Flyers hit hard as Air India goes into contingency mode

The situation of flyers from Kerala to West Asia has worsened with Air India taking contingency measures to face the strike by its pilots owing allegiance to the Indian Pilots Guild.

The airline has reduced the frequency of some flights from here, Kochi and Kozhikode, cancelled some and combined a few of its flights to the Gulf countries with those of Air India Express. Dammam and Kuwait have been cut off from Kerala as the national carrier is not operating flights from the three airports to these destinations.

As many as 20 per cent of the flights of Air India and Air India Express from Kerala have been cancelled, airline sources toldThe Hindu. Of the 21 Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the Air India Express fleet, only 11 are flying.

The number of seats available on Air India and Air India Express flights from the State has thus come down drastically, forcing passengers to rush for tickets. Airline sources said the national carrier had stopped reservations to avoid hassles to the passengers.

The strike has come as a big blow to hundreds of passengers, mostly non-resident Keralites and job-seekers. Those travelling to Saudi Arabia have been hit the most as the national carrier has stopped all flights from Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi to the kingdom.

First, the two weekly Riyadh flights were reduced to one, citing crew shortage. Later, the service was operated only from Riyadh. Now, the service has been cancelled from June 13 to 28, citing VVIP movement.

The daily Dubai and Abu Dhabi flights from Thiruvananthapuram were combined and operated. Now, it is being operated only to Dubai and passengers are being transported to Abu Dhabi by road. The three weekly flights to Muscat have been reduced to two. Air India Express has cancelled one flight to Sharjah. Passengers to Dammam are being transported via Bahrain by road. The flights to Sharjah and the Maldives from Kerala have not been affected as they are operated by pilots of the erstwhile Indian. Sources said the airline was maintaining connectivity using the contingency plan to the Gulf destinations.

The national carrier used to have regular flights to Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al-Ain, Muscat, Salalah and Doha. Airline sources said a shortage of commanders was the main reason for the cancellation and combining of flights.

Many passengers take flights of foreign airlines, even if the times are not convenient and the connectivity offered is poor.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article3521861.ece

EU emissions tax on airlines can spark trade war: IATA

Retaliation may be in the form of limiting over-flights, slowing orders for aircraft

Beijing, June 12:

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned on Tuesday that some countries may be on the brink of launching a retaliatory trade war against the decision of the European Union to include air travel in the emission trading scheme. The new scheme came into effect from January 1 this year.

“I think we are on the brink of something like that (retaliatory trade war) happening. There have been warning signs that states may be looking in terms of slowing down approvals for purchase of new aircraft from European manufacturers, to limiting the number of over-flights,” said Mr Paul Steele, IATA's Director, Aviation Environment.

IATA officials indicated that there were many different approaches that the 30 countries opposing the move may choose.

“We want to avoid that (retaliatory trade war) and are calling on all parties to get back on the table in the International Civil Aviation Organisation and hammer out a solution. We hope very much that some progress on that will be made in the next few months. It is an extremely charged situation right now,” Mr Steele added.

Global fight

India, China, Russia, and to some extent, the US are in the forefront of the global fight against the imposition of the EU Emission Trading Scheme.

The EU-ETS requires airlines flying into Europe to pay a carbon credit tax. What is angering the global governments is that the amount of tax that has to be paid is also measured for the portion of the flight that takes place outside Europe.

So, airlines from India will have to pay the tax from the time they start their engines in India till they land in Europe. IATA officials indicated that those opposed to the EU-ETS were looking to Europe to take some “tangible steps” back from the implementation plan as it stands right now.

They added that there were certain milestones which had to be viewed very carefully. “April 30, 2013 is when airlines are supposed to surrender emission permits to their competent authorities. In the international negotiations, the next big meeting is in September-October next year,” officials said.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/article3521088.ece