Saturday, 1 December 2012

SpiceJet to start Kochi -Male direct flight


SpiceJet on Friday launched flight from Kochi connecting Maldivian capital city Male. The airline will also be connecting Kochi with Dubai from the second week of December.
Addressing a press conference here, Harish Kutty, chief commercial officer, said the company would soon launch overseas services from cities like Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode as overseas travel flow, especially to the Gulfroutes, was on the increase. It also planned to operate more services connecting Tier II and III cities. The company had acquired 12 Bombardier Q400 aircraft for enhancing connectivity to these cities.
He said there would be daily direct flight from Kochi to Male and Dubai and inaugural ticket fares are as low as Rs 4,999.
This is the first international launch of SpiceJet on any international route from Kerala. At present it operates international flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Madurai.
The airline has deployed Bombardier Q400 aircraft on the Kochi-Male route. The aircraft can accommodate 78 passengers. The airline's Kochi – Dubai and Ahmedabad - Dubai route will deploy Boeing 737 -800, which have a capacity of 189.
Under the network expansion plan, SpiceJet will also be launching daily direct flight to Dubai from Ahmedabad from December 19.
With these new routes, the total number of international destinations on SpiceJet network would increase to five. At present SpiceJet flies to Kathmandu, Colombo, Kabul, and Dubai.

http://business-standard.com/india/news/spicejet-to-startkochimale-direct-flight/494174/

GMR issue: Maldives envoy summoned to MEA


Maldivian High Commissioner to India Mohamed Naseer was on Friday morning summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to give ‘a ticking off’ on Male’s arbitrary termination of the contract awarded to GMR group to operate the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.
It has been learnt that Naseer had been summoned to the MEA for an audience with Foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai.
According to sources, Mathai expressed New Delhi’s deep regret at the “unilateral” move by Male in declaring the agreement with the Indian infrastructure giant void. And the top Indian diplomat is said to have warned the Maldivian envoy that Male’s decision will have a negative impact on the bilateral ties between the long-time allies.
Mathai is also said to have pointed out that the move was contrary to the assurances given by President Mohammed Waheed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his state visit to India in May.
 The Foreign Secretary is also believed to have told the Maldivian envoy to ensure that the legal process should be allowed “to run its course”, a reference to the case filed by GMR in the Singapore High Court, in which it had sought an immediate temporary order against the annulment. Incidentally, the next hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday.
Waheed’s Poll Card
On Thursday,  Indian High Commissioner to Male, D M  Mulay had been invited by Foreign Minister Abdul Samad Abdullah to his office for a friendly ‘chat’, where the Waheed Government’s argument that the action against GMR was a purely commercial decision was again trotted out.  India is, obviously, not accepting this argument, with sources reiterating that the campaign against GMR has been used by President Waheed to shore up his popularity in time for the Presidential election, which could take place as early as in July 2013. 
 Waheed’s party only has a single seat in the Majlis, with opinion polls indicating that he has support from about 10 per cent of the population. Former president and MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed still has the biggest chunk of support of around 40 per cent, with the former dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of PPM having around 25-30 per cent. 
With the platform of booting out GMR, Waheed could be trying to increase his popularity, so that he can run Gayoom head-to-head, and possibly have a direct contest with Nasheed for the Presidency.
“He has nothing to lose by doing this. At worst, he will not win the election, but then he was an accidental President in the first place,” said a senior official.
Meanwhile, the archipelago’s fringe parties like the Islamist Adhalaath and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party have been leading the campaign, with incendiary messages and posters being circulated against GMR, India and the Indian High Commission.
Septuagenarian Gayoom, who is known to be a shrewd operator, has so far kept quiet. But, observers feel that he wouldn’t be too unhappy at the turn of events. “Waheed gets all the blame for the axing of contract. But, Gayoom also wanted to see GMR go, which had become  identified with the MDP,” he said. 
When the contract had been signed in 2010 by the Nasheed government, the entire Opposition had protested against the move.
So far, the Waheed government is looking to stay afloat till the time the country goes to the polls.
“The government seems to be confident that it can ride it out by getting funding from Maldivian companies, who share anti-GMR sentiments. They have also recently floated Treasury Bills,” he said, adding that there could be a move to give concession to the Gaan Airport in Addu.
Incidentally, even India is looking forward to the Presidential election in Male, with the possibility of GMR returning to the island nation when the political situation becomes stable.
http://newindianexpress.com/nation/article1362024.ece

European air crews say to strike over safety


European aircrews plan a one-day strike in January to campaign for fewer hours and longer breaks to end what they say are dangerous working conditions that lead to tiredness and raise the risk of accidents.
Pilot fatigue has been blamed for air accidents and near misses and in the United States, which have led to the implementation of rigorous rules on rest periods.
Europe's Aviation Safety Agency EASA has not done enough to improve scheduling rules, so workers will stage a one-day walkout on January 22 next year, lobby group the European Cockpit Association (ECA) and the European Transport Workers' Federation said in a statement on Friday.
"For years now, aircrews have been waiting for safe rules to counter the dangers of crew fatigue on flight operations," ECA President Nico Voorbach said.
"Surveys show that pilots and cabin crew are already struggling with high levels of fatigue, nodding off at the controls of aircraft."
The campaigners say the European Union is lagging behind the United States in implementing tougher standards.
Reforms implemented there after the crash of a U.S. commuter flight near Buffalo in 2009 spurred a review of working time rules.
Investigators said the crash of Colgan Air 3407, which killed 50 people, was not directly caused by fatigue, but said that crew was probably over-tired.
This led the U.S. air agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, to introduce a rule last year calling for pilots to work fewer hours and have longer breaks between shifts, in a move airlinessaid would cost them millions in labour.
European pilots are demanding similar changes be made in the European Union, and say that a proposed change to the rules by watchdog EASA made in October does not go far enough.
"If the Colgan Air accident showed us something, it's that a tired pilot is a dangerous pilot. EASA's rules fail to address this and this must change today," Voorbach said.
The new EU rules proposed so far are expected to be adopted in summer 2013, but must be reviewed by the European Commission, the EU's executive, and approved by member states.
The unions represent more than 38,000 pilots and 100,000 aircrews across Europe.
On Thursday, ground and cabin crews at Spanish airline Iberia, part of International Airlines Group IAG.L, said they will stage a series of strikes in December, disrupting the holiday travel season to protest against massive job cuts. (Reporting By Ethan Bilby; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Mike 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/30/uk-eu-aviation-idUSLNE8AT01T20121130

