Grounded Dreamliners take toll on AI budget

Grounded Dreamliners take toll on AI budget Grounding increases govt carrier?s fuel cost by Rs 40 lakh daily, forces changes in schedules

Air India’s (AI) grounding of its Boeing-787 Dreamliners has already started adding to the airlines’ fuel cost by around Rs 40 lakh daily, apart from forcing changes in flight schedules, said a senior Air India official. It has been a week since the United States’ regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), asked airlines around the world to ground B787s due to battery problems.

“Though the upward movement of fuel bills is hardly one per cent of Air India’s annual fuel bill of around Rs 6,700 crore, prolonged grounding will definitely impact us. The impact is not that much as AI has very limited international operations involving B-787s,” said a senior Air India official.

Air India has six Boeing 787s and was operating them on three domestic routes (Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata) and three international ones (Dubai, Frankfurt and Paris). The airline is due to receive two more B787s in January and February. The decision to induct them will hinge on how the US aircraft maker addresses safety concerns.
 

WHITE ELEPHANTS?

A week ago, the US regulator, Federal Aviation Administration, asked airlines around the world to ground Boeing 787s due to battery problems Senior Air India official says prolonged grounding would affect the airline Air India has six Boeing 787s The aircraft are deployed on three domestic routes (Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata) and three international ones (Dubai, Frankfurt and Paris)  The airline is due to receive two more 787s in January and February. The decision to induct these will hinge on how the US aircraft maker addresses safety concerns

The airline deployed a Boeing 747-400 plane on the Delhi-Dubai route and clubbed the Paris and Frankfurt routes using a Boeing 777.

The turnaround plan of the loss-making government carrier largely banks on the operations of medium-haul Dreamliners, as the plane is claimed to be 20 per cent more fuel efficient, and do away with a route and plane mismatch in Air India’s operations.

Air India introduced the Boeing 787 on routes like Frankfurt because of better route economics. By deploying the B777 on these routes, the advantage of fuel efficiency is lost.

Though the civil aviation ministry has expressed that US manufacturer Boeing would have to pay compensation to Air India, the amount has not been decided. "The amount of the compensation would take into consideration the number of flights, passenger load factor and average fares on those routes," said a senior civil aviation ministry official.

http://business-standard.com/india/news/grounded-dreamliners-take-tollai-budget/499923/

Dreamliner: In sleep mode

The ‘Dreamliner’ no longer pulls out of its hangar in Delhi at 4 a.m. to be loaded with sumptuous south Indian breakfast for its daily run to Chennai. For more than a week now, Air India’s Boeing 787 aircraft have remained parked in hangars around the country after American watchdog Federal Aviation Administration raised safety concerns. The fleet of six 787s was grounded just under four months after the aircraft’s inaugural flight between the Capital and Chennai.

However, it is not just the Indian airline but also two Japanese carriers — ANA and Japan Airlines — and the Ethiopian, Lan Chile and United that have grounded their fleets due to safety concerns.

But that’s small consolation for the legions of 787 aficionados in India, who felt cheated when the aircraft that was inducted after a delay of three years did not stay in air beyond just four months.

There was anyway only a small window of opportunity for domestic flyers to experience the 787 as Air India’s long-term plan is to deploy them on long-haul international flights. The airline is likely to get 27 planes until 2016. At the time of grounding, it was already flying them to Frankfurt, Paris and Dubai from Delhi. Internationally, too, the 787 is deployed mainly for long-haul flights.

Air India’s decision to induct the 787 was preceded by great hype as it was the first airline in India to go in for this newest generation of civilian aircraft. Jet Airways too has ordered the 787s, but its deliveries will take longer.

The national carrier had taken out full-page advertisements, offered special inaugural fares, and even had its pilots emerge from the cockpit to explain to flyers the advantages of the aircraft. Those who experienced the flight readily testified that it had the potential to transform the image of the State-owned airline reviled for its ageing, decrepit fleet.

Besides Delhi-Chennai, the Dreamliner was flying daily between Delhi and Kolkata, apart from two runs to Bangalore.

Many in India saw the 787 as US-based Boeing’s answer to European manufacturer Airbus Industrie’s A380, the world’s largest civilian aircraft. The country has not permitted international airlines to fly the A380 into any Indian airport, denying flyers the experience of this double-decker, which can seat over 500 on a single flight.

