels were very low," an airport official told TOI. The Jet Airways flight was to land at 12 pm.

Earlier, a SpiceJet flight, which was scheduled to land here at 10.40 am, also returned as the runway visual range (RVR) dropped to the lowest level. The airport has a new terminal building, which was inaugurated recently.

Jet Airways to focus on non-ticket revenues to boost bottom lines

With competition making it difficult to hike fares, Naresh Goyal-owned private carrier Jet Airways is looking at increasing revenues from ancillary activities to help it in the face of mounting losses, a senior official said today.

"Currently, ancillary revenue or the non-ticket revenue accounts for only 3 per cent of our total revenues. We are aiming to enhance it to a sizeable proportion," Jet Airways' vice president, marketing, Manish Dureja told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

He said that the ancillary revenue business world-over across airlines stands at USD 33.5 billion but in India, it is almost negligible.

Dureja said that currently, Jet Airways receives USD 3.5 to USD 4 revenue per passenger from ancillary activities, but if efforts are put in, this may go up to USD 10 per passenger.

He said the airline has recently taken several steps to boost the non-ticket revenues, such as charging for second baggage, levying of convenience fee, charging for printing tickets at Jet kiosks, increasing on-board meal charges and going for tie-ups with various companies interested in co-branding.

Meanwhile, it tied up with Disney Channel India, as part of which, it unveiled a Disney-themed aircraft wrapped with images of Disney's Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto.

Dureja said the airline is in talks with seven more players from various sectors for similar co-branding opportunities, but declined to name the companies.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/jet-airways-to-focus-on-non-ticket-revenues-to-boost-bottom-lines/articleshow/14780521.cms

Jaipur airport ranked No 1

In a survey conducted by Airports Council International this year, the Jaipur airport has emerged as the first among the 126 airports run by the Airports Authority of India.

Jaipur airport got its Terminal 2 having international facilities only two years ago.

Paul Manickum, director of Jaipur airport, talking to TOI on Monday, said: "The Airports Council International had conducted a survey of 126 airports which are being run by the AAI in India. This survey was based on 33 parameters in which our airport has been rated as No 1 in the country."

The 126 airports include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa and Chennai airports.

The 33 parameters include airport safety and security, immigration and customs, cleanliness, runways, facility of parking, catering etc, said Manickum.

"Since 2009, when Terminal 2 became operational, various teams including air traffic control (ATC), immigration and security officers were burning midnight oil to give the best of facilities to air travellers. This is a result of team effort and we will continue to provide the best of facilities," said Manickum.

On Tuesday, various stakeholders, whose contribution fetched good results to the AAI, Jaipur, would be felicitated.

"Jaipur MP Mahesh Joshi and officials of Rajasthan government would be present at the felicitation ceremony," Manickam added.

The authorities of AAI, Jaipur have already started working the extension of runway work to bring international flights to Jaipur which would also help gemstones and jewellery exporters who have their offices in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The work is expected to be completed within 18 months paving the way for landing of big aircraft including Boeing 747 and Airbus A 380. Presently, the Jaipur airport has a runaway of only 9,000 ft on which big aircraft including Boeing 747 and Airbus 380 can't operate.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Jaipur-airport-ranked-No-1/articleshow/14790701.cms

Malaysian Airlines to increase frequency in India

Malaysian flag carrier Malaysia Airlines is all set to increase frequency on its India route by offering day time service connecting its India hubs of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The airline will start these day time flights beginning September 1, it said.

To promote these flights Malysian Airlines is offering special rates for purchase of tickets from its website at discounted rates with an economy seat return fare of Rs 20,611 - Rs 25,816 from India to Malaysia.

The airline currently operates daily flights from Mumbai and other Indian cities. For the benefit of consumers, the new frequencies are timed to offer further improved connectivity options to Australia and New Zealand as well as destinations in the ASEAN countries, the airline said.

Together with the above services as well as 12 weekly services from New Delhi and daily service from Hyderabad, Malaysia Airlines provides a total of 50 weekly direct and full service flights between India and Malaysia, offering a total capacity of 14,456 seats in each direction, it said.

Malaysia Airlines' Regional Senior Vice President for South Asia and Middle East Mr Azahar Hamid said, "These are exciting times for those who regularly patronise our flights from Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. As part of our Business Plan strategy to win more customers, we have identified vast growth potential in the Indian routes and are now set to increasing our services offering more flight choices. With new aircraft, authentic Indian in-flight cuisine and Malaysian Hospitality delivered by our award winning crew as well as competitive pricing, we invite customers to take advantage of this winning proposition and cherish their travel experiences with us."

