Contempt notice issued to Air India pilots

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued a contempt notice to 67 striking Air India pilots and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) for not complying with its order not to continue the "illegal strike".

Justice Reva Khetrapal listed the matter for next hearing July 13.

Among the 68 respondents, notices were also issued to IPG president Jitender Ahwad, vice president Jamshed Menon, general secretary E. Kapadia.

Air India moved a contempt petition in the court against the striking pilots for disobeying its earlier order.

The court had May 9 restrained over 100 pilots, owing allegiance to IPG, an association of Air India pilots, from continuing the strike over the rescheduling of Boeing 787 Dreamliner training and matters relating to their career progression.

During the hearing, the court noted that the strike was causing a "huge loss to the exchequer".

Expressing its displeasure for not complying with the court order to discontinue the strike, the court said: "I still feel that better sense will prevail on the pilots."

"Nobody is concerned with the plight of the passengers," the court added.

Meanwhile, advocate Lalit Bhasin, appearing for Air India, also told the court that IPG had released a statement Wednesday indicating it would continue the strike.

On May 17, a division bench of the Delhi High Court dismissed the IPG plea that challenged the court's order restraining the pilots from going on an "illegal strike".

Coming down heavily on the pilots, the division bench had said they could not "wilfully and flagrantly" disobey its orders to end their "illegal" strike and may face action for contempt of court.

http://expressbuzz.com/nation/contempt-notice-issued-to-air-india-pilots/394603.html

We are ready to take back pilots case by case, says Ajit Singh

Assure us that our demands will be discussed, we'll join duty right now: pilots

Extending an olive branch in an effort to end the fortnight long strike, Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh on Wednesday offered to take back the 101 sacked Air India pilots on a case-by-case basis. He made a fresh appeal to the protesters to return to work.

In a related development, the Delhi High Court slapped contempt notices on 67 pilots and their union for disobeying court orders.

"There is no bar on taking anybody back but it will be done on a case-by-case basis. We have said it again and again that we are willing to talk and I have committed that in Parliament. Please come back to work. There will be no victimisation. They are not willing to talk unconditionally. They have conditions. It is an illegal strike. Air India management was taking whatever action they need to take," Mr. Singh told journalists here.

Mr. Singh said if the pilots make any credible complaint, we will examine it and take action. "What they have said in the press, they have not given to me as a complaint. Any credible complaint will be looked into," he remarked.

“Ready for talks, reinstate pilots first”

In a chat with reporters here, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) said they were willing to enter into talks with the Minister if the sack orders were withdrawn. "The Minister has not been or is not being briefed properly by the management on the issue. We are ready for talks and they know our mobile numbers also. We are only a call away. Give us an assurance that our demands will be discussed. We are willing to join duty right now. It can be done in 15 minutes. We are not putting a gun on anyhone’s head or ever intend to do so,’’ the IPG joint secretary, Tauseef Mukadam said.

So far, services of 101 pilots have been terminated for reporting sick and not joining duty. The Air India management is disinclined to take back nearly a dozen office bearers of the IPG, which has been de-recognised. "There is a clear disconnect between what the Minister has said in Parliament that there will be no victimisation and what the management was doing by sacking 101 pilots," Mr. Mukadam said.

Badly impacted by the 14-day long strike, Air India is operating a curtailed international flight schedule as part of a contingency plan and stopped taking fresh bookings till June 1.

The pilots are agitating over the rescheduling of Boeing 787 Dreamliner training and matters relating to their career progression. The IPG also accused the airline management of financial irregularities in leasing of planes, saying that the airline had incurred a loss of Rs. 4,324.28 crore over five years from 2005 on account of leased aircraft operations alone.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3449017.ece

Survey for Airport-Seaport road second phase begins

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Kochi, May 23:

The Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) has started survey for the second phase of developing the Airport-Seaport road.

A four-lane road is being built from HMT Junction in Kalamassery to the international airport. The project along the 15-km stretch is expected to be completed in four years' time.

The State Minister for Public Works, Mr V.K. Ibrahim Kunju, inaugurated the survey for the extension work. The survey will initially be carried out up to the Naval Armament Depot and this would be completed in 10 days.

A total of 13.65 hectares of land is required for the project. The total project cost for the airport extension is estimated at Rs 662 crore, including land acquisition.

Except for a few modifications of the proposed alignment near the airport's golf course, there will not be any change in the project.

According to officials, bridges would be constructed at Thottumugham Mahilalaya Junction and Turuth, in two years' time.

