Qatar Airways, IndiGo in code-share talks

Qatar Airways is in talks with IndiGo for a code-share alliance that would allow the Gulf-based airline to spread its network to more Indian cities, taking on the Jet-Etihad combine for a larger pie of India’s international traffic.IndiGo, the country’s largest domestic airline by market share, did not respond to a query. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, interacting with the media on the sidelines of a travel show in Dubai yesterday, had confirmed talks were on with the Indian carrier. The code sharing would allow Qatar to place its code on the domestic and international flights of IndiGo, which has a fleet of over 60 Airbus 320 planes. The move could help Qatar increase its revenue and network from India.Earlier, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, which went on to buy a 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways, had also entered into a code-share agreement with the Indian partner for a few cities.After the civil aviation ministry recently increased the seat capacity between India and Abu Dhabi from 13,000 a week to over 50,000, the Qatar government, too, asked for a major increase in seat capacity between India and Doha — by 48,000 a week. If cleared, this could help Doha, with 72,600 seats a week, emerge as an alternative hub to Dubai, as well as Abu Dhabi.At present, Qatar Airways operates 95 flights to 12 Indian cities. If the code-share agreement is sealed, it would be able to bring in passengers seamlessly from the 28 domestic destinations through which IndiGo flies to Qatar’s hubs in India, from where they can fly to Doha and beyond. IndiGo still does not fly directly to Doha; its request for 2,500 seats a week is pending with the government.However, unlike in the Jet-Etihad code sharing where both the parties were full-service carriers, in this case, Qatar is a full-service player and IndiGo a low-cost carrier (LCC). Typically, there are difficulties in forging such an agreement between an LCC and a full-service player, given the varying needs of the two models.
“Yes, we are talking to IndiGo to see how we can strike a relationship. IndiGo is an airline that is not for sale. We only want to do a code-share partnership. And, we want to get into a situation where we work together, because it is the best airline in India today. I am in touch with IndiGo’s co-founder Rahul Bhatia. We hope we will be doing this soon,” Al Baker told Dubai-based Gulf News. “We have very high regard for IndiGo. I think it’s the most efficiently-run airline,” he added.He denied his airline was looking to invest in any Indian carrier. “I don’t have so much money to buy stakes in airlines. I never talked about SpiceJet or GoAir. We are not interested in either. The brokers or the shareholders create these rumours to increase the value of their shares.”
WHAT’S A CODE-SHARE ALLIANCE?
• Full-service airlines build networks in two ways — deploying own capacity or partnering with other airlines through commercial agreements. These include interline agreements and code sharing, which allow an airline to sell tickets on flights operated by other airlines
• Interline is an arrangement to sell tickets, while a code share is like a commitment for it
• In a code share, one (marketing) airline places its code on flights operated by the other airline
• In terms of revenues, a code share gives an airline better options than an interline agreement, as it allows sale of tickets in more fare slabs than in an interline agreement
• Frequent flyers get to earn miles in a code-share alliance, unlike in an interline arrangement
• http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/qatar-airways-indigo-in-code-share-talks-113050700233_1.html

DGCA lifts ban on Dreamliner

New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday allowed resumption of operations of the Boeing 787 dreamliner aircraft, by issuing an order lifting the ban on operations of the aircraft in India.The test-flights (without passengers) of Air India’s dreamliner aircraft are likely to start from Wednesday and Air India is hoping to resume flights with passengers from May 16.Air India has so far taken possession of six dreamliners from Boeing out of a total order of 27 aircraft that was placed a few years ago.The DGCA had in January this year, grounded Air India’s six Boeing 787 dreamliner aircraft following the emergency airworthiness directive iss-ued by the United States’ Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) that operations of the aircraft be “temporarily ceased”.The FAA had then said there was a “potential battery fire risk” in the Boeing 787 dreamliners that “requires operators to temporarily cease operations”. The DGCA lifted the ban on Tuesday after a lengthy presentation by Boeing at the DGCA headquarters in New Delhi on replacement of batteries in the dreamliner aircraft.
“They (Boeing) are replacing the battery systems. Their engineers are alre-ady working at it. They have replaced the battery system in one dreamliner aircraft already.The replacement is being done by Boeing in accordance with the FAA suggestions on the matter,” top DGCA sources told this newspaper on Tuesday. The Air India board also met and is understood to have discussed the issue of re-sumption of Boeing 787 dreamliner operations.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130508/news-businesstech/article/dgca-lifts-ban-dreamliner
 

Air India to lease 19 Airbus A-320 aircraft

Air India plans to lease 19 Airbus A-320 aircraft, which will be able to fly 180 passengers in an all-economy configuration. The proposal to lease the aircraft, which will replace the same number of A-320 aircraft being phased out, was approved at the airline’s board meeting here on Tuesday. The aircraft being phased out were acquired as part of an order placed by Indian Airlines in 1989; 14 of the A-320s being phased out are owned by Air India, while five are leased.
While the owned aircraft will be sold, the leased ones will be returned after the agreements lapse. The induction of the leased capacity, which is expected to begin in the third quarter of this fiscal, will see an increase in seats being offered by the airline. Each of the aircraft being phased out offers seats ranging from 144 to 168.
The new aircraft will seat 180 passengers and help the airline fight competition from low-cost airlines that fly passengers in an all-economy class configuration.
Boeing 787
The airline plans to restart operations of the Boeing 787 soon, flying it on domestic routes in about a week and on international operations within two weeks, the board was informed. Air India, like many global airlines, will receive compensation for the grounding of the 787s, or Dreamliners as they are better known.
Sources indicated that the compensation would be decided after calculating the revenue loss to the airline based on a formula that calculates how much average revenue the airline would have earned had the aircraft been in service. Air India grounded the six 787s on January 17. Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had indicated that Air India was incurring a loss of Rs 20 crore a week.While Air India has not mentioned how much compensation it is likely to receive from Boeing for the grounding, news reports quote Qatar Airways as saying it will receive compensation from Boeing for $200 million in lost revenues. Qatar Airways has five Boeing 787 aircraft while Air India has six Dreamliners in its fleet. Meanwhile, Air India has informed travel agents that the decision to start charging passengers for checked-in bags of over 15 kg would apply on tickets sold after May 13
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/air-india-to-lease-19-airbus-a320-aircraft/article4692902.ece