Extra luggage, preferred seats on flights get costly

Mumbai: Close on the heels of national carrier Air India slashing its baggage limit, private full service carrier Jet Airways on Thursday revised its free baggage limit to 15 kgs in economy class from 20 kg on Jet Konnect.If you are carrying baggage weighing more than 15 kg, you will have pay Rs 250 per additional kg. The revision will come into effect from May 15. However, the JetPrivilege members would continue to enjoy the additional free baggage allowance, while Premiere (business class) guests would continue to avail 30 kg of free baggage allowance on Jet Airways and Jet-Konnect flights, the airline said in a statement. The move came days after the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA) allowed airlines to charge fees for ‘unbundled services’ like check-in baggage, preferential seats, meals, snacks or drink (barring drinking water) and sports and musical instruments on their domestic flights.Meanwhile, low-cost carrier IndiGo has decided to charge a premium from the fliers for pre-booking a preferential seat in domestic and global flights.It would charge the passenger a premium of Rs 500 for sitting in first two rows or near emergency exits in 12 and 13th row on a domestic flight and Rs 800 for an international flight under its Indigo Seat Plus plan.
 Though, IndiGo, has not indicated from when it would start charging the new rates, in a circular to travel agents it said for all other window and aisle seats, which are pre-selected, a passenger would be charged Rs 200 for domestic and Rs 300 for international flights.While pre-booking of all other middle seats would cost Rs 100 on a domestic route and `200 on an international flight.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130510/news-businesstech/article/extra-luggage-preferred-seats-flights-get-costly
 

GVK awards duty-free & retail contracts to Dufry and DFS at Bali airport

MUMBAI: Making headway in its maiden international airport project in Bali, Indonesia, Indian airport operator GVK has awarded the duty free and retail contracts to Dufry and DFS, two of the leading airport retailers. GVK Airports, a diversified infrastructure company based out of Hyderabad, manages airports in Mumbai and Bangalore. It bagged a management contract from the Indonesian government to manage non-aeronautical and commercial operations at Denpsar International Airport in Bali in 2012. DFS and Dufry are top travel retailers in the world and have been competing with each other to gain number one slot for some years now. DFS is holding the number one position followed by Dufry currently. GVK said the contract with both these companies is for a five-year period and the airport operator targets a seven-fold increase in revenues through duty free and retail sales. The scope includes both the existing terminals and the new international terminal that is currently under construction and is expected to open in the third quarter of 2013. The retail and duty free awards will be followed by Lounge, Forex and F&B concessions, the company said.
 "These along with other concessions at international and domestic terminal will generate revenue in excess of Rs 1,500 crore over five years, a whopping 300% increase for Angkasa Pura Airport, the Indonesian Airports Authority that also partners GVK in the venture," the company executive said.
 DFS and Dufry won the bids over 200 prospective bidders, the executive added.
 The contract with the travel retailer companies has a guaranteed component of over 80% along with minimum annual guaranteed revenue (MAGR) that is benchmarked against Asia's leading airports like Singapore's Changi Airport.
 GVK said the MAGR at Bali Airport is two dollars per passenger and is likely to go up to about $12 per passenger $2/pax, and is expected to achieve $12/pax.
 GVK's contract with the Indonesian government is on a base fee and an incentive fee based remuneration structure. All capital expenditure is funded by the government
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-05-10/news/39169289_1_airport-operator-gvk-airports-dufry

Air India starts test-flight of Dreamli

. CHENNAI: Air India on Friday started test-flight of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner between Delhi and Amritsar. The airline expects to put all its six Dreamliner aircraft into service by end of this month.The initial test-flights began after director general of civil aviation cleared new battery packs fitted on the aircraft.
 "Test-flights will continue for the next few weeks and it will also help the crew to gain mandatory requalification needed to operate the machines. The pilots who flew the plane were satisfied with the performance of the aircraft," said an Air India official.Air India's engineers are working closely with Boeing's team to change batteries of the rest of the B787 aircraft. The airline has six Dreamliners. The second aircraft is also expected to be ready by May 12.After Boeing's team completed improvement of battery, the Dreamliner aircraft took off from Mumbai for the first time and was flown to Delhi today. It had a stop over at Ahmedabad where pilots practised back-track and other manoeuvres before taking off as part of their training.Civil aviation secretary K N Shrivastava and Air India's chairman and managing director Rohit Nanadan visited the Delhi Airport to see the first B787, which had been modified with the new battery system. They looked at the modifications and risk mitigations that were carried out.The Boeing 787 aircraft were grounded earlier in January 2013 after certain critical battery problems were detected in the fleet operated by other airlines. Air India's Chennai-Delhi service using a Dreamliner aircraft was popular among passengers.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Air-India-starts-test-flight-of-Dreamliner/articleshow/19984986.cms

Emirates Airline annual profit jumps 52% to $622 mDubai, May 9:

