AI seeks Rs 200 cr in damages from Boeing

State-run carrier Air India will seek “at least Rs 200 crore” from Boeing Co. to compensate for the losses it incurred due to the grounding of its 787 aircraft, said a senior Air India executive familiar with the matter said. Air India has six 787 aircraft in its fleet.While the compensation is yet to be finalised, the carrier will raise the claim with Boeing shortly, said the official. G. Prasada Rao, a spokesman at Mumbai-based Air India, did not respond to calls made to his mobile phone. Boeing, too, did not immediately respond to an e-mail questionnaire.
 Air India might resume local flights of the 787 later this month after the plane maker carries out safety modifications to the plane’s batteries, said the official. Air India used to fly its 787s on three domestic and three international routes. It is now using narrow-body Airbus A320s on the domestic sector and has deployed Boeing 777s on the Frankfurt and Paris routes. Due to non-availability of trained Boeing 777 pilots, the airline was forced to cancel or combine flights to Europe and Tokyo. The fuel burn on Boeing 777 is higher than Dreamliner, which is billed as 15 percent more fuel efficient.
 AI was due to receive two more 787s by March and the deliveries, too, have been deferred. It has 27 Boeing 787s on order.
 Boeing has asked FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to allow test flights of the 787 Dreamliner, while investigators work to uncover the source of the aircraft’s battery problems. “Boeing has submitted an application to conduct 787 test flights and it is currently under evaluation by FAA,” said Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel.
 Boeing’s global fleet of Dreamliners was grounded following a battery fire on an All Nippon Airways’ jet. Boeing has added safety modifications to the batteries and it plans a second 787 test flight before submitting the changes to the FAA as it seeks approval to restore the grounded planes to service
http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/air-india-may-demand-rs-200-crore-from-boeing-for-grounding-of-6-b-787s-113040100452_1.html

 

Slashed fares fail to lift domestic air travel

NEW DELHI: The rock bottom fares being offered by airlines — none of which really remained budget carriers after Kingfisher's demise — have not been able to lure domestic flyers back to planes from the far cheaper trains. The first two months of this year saw 100.2 lakh people flying in India, down 3.6% from the figure of almost 104 lakh in January and February, 2012.
 However, SpiceJet, which had come out with an all-inclusive fare of Rs 2,013 earlier this year, managed to gain flyers and became the third largest domestic carrier (by market share) behind IndiGo and Jet Group by beating Air India (domestic) to the fourth spot. This wasn't the only setback for AI, despite claims by the aviation ministry of the Maharaja turning around.
 "The passenger load factor in the month of February 2013 has remained almost same compared to January 2013 except SpiceJet, which has shown appreciable increase. This is perhaps due to the fact that SpiceJet offered a short term scheme on various sectors from January 11 to 13 for travel from February 2013 to April 2013," said a detailed fact sheet released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on domestic traffic figures in the first two months of this year.
 Domestic air travel has been in a freefall since early last year, mainly after troubles at Kingfisher erupted. Other airlines hiked fares because of the drop in supply but in a weakening economy, it meant people simply switched to trains from planes.
 Also, the DGCA's laxity in finalizing its much-delayed policy for compensating passengers denied boarding forcibly translated into a large number of 'sufferers'. The statistics for January and February, 2013, shows that 36,019 domestic passengers faced delays of over two hours in their flights.
 Of these, 78% were flying AI (domestic). Similarly, 9,708 passengers faced flight cancellations. Of these, 55% were supposed to fly AI and 27% were booked on Jet Airways and JetLite. The Jet Group accounted for 73% of the 1,077 passengers who were denied boarding in this period.
 The maximum flight cancellations were by AI and SpiceJet and least by IndiGo. However, IndiGo had the maximum number of passengers complaints in these months, according to the DGCA data.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Slashed-fares-fail-to-lift-domestic-air-travel/articleshow/19335697.cms