The Boeing 787 did not lag far either, when it came to on-board offerings. Business class flyers on the early morning run between Delhi and Chennai could catch up on sleep comfortably on a seat that converts into a full flat bed — a first for domestic flights in India.

But the pampering is not restricted to the 18 flyers in business class. For those in economy, too, it meant arriving fresher at their destination thanks to the newest technology the aircraft uses. The cabin pressure is equivalent to air pressure at 6,000 ft, as compared to 8,000 ft in other aircraft. This means less likelihood of headaches or fatigue resulting from long-haul flights.

The other attractions are the large windows with the option of electronically dimming the brightness from sunshine to darkness in about 60 seconds.

The Dreamliner is also environment-friendly — 15 per cent less fuel consumption than other similar-sized aircraft and 20 per cent less emission. It has a high-efficiency particulate air filter that not only removes bacteria and viruses but also recycles air every 30 minutes, leaving the cabin air cleaner than in most other commercial aircraft. The presence of a system that senses turbulence and commands the wing control surface to counter it ensures a smooth flight.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-oncampus/dreamliner-in-sleep-mode/article4341391.ece

You can sip Starbucks coffee at Delhi airport now

Mumbai, Jan. 24:  

Tata Starbucks Ltd, the 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages Ltd, has entered Delhi with two stores at the New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport.

 Starbucks entered India in October 2012 and has four stores in Mumbai.

Avani Saglani Davda, CEO, Tata Starbucks Ltd, stated, “We look forward to extending the unique Starbucks Experience and meeting the increasing demand for high quality coffee within travel channels in India. With the entry into this segment, Starbucks will offer a differentiated breakfast menu that is carefully selected to cater to travellers, while providing an inviting and relaxed atmosphere to enjoy the legendary Starbucks Experience while in transit.”

The store will be open 24 hours at the international terminal and from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the domestic terminal. Starbucks plans to launch Starbucks at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai by the end of March 2013.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-marketing/you-can-sip-starbucks-coffee-at-delhi-airport-now/article4341459.ece

Cargo airlines meet to discuss investment in IT systems

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 24:  

Representatives of leading global freighter airlines have assembled here for a two-day brainstorming session beginning Thursday.

The meeting would discuss key issues currently shaping the fortunes of the global air cargo industry, a spokesman of IBS Software Services, hosts of the event, said here.

CRUCIAL ISSUES

IBS is a leading player providing solutions for the travel, transport and logistics sector and is based at Technopark here. Industry stalwarts will share insights on critical challenges facing the industry and focus on how advancements in technology could be leveraged to optimise costs and improve yields. Other topics of discussion include digitisation of air cargo supply chain, ‘Cargo 2000’ (quality standards for supply chain) and implementation of e-freight. These topics assume significance in the context of a two per cent decline in air cargo traffic worldwide during 2012 and the need to reign in costs.

MAJOR AIRLINES

The conference would see the coming together of over 30 senior executives, the spokesman said. Apart from global head of logistics from Air Astana, other airlines being represented include All Nippon Airways, British Airways, IndiGo, International Air Cargo Terminal, Lufthansa Cargo, Nippon Cargo Airlines, Qantas Freight, South African Airways and Turkish Cargo.

FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE

The two-day session here is expected to make a clarion call for the entire air cargo industry to make investments in new IT systems to bring about a fundamental change in the way business is done. This is not only critical to make air cargo industry more profitable but also to make cargo movement paperless, something which the industry body IATA aims to achieve by 2015.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-logistics/cargo-airlines-meet-to-discuss-investment-in-it-systems/article4341458.ece

New Kolkata airport terminal may take more time to be fully operational

Kolkata, Jan 24:  

The new integrated terminal of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, may take more than two months to be fully operational with all the promised facilities in place. On January 19, Airports Authority of India said that the airport would be operational by March.

According to sources in AAI, while an in-line baggage system will take at least five months to be installed; trials for a speedy check-in at peak hours are yet to be conducted. Normally such trials take a minimum of two months to declare readiness of the airport.

“We are in the process of acquiring equipment for in-line baggage system. The system will be installed within five months. For the time being the existing baggage handling system will continue,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “Passengers’ convenience is yet to be checked as no trial for speedy check-in has been conducted yet,” he added. Meanwhile, according to him, the lounge for international flyers taking a halt needs to be built soon.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-logistics/new-kolkata-airport-terminal-may-take-more-time-to-be-fully-operational/article4341455.ece