Air India, Jet to levy fee on bookings through travel agents

Mumbai, July 18:

Booking an air ticket of Air India and Jet Airways through a travel agent just got costlier.

From July 16, the two airlines will charge a transaction fee on tickets booked through travel agents, even as they have cut the travel agent commission from three to one per cent.

Agents irked

The move has irked travel agents who are reeling under dwindling commissions. The ticketing business is unviable, say agents.

They pointed out they are now focussing more on low-cost carriers that give around six per cent commission on tickets. “At such times, when the aviation industry is going through a turbulent phase and there is high competition, this move will only backfire on the airline companies.

“In fact, the major beneficiaries of this situation will be the low-cost carriers, which are getting stronger day-by-day,” said Mr Iqbal Mulla, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).

Switch to low-cost

“Why should we promote Air India or Jet Airways? It is a survival issue for us. We would rather promote air ticket bookings on low-cost carriers now,” said a travel agent of Mumbai-based Cosmos Agencies.

Nearly 65 per cent of air ticket bookings is done through travel agents.

Fee list

According to the transaction fee list sent by Air India, the fee on domestic tickets for economy class is Rs 225 and business class Rs 325.

Whereas on international tickets (Dubai to Singapore), the transaction fee will be Rs 775 on economy class, Rs 1,300 on business class, and Rs 3,250 on first class.

The fee for distant destinations such as the US and Europe will be Rs 1,625 on economy class, Rs 3,250 on business class and Rs 6,500 on first class tickets.

Jet Airways too will levy similar fees.

The commission tussle between airlines and travel agents has been on for quite some time.

Earlier, the commission used to be nine per cent,before dropping to three per cent.

Travel agents fear that their volumes will go down.

“More than 50 per cent of travel agents across India will be affected by this. Smaller agents may go out of business,” said Mr Mulla.

TAAI has more than 2,700 members across India.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-logistics/article3654839.ece

Airport Metro is unsafe, Reliance Infra told ministry

Days before the Airport Metro Express was shut down temporarily, its operator Reliance Infrastructure had warned the Urban Development Ministry that the operation of the line was “unsafe” and slowing down of speed was “adversely impacting” it financially.

Operations on the 23-km high-speed corridor were suspended on July 8 after Reliance Infra detected cracks on the civil structure that were built by the Delhi Metro as part of the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) agreement.

However, the Delhi Metro had countered the argument saying the defective civil work issue is being “played up” by the Reliance Infra “in order to create a case for getting out of the Concession Agreement.”

These observations are made in a Status Report on the corridor that Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath had sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 11.

Reliance Infra officials had met Urban Development Secretary Sudhir Krishna and handed over a set of photographs showing defects in civil structure, he said.

“DAMEPL (Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited) informed that the operation of the project is not only unsafe but also dangerous to life and property and as advised by DMRC was continuing to operate the services at a reduced speed.

“However, due to the decrease in speed, the ridership had been reduced substantially, thereby adversely impacting the project financials,” Nath said, quoting a letter from DAMEPL on June 22. PTI

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/article3651325.ece

Passenger dies during flight

19-year-old youth ‘suffers’ cardiac arrest

Police waived the compulsory autopsy rule in respect of a Dubai resident who died of a heart stroke on an Emirates flight, which made an emergency landing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday.

The passenger identified as Ali Ibrahim Parvwish Sangoor Al-Valooshi (19), was on his way to Bangkok from Dubai, for treatment of obesity. The Emirates flight Ek-374 made the emergency landing after he developed health complications. The pilots radioed the RGIA control and sought permission for emergency landing.

A medical team headed by doctors of Apollo clinic at RGIA was on the standby when the aircraft landed at 5.04 a.m. The doctor who went aboard examined Al-Valooshi and declared him dead. He is believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest and breathed his last. Following this declaration, the body was deplaned and his family members terminated their travel plans. The body was shifted to the RGIA clinic and police called in.

Technically, Section 174 of Cr.P.C empowers the police to issue a first information report on any suspicious death and investigate the cause of death by way of examining the body and ask for an autopsy report from a forensic expert. What seemed to have convinced the police to waive the compulsory autopsy rule in this case was a letter given by the young man’s father, Ibrahim declaring that he did not suspect any foul play in the death. The body was embalmed in Osmania General Hospital. The relatives are waiting to take it back to Dubai in the first available flight out of Hyderabad.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article3651884.ece

Ajit Singh rules out bailout of Kingfisher

Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh on Tuesday ruled out bailout of Kingfisher Airlines.