AirAsia offers two million cheap tickets to South East Asian cities

NEW DELHI: In the backdrop of its India entry, Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia has opened bookings for two million seats between April 2 and 7, 2013 offering air tickets as cheap as Rs 3,300 to South East Asian destinations for travel next year.
One can fly from Kolkata to Bangkok for all-in-fare of Rs 3,300, Chennai to Bangkok for Rs 3,500, Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur for Rs 5,500 , Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur for Rs 5000, Kochi or Chennai to Kuala Lumpur for Rs 4500 and from Tiruchirapalli to Kuala Lumpur for Rs 4000, a statement by the budget carrier on Monday said.
 "We are the only airline in the region to constantly keep our fares low and offer free seats campaigns in such a scale. It has now become an anticipated global virtual event and we will continue to stay true to our promise of 'Now Everyone Can Fly'," Siegtraund Teh, Group Chief Commercial Officer of AirAsia said.
 "Free seats to domestic Malaysia destinations such as Penang, Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kota Bahru, Terengganu and more are also available from Kuala Lumpur . Only taxes and fees apply to these free seats, which will be available from INR 0 one way," the statement added.
 These tickets can be booked for a travel period of January 1-April 30, 2014, which, according to AirAsia officials is in line with the airline's standard practise of encouraging advance bookings.
 "This is a standard promotion offer all over the world for all routes and nothing to do with India entry as we may enter even before January next," a company official said, declining to be named.
 The official also said that their offer was different from the one recently offered by Tiger Airways.
 In March, Singapore-based Tiger Airways opened a promotional offer for tickets to Singapore from Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirapalli at $50 (Rs 2700) for travel between May 1st and December 15th. The tickets will be on offer until March 13.

The scheme, which offered 10 seats on each flight, was one to celebrate five years of its Indian operations.In an earlier story, ET had reported that AirAsia's standard practise is to open seat bookings a few months in advance at a nominal price, going up to ten times that sum near the flight day.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/airasia-offers-two-million-cheap-tickets-to-south-east-asian-cities/articleshow/19325703.cms

Airport capsule hotels offer rest to weary international travellers

April 01--MUNICH -- Munich airport is a hectic place where the noise from mobile phones and the thousands of people milling about means it is difficult to find a quiet corner to relax.
However, travellers can now purchase access to eight small soundproof self-service units called Napcabs that are equipped with amenities such as double beds, work-tables and air conditioning units.
More and more large international airports are offering the option of on-site sleeping pods to travellers faced with a lengthy layover or delay. The weary are looking to snatch a couple of hours' rest on flat bed before flying on to their next destination.
The door to the capsule containing a bed measuring 2 metres by 80 centimetres is opened with the swipe of a credit card "Guests can relax and recuperate here," explains Joerg Pohl, spokesman for Napcabs, which is looking to extend its business model worldwide.
Around 5,500, mainly travellers in transit, have availed themselves of Munich airport's overnight service so far.
"Only a few of our guests come from Germany," says Pohl.
Access to the sleep pods costs 15 euros (19 dollars) per hour during the day although the price drops to 10 euros at night.
"The capsule might be a cheap option for travellers in transit, but it is not a suitable base for a holiday stay," says Sibylle Zeuch from the German Travel Association in Berlin, a lobby group for the hotel industry. "Still, it's better than a camp bed in the open terminal."
The concept has its origins in Japanese capsule hotels, first developed around 1980, and is designed for travellers looking to relax or work in private without having to pay for a traditional hotel room or leave the airport.
The Munich cubicles are 1.65 by 2.7 metres, quite a bit bigger than the original Japanese capsules.
Zeuch is not certain whether the German version of the idea will take off globally, noting that is a question of mentality.
The German International Hotel Association (IHA) believes the idea has only limited application in the European market.
"The needs and sleeping requirements for European guests are simply not comparable with those of Asian guests," says IHA spokesperson Benedikt Wolbeck.
There are similar capsule hotels in Moscow, Amsterdam, Atlanta and New York, while there are 100 mini-hotels in Tokyo alone.
Travellers at London's Heathrow, the third-largest airport in the world, can check into a particularly stylish capsule hotel.
Its cubicles are much bigger than those in Munich.
The "Yotel" in Terminal 4 opened in 2007 and its rooms are bathed in violet light, resembling the interior of a passenger aircraft. Visitors can fly first-class without ever having to leave the ground, explains Yotel spokeswoman Greta Vanhersecke.
Yotel rooms measure 7 square metres in size and travellers have access to an alcove bed, free wi-fi, a workstation, a shower and a flat-screen television. The accommodation costs 25 pounds (38 dollars) for four hours.
Simon Woodroffe, the founder of Yotel, wanted to establish a less claustrophobic version of the Japanese sleeping concept in western markets, explains Vanhersecke. The idea has certainly been a success to date, with Yotels also opening in London's Gatwick Airport in 2007 and Amsterdam's Schiphol airport in 2008. The rooms are designed by the same company that manufactures the interiors of long-haul aircraft.
 http://www.hotel-online.com/News/2013_Apr_01/k.DPA.1364842670.html