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/malaysian-airlines-to-increase-frequency-in-india/articleshow/14778302.cms

Pawan Hans will get 2 new copters

State-owned helicopter operator Pawan Hans will now have two new helicopters in its fleet, which will arrive by early August. Senior officials from Pawan Hans have confirmed to this newspaper that the company will soon receive two Mi-172 medium-lift helicopters, which will take the total fleet up to 47 copters. Leading copter-manufacturing company Kazan manufactures the Russian-made Mi series helicopters. The copters cost around $10 million (`50 crores) each as per the present market rate.

The two helicopters will arrive by air cargo at the Mumbai international airport in a transport or a cargo aircraft.

“The copters will arrive in a dismantled arrangement with all the spare parts and components. The rotors, main body, fuselage and engine will be separately packaged and will be assembled by our engineers and technicians from Kazan once they reach our base in Mumbai,” said a senior Pawan Hans official from Mumbai.

Another official from New Delhi said that they are yet to decide on the place to base the helicopters, which will most probably be the Northeast, where the company has transport and passengers services for the villagers in the inaccessible mountainous terrain.

“We will have a meeting to decide on their deployment after identifying the areas where we need additional fleet,” said the official.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/west/pawan-hans-will-get-2-new-copters-052

Global 6000 fly to India for demo tour

Canada-based Bombardier Aerospace said that its Global 6000 jet world tour has reached India as the aircraft with its new Vision Flight Deck made its South Asia debut. The aircraft landed in Delhi on July 1 and will continue to tour across the country until July 7, 2012.

India is among a number of countries considered by the firm to be key emerging markets for business aviation. The Bombardier Business Aircraft Market Forecast, published in June 2012, predicts business aviation industry deliveries of 1,345 aircraft in India for the 20-year period covering 2012-2031.

http://www.menafn.com/menafn/f9ee0a87-6768-4c9b-b6b7-bc1f91768f66/Global-6000-flies-to-India-for-demo-tour?src=main

Indian plane made emergency landing in Pakistan

An Air India plane made an emergency landing in Pakistan on Monday after experiencing a technical problem.

The Air India aircraft carrying 130 passengers and crew members landed safely at Nawab Shah Airport in southern Pakistan, said civil aviation spokesman Pervaiz George.

Pakistani officials were told to do everything needed to help the stranded passengers, George said. India sent a second plane that flew the passengers and crew back home.

Eight Indian aviation officials who arrived with the second aircraft will stay in Pakistan to do the repair work on the faulty plane and then fly it back to India, he said.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/09/3696823/indian-plane-makes-emergency-landing.html

Genpact to provide engineering services to aviation, energy, and oil and gas

BPO major Genpact said it will acquire US-based Triumph Engineering Corp, which provides engineering and technical services to aviation, energy, and oil and gas industries, for an undisclosed amount.

Triumph enhances Genpact's services portfolio for the infrastructure and manufacturing sector by adding capabilities in the large and high-growth segment of engineering and technical services, Genpact said in a statement.

"We are seeing a huge demand for engineering services in highly technology-intensive industries like aviation, energy and oil and gas.

"This acquisition will allow us to combine Triumph's onsite expertise and depth in engineering with our global scale, end-to-end process management, analytics, and technology capabilities to meet this growing demand," Genpact president and CEO NV Tyagarajan said.

As part of the deal, 90 Triumph employees will become part of Genpact's Infrastructure, Manufacturing and Services (IMS) vertical, it said.

"Our plan is to build out engineering centers of excellence (COEs) with an initial focus on the aviation and energy sectors, which we would later expand to cover other manufacturing segments," Tyagarajan said.

Triumph provides engineering services like product definition and design, product documentation and analysis. It also provides engineering IT services like product lifecycle management (PLM) implementation and customisation.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/genpact-buys-us-co-triumph-engineering/972161/2

Chinese company to buy Hawker Beechcraft: A big threat to Indian private Jet market

Struggling aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft announced that it had reached a $1.79 billion "exclusivity agreement" with a Chinese aerospace manufacturer for the sale of its business jet and general aviation operations in a deal that will save thousands of jobs in Kansas and Arkansas.

Under the agreement Beijing-based aerospace manufacturer Superior Aviation Beijing Co., Ltd., will buy Hawker Beechcraft and make payments over the next six weeks to support ongoing operations until the deal is finalized.

If the transaction is completed, Superior intends to maintain Hawker Beechcraft's existing operations while putting "substantial capital" into the company and its business and general aviation product line, saving thousands of American jobs, the company said.