“We are concerned that assets are tied up and lots of jobs are at stake, but a bailout is neither possible nor being considered,” he told reporters after a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee (PCC) of the Ministry. “It is for the owners of the airline to mobilise resources and make the airline fully operational.”

Confirming that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is “doing an intensive audit” of Kingfisher’s fleet, he said, “As long as they are flying safe and they have a certain minimum amount of equity, the Government cannot close it down.”

Mr. Singh said a bill to “strengthen and replace” the DGCA would be placed before Parliament in the winter session.

The cost of flying was high in India, mainly because of the high cost of aviation turbine fuel, which accounted for about 45 per cent of the operational cost of airlines.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3651510.ece

TCS bags multi-year outsourcing deal from Scandinavian Airlines

Bangalore, July 17:

In a further push to its non-linear strategy, TCS has bagged a multi-year outsourcing deal from Scandinavian Airlines (SAS).

According to the deal, SAS will adopt finance and accounting (F&A) platform of TCS for its operations across 30 countries.

This platform provides pre-built and pre-configured financial processes, tools, similar to buying software off-the-shelf, which is being increasingly considered by companies to increase efficiency and speed of implementation.

It will be provisioned through a Cloud computing model including infrastructure, applications, IT maintenance and multiple platform developments over the duration of the engagement. TCS did not divulge the value of the deal.

The platform is also designed to conform to the latest global statutory and legal norms such as IFRS and GAAP.

SAS is the Scandinavian region’s largest airline and is considered the most punctual airline in Europe. Analysts consider this deal to be another push into the non-linear strategy pursued by TCS.

“Revenue from travel and hospitality has grown by 3 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 over the previous quarter and 28 per cent compared to the same period during FY12. This non-linear strategy involves the setting up of a platform for a particular vertical (e.g. airlines) and replicating it for others across other geographies.

TCS will be paid by SAS on accuracy, timeliness and financial gains that SAS accrues over the duration of the deal.

“The TCS F&A platform, with its metrics-driven delivery model, will assure SAS of accuracy, timeliness and total control over its financial processes,” said Mr Raj Agrawal, Global Head of TCS Platform Solutions.

TCS has presence in the Nordic region with over 4,500 professionals working across Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article3648625.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy

Emirates flight makes emergency landing

Hyderabad, July 17:

An Emirates flight from Dubai to Bangkok had to make a medical emergency landing at Rajiv Gandhi International airport in Hyderabad after a passenger suffered a heart attack on board. The flight, EK 374, landed at the airport at about 5a.m. Doctors from Apollo Hospital examined the passenger and declared him dead. The body was shifted to Apollo. The flight took off for Bangkok at 6.21 a.m., airport officials said.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-states/article3650746.ece

Arun Mishra to be new DGCA

New Delhi, July 17:

The Government on Monday cleared the name of Mr Arun Mishra for the post of Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). He will replace Mr E. K. Bharat Bhusan who was unceremoniously removed from the DGCA within a week of getting an extension till December this year.

“On Monday, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the name of 1986 batch West Bengal Cadre IAS officer, Mr Mishra.

Formal notification is expected soon,” sources said. Mr Mishra has just come back from Montreal after completing his term as India’s Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Earlier, Mr Mishra served as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Though his name for DGCA was proposed earlier, there was no No Objection Certificate from his home cadre. This delayed his being appointed to the post earlier.

Mr Mishra takes over at a time when the entire aviation industry is in deep trouble. Barring one, all airlines have reported losses and the demand along with traffic growth has turned negative.

However, industry watchers feel that his long years of experience both in India and abroad will help Mr Mishra take key initiatives to revive the industry.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-variety/article3650611.ece

Airline problems are temporary: Ajit Singh

Bangalore, July 17:

The Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Ajit Singh, said the problems faced by the aviation industry are temporary.

“There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel and in six to 12 months, the industry may come out of financial stress,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Mr Singh said that maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities need to be developed locally and the DGCA (Director-General of Civil Aviation) needs to be given greater autonomy to hire. “The DGCA will have to be revamped,” he said. A civil aviation authority will be established under an Act of Parliament for this purpose, he said.

Commenting on the growth prospects of the airline industry, Mr Singh said, “Overall, the losses faced by the airline companies were over Rs 10,000 crore last year, but this is a vital sector for growth. It is a part of the infrastructure.”

He said that it was difficult to persuade companies to ply in tier II and tier III cities because metros are more profitable.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/article3650644.ece