Domestic air passenger traffic down 3.35%

The seven domestic airlines flew fewer passengers in February compared with the same month last year, the latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) show.
 According to DGCA’s data for February this year, the domestic airlines carried 48.92 lakh passengers or almost 3.35 per cent fewer than what they flew in the same period last year.
In January, the domestic airlines carried 51.32 lakh passengers against 53.33 lakh in the same period last year.
 Market share
The data further show that in February, IndiGo continued to be the market leader commanding a market share of 27.4 per cent followed by SpiceJet (20.4 per cent) and Jet Airways (19.1 per cent). Jet Airways will increase to 25.4 per cent if the market share of its subsidiary JetLite (6.3 per cent) is combined.
Air India (domestic) had a market share of 18.9 per cent. Further in February, almost 28,000 passengers of 8.48 lakh domestic passengers flown by Air India were affected by delays of over two hours or more.This cost the airline over Rs 23 lakh.According to the data, SpiceJet was the only domestic airline that saw an increase in the number of passengers carried in February compared with January this year.
SpiceJet carried 9.98 lakh passengers in February this year up from 9.45 lakh in January.
“This increase is perhaps due to the fact that SpiceJet offered a short-term scheme from January 11-13 for travel from February to April 2013,” the DGCA has said.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/domestic-air-passenger-traffic-down-335/article4570382.ece
 

Kingfisher dues: United Bank of India files winding-up petition

In what is being seen as more trouble for the grounded Kingfisher Airlines, one of its creditors — United Bank of India — has filed a winding-up petition against United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL). The petition is pending admission before the Karnataka High Court, it is learnt.
 UBHL, which is the holding company of the UB Group, was the guarantor for the loans given by United Bank of India to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA).
 United Bank is the first lender in the 17-bank consortium to seek winding up of the guarantor company (UBHL), after KFA defaulted. In comparison, the consortium headed by State Bank of India is looking to proceed directly against KFA for recovery of the dues, estimated at about Rs 7,000 crore.
United Bank of India has an exposure of close to Rs 400 crore to KFA, which includes pre-delivery payment (PDP) financing for aircraft as well as working capital financing.
As UBHL was not able to meet its liabilities arising from non-payment of dues by KFA, United Bank has moved the Karnataka High Court with a winding up petition, sources in the banking industry said.
 If the Karnataka High Court were to admit the winding-up petition, then it could frustrate the revival attempts of the grounded airline, say bankers.
 This is because the Director-General of Civil Aviation is unlikely to renew KFA’s licence unless the airline is able to produce a no-objection certificate from lenders such as banks and tax authorities. But, with a winding-up petition pending before a High Court, no banker is likely to give a no-objection certificate for the airline to restart operations, say some economy watchers.
 There is also an opposite view that any majority support from bankers (on repayment of dues to them) could still tilt the scale in favour of a revival of the airline.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/kingfisher-dues-united-bank-of-india-files-windingup-petition/article4569551.ece

Air traffic in negative terrain

With Kingfisher Airlines grounded, domestic air traffic in the first two months of this year saw a dip of 3.57 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.
The number of passengers carried by all domestic airlines in January and February of 2013 was 100.23 lakh as against 103.95 lakh in the same months of the previous year, thereby registering a 3.57 per cent decrease, latest data of the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed.“A major reason for the negative growth in passenger traffic was the closure of Kingfisher Airlines and the exit of its 25 aircraft from the market,” said sources at the DGCA.
As far as market share is concerned, IndiGo garnered the maximum market share of 27.4 per cent followed by Jet Airways-JetLite combine at 25.4%, SpiceJet at 20.4 per cent and GoAir at the last spot with 7.8 per cent. Air India was pushed to the fourth spot with 18.9 per cent share by low cost carrier SpiceJet, which cornered 20.4 per cent of the domestic aviation pie.
The passenger load factor of all Indian carriers in February remained almost the same compared to January, barring SpiceJet that showed an increase. “This is perhaps due to the fact that SpiceJet offered a short-term scheme on various sectors in January,” sources pointed out.
“Other carriers which followed SpiceJet and announced similar low-fare schemes did so in February-March and so the impact on their load factors would be reflected in the figures later,” they added.
http://newindianexpress.com/business/news/article1526857.ece