Coimbatore Airport to get modern amenities soon


Flight Information Display Systems installed and tested
Passenger amenities such as Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) and Short Messaging Service (SMS alerts on flight status and Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS) installed at a cost of over Rs. 1 crore at the Coimbatore Airport are all set for inauguration during the first week of December.
After an initial trial run, the facility was to be inaugurated during November but prior to launch, the AAI wanted to ensure that the system worked without any technical hitches.
Hence, the inauguration was put off for two to three weeks, AAI sources said.
Airport Director K. Peter Abraham told The Hindu that after installation, the facilities were tried out over the last few days.
Fifty-one Flight Information Display Systems, including two light emitting diode (LED) walls just outside the airport, 12 in the counters of the airlines and the rest in departure, security check and waiting lounge have completed the test run. These boards would provide real time update on arrival and departure of flights and their accuracy would largely depend on the inputs provided by the respective airlines.
These boards now come to replace the 15-year-old conventional flight information board.
In addition, passengers wanting to board a flight, relatives coming to see off a passenger or those planning to visit the airport for receiving the incoming passengers hereafter need not search for the phone number of the respective airlines.
They could instead dial 0422-2573100/ 2574100 to access the IVRS to know the status of incoming flights and departure time of flights ex-Coimbatore.
In addition, the other passenger amenity ready for inauguration could be SMS service, wherein passengers or relatives could send the flight code by SMS to 94422-64287/ 94422-64297.
These two facilities are expected to relieve the people of problems such as constantly engaged phone lines or human interface.
These facilities are getting inaugurated ahead of 2013 marking the recently-granted International Airport status for Coimbatore.
Facilities are coming in at a time when the airport, with 20 aircraft movements a day, is continuously on a growth trajectory recording an average of 3,500 to 4,000 passengers every day. Ten to 12 per cent of them are international passengers to Sharjah and Singapore.
Mr.Peter Abraham said that during the first week of December, all the three facilities would be dedicated.
Plant quarantine
Airports Authority of India is gearing up to open a plant quarantine facility at the Coimbatore Airport within the next ten days. The facility would help in speedy examination of the export material and issue a certification.
Whenever a perishable item or a flora is exported, it would have to be subjected to examination for presence of parasites, fungus and other virus to prevent communicable diseases. Only when certified by the plant quarantine facility, the importing countries accept such assignments, airport sources said.
Coimbatore accounted for export of vegetables from Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Dindigul besides roses from Hosur, other varieties of flowers from Dindigul and Madurai. On average 30 tonnes are being exported every month from Coimbatore to destinations in Middle East and Singapore. Tiruchi airport already has the facility because of the number of international flights operated to and from there.
Cargo
At present, Coimbatore Airport on an average handled 280 tonnes of cargo export (all items put together) and the import was 11 tonnes.
Information systems ready for inauguration during first week of December
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/coimbatore-airport-to-get-modern-amenities-soon/article4153197.ece

Poor road to Kolkata airport miffs AAI


Regional head seeks another road to ease congestion
Kolkata, Nov 30:  
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Friday took a dig at the poor city road infrastructure causing trouble to fliers from the Kolkata airport. The criticism has come barely two months before the airport is slated to throw open to the public its brand new terminal.
“There is lot of congestion on the (only) approach road to airport. There should be another road to airport,” B. P. Sharma, Regional Director of AAI, said. He was speaking at Bengal Builds — a conference on urban infrastructure.
Sharma has his reasons to worry. Kolkata airport currently ferries nearly 10.5 million passengers a year. The number is “expected to be double”, once AAI opens up a modern terminal, creating space for more national and international flights.
But, serious congestion on the 9-10 kms long Kaji Nazrul Islam Sarani, connecting city with airport, may add to the concern of fliers.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-states/poor-road-to-kolkata-airport-miffs-aai/article4151729.ece

Etihad Airways to increase flights to Kozhikode


Kochi, Nov. 30:  
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will increase and upgrade flights to key cities in India.
Starting from January 1, flights to Kozhikode will be more than doubled, from three to seven a week. Colombo will also be serviced by daily flights with services increasing from four to seven a week starting from January 2.
The increase will coincide with the re-introduction of the Pearl Business class product on both routes to cater to growing business and corporate demand and high-end leisure traffic.
The additional services will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft fitted with 16 Pearl Business Class seats and will almost double capacity on both routes.
The number of connections from the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub will also be improved to over 370 connections a week for Kozhikode (representing an increase of 240 per cent) and 300 connections a week for Colombo ( an increase of 170 per cent).
Other key destinations including Jeddah, Johannesburg, Lagos, Milan and Toronto will be connected to Kozhikode while Geneva, Munich and Astana will be connected to Colombo, a press release said.  
Kozhikode and Colombo are fast growing cities that serve as major business and trade hubs with many of their inhabitants working in the Gulf region. Since the start of flights to Kozhikode in 2008, Etihad Airways has carried more than 180,000 passengers.