"Importantly, this combination would give Hawker Beechcraft greater access to the Chinese business and general aviation marketplace, which is forecast to grow more than 10 percent a year for the next 10 to 15 years," Miller said.

Under the agreement, Superior intends to make Hawker Beechcraft its flagship investment, maintain its U.S. headquarters, management team and employees and continue product development throughout its lines. If the parties negotiate a definitive agreement during the 45-day exclusivity period, it would be subject to an auction, Hawker said.

Superior Aviation is 60 percent owned by Beijing Superior Aviation Technology Corp., Ltd, a closely held private entity, and 40 percent by Beijing E-Town International Investment & Development Corp., Ltd, a company controlled by the Beijing municipal government.

With this acquisition, China will maximize its services in general aviation and private Jets sector. Being one of the most attractive aviation markets, China may foresee increase in foreign investment in the general aviation sector in the near future; giving strong competition to Indian aviation market.

Indian travelers warming up to the concept of buying at airports

Indian aviation is likely to grow from strength to strength in the next few years, predicts a report compiled by Center For Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). The International traffic is expected to achieve a growth rate of 9.9% over the next ten years till 2021 to reach 96 million passengers.

The report said that the domestic passenger traffic is likely to grow even faster at 13% annually to hit 356 million by 2021. If aviation grows at the predicted rate, India would become the third largest aviation market in the world, behind only the USA and China.

"The Indian aviation sector is facing some short term challenges at present, however the underlying fundamentals remain strong," the report says.

This positive growth in the number of passengers will also augur well of the retail expansion at most Indian airports. The report said that current spending levels at Indian airports are low by international standards, and more inflow of passengers would help revenue from retail pick up in a big way.

"Indian travelers are still warming up to the concept of buying at airports. With more passengers, the level and the rate of purchase would go high. Also, airport like Mumbai, which is still constructing a second terminal, will fetch a lot of retail revenue once the new terminal opens up," an aviation analysts said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Indian-travelers-warming-up-to-the-concept-of-buying-at-airports-Report/articleshow/14745123.cms

Indian flights now much safer with new breath analyzer testing system

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed all Indian carriers to immediately stop using an old machine used for conducting breath analyzer tests on crew members before operating flights. In a recent missive to airlines, DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan has asked airlines to switch over to alco-sensor-IV system in place of the earlier version alco sensor-III.

"It has been observed that sample collection with alco sensor-III is subject to doctor's judgment due to which the equipment may not detect alcohol positive cases at times... All scheduled airlines are directed to discontinue the use of alco sensor-III with immediate effect... It has further been decided that calibration of alco sensor-IV or equivalent equipment shall be carried out by government agency or organizations approved by government agencies," the DGCA missive sent to all airlines recently said.

The decision to discontinue with the old machine was taken after the regulator discovered that it would pass any person who would simply not exhale into it by holding breath and thus would be given a clean chit. The new machine, on the other hand, has a system which would tell the doctor whether a crew member has blown into it or not and he or she would be pronounced sober only after that. Not blowing would not help them escape this test.

The new testing mechanism was decided after aviation authorities made the punishment for attempted drunken flying stringent by suspending licence for the first time offender and then suspending it for five years if the person is caught for the second time. A suspension for five years effectively means that the licence goes forever as all recencies expire.

Earlier, airlines would simply ground drunken crew members for a month or two each time they failed the breath test. This had no bearing on their flying licences. But now the fear of losing licence coupled with stricter checks is expected to make the skies a more sober and safer place to fly in.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-07/delhi/32576773_1_sensor-iv-alco-sensor-iii-dgca-chief-bharat-bhushan

India 3rd-most preferred FDI destination

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report for 2012 has named India as the third most desirable destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by global industrial giants.

Addressing mediapersons after unveiling the report here on Thursday, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) chief economist Nagesh Kumar said that the survey conducted in 179 companies ranked India behind China and the United States.

“They did a survey of 179 top global firms around the world and they asked their top destinations where they planned to invest between 2012 to 2014, and India ranked third in that survey. So after China and United States, India is the third most attractive destination as perceived by the global companies,” Kumar announced.

The report noted that FDI inflows rose by 33 percent in 2011 from 2010.

“In 2011, the FDI inflows to India went up to 32 billion dollar, which is 33 percent more than the FDI inflows coming to India in 2010. So this is good news certainly, which shows the potential of the country,” Kumar added.

Overseas investment in the country rose for the first time in three years in 2011, as global investors put their faith in rising salaries, an expanding middle-class and a large and cheap labour force.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/india-3rdmost-preferred-fdi-destination/971100/2