Air India may face fresh trouble over salaries

NEW DELHI: Air India may be headed for a fresh round of staff trouble. Constant delay in salary payment and the uncertainty surrounding pay cut following the implementation of Dharamadhikari committee report has forced the pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines to call an emergency meeting of their union on Monday.
Their union, Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA), is going to discuss the payment of just about Rs 7,000-10,000 this month as only basic pay was given in March and not the flying allowances that account for over 80% of the total pay. "The morale of the airline staff has never been lower than it currently is. People are fed up with the never-ending financial troubles and the uncertainty over salary payment," said an ICPA member.
The ICPA is likely to authorize its office bearers to take any action they deem fit over the proposed pay cuts that implementing the Dharmadhikari committee report will lead to and the unending uncertainty over getting paid. "Our calculations show us that the pay cut for co-pilots will be up to 26% and for senior commanders, especially from Air India side, the cut will be almost 46% to 48%. This is not acceptable," said a member.
The union had recently sent current wage structures of a leading Indian full service carrier and three Gulf airlines to the AI management. "If they say they want us to be paid as per market norms, then they must go through these wage pacts as well," said a senior pilot.
On their part, a senior official said that the airline's performance has improved from revenue-generation side and costs have been brought down too. "UPA I had taken some seriously big ticket decisions (referring to aircraft purchase) and as the owner it has to infuse equity in the airline. Our systems have improved a lot and what we need now is liquidity to pay off creditors and employees," admitted an official.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Air-India-may-face-fresh-trouble-over-salaries/articleshow/19315328.cms
 

Operations control centre at airport soon

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will set up an Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) at the premier international airport here to bring airport operations management under IT-based systems with the aim of improving effectiveness and efficiency of services and enhancing security.
 Described as the ‘hidden nerve centre', the AOCC will be the ‘command, coordination and control centre' of the whole airport which will bring together the diverse processes relating to the three major operational areas — passengers, baggage and cargo, and aircraft. The Thiruvananthapuram international airport is among the 10 identified by the AAI to set up the AOCC.
The space adjacent to the visitors' gallery at the old international terminal building at Sanghumughom has been earmarked for setting up the AOCC, a top AAI official told The Hindu.
The AOCC is coming up close to the space where Indra, an air traffic control technology developed by the Spanish Information Technology and Defence Systems Company, will be installed. Equipment for the air traffic modernisation is expected to reach the city soon.
The objective of the AOCC is improved productivity through process automation and efficiency in operations, redeployment of personnel in core functions and advancement activities, increased focus on safety and higher organisational contribution through trend analysis and forecasting.
 Improved coordination through cross-functional integration and cross-entity interfacing, optimisation of existing airport resources, improvement on time performance resulting in enhanced customer satisfaction are the other objectives of the AOCC.
The facility will enable the highest level of airside operations, resources planning and allocation, terminal operations and security and will allow various agencies/departments to collaborate real time.
Besides, the AOCC will enable the operation teams to work with with increased efficacy, reliability, security, scalability, real-time intelligence and information security, providing comprehensive situation analysis and management capabilities.
 Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was the first to set up AOCC in the country followed by Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and later in Bangalore. The AOCC will be a “resource centre” and the one mooted by the AAI for the 10 airports in the country will be slightly different from the ones that have come up already in Mumbai and other places.http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/operations-control-centre-at-airport-soon/article2284701.ece

Khadi outlets to be opened at airports

Central government allocation of `850 crores to traditional industries would benefit Khadi sector, K C Venugopal, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation has said. Khadi, the symbol of our self-reliance movement, should be encouraged.
The government will consider the Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board’s request to open shops in all the airports in Kerala, he said. He was inaugurating the state level Vishu Mela, an exhibition-cum-sale of Khadi products here on Sunday.The Khadi Board, in a memorandum to the minister, had requested him to allow commercial space in airport terminals in Kerala to start Khadi outlets. Venugopal assured that he will seek the possibility of allocating space for Khadi outlets in the airports without tender.
Speaking on the occasion, K P Noorudeen, Kerala Khadi Board vice chairman, claimed that the performance of the Khadi industry was very encouraging. The workers are also getting good returns, he said. A P Abdullakkuty MLA inaugurated the first sale. Prof K A Sarala, District Panchayat President, M C Sreeja, Municipal Chairperson, Ratan Kelkar, district collector, Khadi Board Marketing director Suresh also spoke.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/article1525159.ece