The government has allotted Rs 45 crore for the survey and first phase of road development. The existing stretch from Karingachira to Kalamassery will be widened into four-lane after the Kalamassery-Airport stretch is ready.

Land acquisition for this will be minimal, since land is available in most places, the officials said.

The extension of the road up to the airport will considerably decongest the Aroor-Edapally NH Bypass and also the Ernakulam-Aluva stretch of NH 47.

RBDCK will also initiate steps to straighten the accident-prone Poojari Valavu and 55 cents of land will be acquired for this. A compensation of Rs 10.50 lakh per cent has been fixed for plots on the road side.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-states/article3450090.ece

Expansion of hotels near Delhi airport will put pressure on rates

New Delhi, May 23:

The next battle between leading hospitality players will be fought out at the Aerocity project adjoining Delhi airport. A massive addition to the number of rooms is also likely to put severe pressure on hotel room rates in the NCR region.

The area will see nearly 4,800 rooms opening up in phases in the next 30 months. Nearly 13 hotels in various categories are expected to come up, with the first few starting operations by this year end.

While French hotel Company Accor's economy brand Ibis is expected to be the first one to open in the area this year, JW Marriott is targeting a November opening. Lemon Tree Hotels is set to open two hotels under the brand Lemon Tree and Red Fox by the end of this year. This will mean that nearly 1,452 rooms will be added to the region's hotel room inventory by end of this year or beginning of next year.

“In the next 30 months over 4,000 rooms are expected to open in Delhi Aerocity. With the demand in the NCR region and Faridabad growing at 18 per cent and the addition of supply at 30 per cent, it would create a situation of oversupply for the next 2-3 years in the region,” said Mr Rahul Pandit, CEO, Lemon Tree Hotels.

This is expected to put pressure on average room rates that the city hotels will be able to command this winter season, say analysts. The NCR region is estimated to currently have a room inventory of about 12,000 hotel rooms.

“The non-branded hotels near the airport do not charge less than Rs 3,000-4,000 a night. It is the hotels within New Delhi that are most likely to be impacted in the short term, rather than hotels in Gurgaon,” said Mr Siddharth Thaker, Managing Partner at Prognosis Global Consulting. But he added that the region will also be creating new demand for hotels due to the commercial spaces being constructed there.

Out of the 4,800 room inventory, nearly 1,000 rooms will be contributed by Accor's three hotels under brands Ibis, Novotel and Pullman. “Gurgaon, New Delhi and Noida have emerged as three different micro-markets. Hotels at the Delhi Aerocity project are not likely to impact the Gurgaon hotels,” said Mr Scott Davies, General Manager Delegate Delhi & NCR and Hotel Operations Accor said.

Hyatt Hotels will also introduce its boutique hotel brand Andaz being constructed by Juniper Hotels Pvt Ltd. American brand MGM is also going to debut in India under its brand MGM Grand. Nearly 3,000 rooms are expected to come up at the site in 2014 with some hotels opening next year.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-marketing/article3450057.ece

Air India likely to be worst performer in 2012-13'

New Delhi, May 23:

In the 12 months ending March 31, 2013, Air India is once again expected to be the worst performer in the industry and to report a loss of Rs 700 crore.

This has been brought out in the report ‘India Outlook 2012/13' prepared by the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation. The study shows that Kingfisher Airlines is projected to lose Rs 120-140 crore, although the remaining four private carriers combined could post a modest profit of approximately Rs 110 crore.

The estimates are based on assumptions for the whole year of an average brent crude price of $120-125 a barrel, and an exchange rate of Rs 51-52 to the dollar.

Advantage Jet Airways

Although the troubles facing Air India and Kingfisher Airlines have been positive for all of the other carriers, Jet Airways has been, and will continue to be, the largest beneficiary, the study states.

The study does not rule out a temporary shut down in Air India. “The government appears to be preparing to adopt a firm stance, limiting discussions with the unions and it may not shy away from a watershed moment in the next 2-3 months after the report is accepted by the Government, which could include a temporary shutdown of the airline,” the study adds.

The study is of the opinion that Kingfisher Airlines' revival is completely dependent on foreign airline investment being permitted to invest in the domestic aviation sector.

CAPA expects Jet Airways could place a large narrow-body order for over 100 aircraft in FY12/13 to meet both replacement and growth requirements.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/article3450022.ece

CAG: Undue favour shown to Delhi International Airport

Land given at a highly concessional lease rent

New Delhi, May 23:

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has claimed that Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) was given Delhi airport land at a highly concessional lease rent.

With an equity contribution of Rs 2,450 crore, of which the private consortium share was Rs 1,813 crore, DIAL got Delhi airport for 60 years as well as commercial land rights worth Rs 24,000 crore with the potential of earning Rs 1,63,557 crore, according to its own estimates.

DIAL is a joint venture consortium in which the GMR Group holds 54 per cent, Airports Authority of India (AAI) 26 per cent, Frankfurt and Malaysian airports 10 per cent each. GMR is the lead member of the consortium, Frankfurt airport is the airport operator, Malaysia airport is the retail advisor. In January 2006, the consortium was awarded the concession to operate, manage and develop the IGI Airport following an international competitive bidding process.

The draft CAG report says that DIAL was leased 4,799.09 acre by the AAI, of which 239.95 acre was allowed for commercial exploitation for Rs 100 a year.

This despite the airport operator's own estimate that the potential earning from the land amounts to Rs 1,63,557 crore, the report said. This is based on DIAL's assumption of Rs 681.63 crore an acre as licence fee over the 58-year licence period.

The CAG report was to be tabled in the Parliament session which ended on Tuesday but could not be. DIAL was not available for comments.

“The Ministry of Civil Aviation allowed DIAL to use 239.95 acres of land for commercial exploitation at a consideration for one time payment of Rs 31 lakh and an annual payment of Rs 100 only,” the report adds.

The report points out that the decision to levy a development fee after the effective date ``vitiated the sanctity” of the bidding process, as the draft OMDA, which was part of the bid documents, did not mention funding of the project cost of the airport through levy of development fee.

The report stated that in case the joint venture was to have been permitted to levy development fund to finance the project after signing of Operation, Management, Development Agreement (OMDA), this important condition should have been known upfront to all bidders at the time of bidding.

“Approval of the Ministry and later Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) for levy of DF by DIAL (to bridge the funding gap) was a post contractual benefit provided to DIAL which was neither envisaged in the Request for Proposal nor included under provisions of OMDA or in the State Support Agreement. This led to undue benefits to DIAL at the cost of passengers who were taxed for using Delhi airport through levy of DF amounting to Rs 3415.35 crore,” the report adds.

The report states that 4608.9 acres was leased to the airport company on an `as is where is basis' on a concessional lease rent of Rs 100. If the rate applicable to DGCA and BCAS had been applied, DIAL would have had to pay Rs 1,461 crore, it said.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/article3450014.ece

Willing to talk without pre-conditions: Ajit Singh

Take back terminated pilots, say pilots guild representatives

New Delhi, May 23:

The Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Ajit Singh, has said that he is willing to talk to any one provided no conditions are put for the talks being held.

The Minister was speaking to newspersons shortly after agitating Air India pilots said that they were willing to talk with Mr Singh as long as the 101 pilots, who had been terminated, were taken back. Mr Singh said that at least one sacked AI pilot was taken back by the management yesterday. The Minister added that the pilots cannot expect talks to be held as long as the agitation continued.

Earlier, addressing a press conference, the Indian Pilot Guild's, Joint Secretary, Captain Tauseef Mucadam, said, “We don't want our core demands to be met right now. Take back the pilots and give us an assurance that these demands will be discussed. We are not putting a gun on anyone's head or ever intend to do so. We are willing to join duty right now. It can be done in 15 minutes.”

Captain Tauseef and three other office-bearers claimed that they were ready to write another letter to the Minister seeking time to discuss various issues. The over two-week long strike is causing daily revenue loss of between Rs 12 and 15 crore to Air India.

Giving the indication that there was greater acceptance for the agitation, IPG claimed that eight pilots who had gone to Singapore for training on the Boeing 787 had, on their return, joined the industrial action. IPG officials said the management's proposed decision to go in for wet lease of aircraft could lead to more financial trouble and claimed that earlier decisions to lease aircraft had been a huge financial burden on the airline.

IPG officials claimed that they were seeking the same treatment that was meted out to a similar agitation that was carried out by Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) whose membership largely consists of Indian pilots.

ICPA called off the agitation after the Association was re-recognised and its terminated members taken back.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court issued contempt notices to pilots who reported sick after the 9 {+t} {+h} May order of the single judge Bench declaring the strike illegal.

Late tonight, Air India decided to extend the contingency plan till the end of June. Earlier, the contingency plan was in place till June 1.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/article3450013.ece