Dubai’s Emirates Airline said today it posted $622 million in annual net profits in 2012-2013, a 52 per cent boost on the previous year, as passenger numbers exceeded 39 million.The carrier’s profit was “at AED 2.3 billion ($622 million), representing an increase of 52 per cent over last year’s results,” Emirates said in a statement.Emirates Group as a whole, which also includes Dnata travel services, posted $845 million in net profit, with total revenues increasing 17 per cent to a record of $19.9 billion, it said.
 “Achieving our 25th consecutive year of profit... with our largest ever increase in capacity across the network is an achievement that speaks the strength of our brands and our leadership,” said the Emirates chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum.The Middle East’s largest airline, which has become a major carrier between Europe, Asia and Australia, transported 39.4 million passengers, 16 per cent up from the previous year.The carrier’s fuel bill also increased 15 per cent over the last year to reach $7.6 billion, the statement said.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/international/emirates-airline-annual-profit-jumps-52-to-622-m/article4699353.ece

Cochin airport passenger traffic up 3.74%

Cochin International Airport Ltd has registered a 3.74 per cent growth in passenger traffic in 2012-13, touching the 49-lakh mark against 47.23 lakh the previous year. Of this, international passenger number is 29.34 lakh (25.88 lakh in 2011-12) and domestic passenger figure is 19.66 lakh (21.35 lakh in 2011-12). Though there was an increase of 13.37 per cent in international traffic, the domestic passenger numbers dipped by 7.93 per cent. The major factor that contributed to the fall in numbers was the termination of flight operations of Kingfisher Airlines which had nearly 90 weekly domestic operations. The fluctuating and increasing price in the domestic sector also was a causal factor. All Indian airports experienced similar fall in domestic passengers and flight movements, a press statement issued here said. In the international sector, total flight movements in 2012-13 was 20,286 (18,324) and in the domestic sector 21,252 (22,817), making a total of 41,538 flight movements — a growth of 1 per cent. It is a noticeable factor that even though a 7.9 per cent dip in the domestic passenger was experienced, CIAL registered a positive growth of 3.74 per cent in the passenger figure and one per cent in flight movements, compensating the domestic fall with international operations, a rare occurrence in the aviation industry.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/cochin-airport-passenger-traffic-up-374/article4699415.ece

Jet, Jet Konnect to lower checked-in free baggage weight

After Air India, it is now the turn of private airlines to start charging for some services. While Jet and Jet Konnect will start charging for additional weight in check-in bags, IndiGo is going to charge for preferred seats.From May 15, Jet Airways and Jet Konnect free baggage allowance on domestic flights will be revised to 15 kg from the existing 20 kg. Jet and Jet Konnect are following in the footsteps of Air India which has decided to reduce the free check-in baggage allowance to 15 kg from May 13. Both the airlines will charge a flat rate of Rs 250 a kg as excess baggage rate for every kilo of a checked-in bag that weighs over 15 kg. IndiGo, the Delhi-based low-cost airline, has introduced IndiGo Seat Plus, in which a passenger will be charged a premium of Rs 500 for sitting in rows 1, 2, 12 and 13 on a domestic flight and Rs 800 for an international flight.
IndiGo said for all other window and aisle seats that are pre-booked, a passenger will be charged Rs 200 for a domestic and Rs 300 for an international flight.
In a circular to travel agents, IndiGo said those pre-booking all other middle seats will be charged Rs 100 on a domestic and Rs 200 on international flights. IndiGo has not indicated from when it will start charging the new rates.The decision to charge for these services comes days after the Ministry of Civil Aviation allowed domestic airlines to charge passengers for services, including checked-in bags and preferential seating.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/jet-jet-konnect-to-lower-checkedin-free-baggage-weight/article4699028.ece
 

Flyers to pay more for heavy bags, changed travel plans

NEW DELHI: Flying with heavy bags, changing travel plans and not showing up for your flight will be an expensive affair from next week. Air India has decided to reduce the free check-in weight from 20 kg to 15 kg for economy class domestic flyers from Monday. Jet and JetKonnect will follow suit from Wednesday. The Jet group and AI will charge Rs 250 per kg for excess baggage (beyond 15 kg) from people flying within the country. Registered frequent flyers and business class passengers have been spared this new rule.In addition, AI has also hiked the no-show, cancellation and itinerary change fees. Jet had earlier made its lowest fare tickets non-refundable and now AI has done that and a lot more.For lowest fare economy tickets, re-issue or date change will now cost Rs 1,500 — twice the earlier fee of Rs 750. These tickets remain non-refundable in case of no shows.
 Mid range fare bucket tickets have now been made non-refundable while AI earlier used to charge Rs 500 as penalty from no-shows and allow them to use it on some other flight. Changing this fare level's tickets will now cost Rs 1,000, up from earlier Rs 500.Not showing up has also been made expensive for passengers with highest fare levels of economy and business class tickets of AI. The no-show charge has been hiked to Rs 1,000 from the earlier Rs 200. The airline has
Decidedto continue with its policy of not charging anything from such passengers for an itinerary change.A senior AI official said: "Our flights are going 80% full now and business class is also seeing good occupancy. We are offering economical fares and not showing up means a dead loss for us. These charges have been hiked as an attempt to help us keep offering low base fares to passengers and keep flying affordable."AI earlier had excess baggage charge between Rs 150 and Rs 400 per kg, depending on the distance. While passengers had to pay Rs 280 per kg for extra baggage on Delhi-Mumbai route, the charge for Delhi-Kochi was Rs 400. The airline has now moved to a flat rate of Rs 250, which has been the practice at other Indian carriers like Jet and IndiGo.AI is now tweaking its software to start charging from pre-booking of seats. Low-cost carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet, which used to charge for this facility till two years back before the Directorate General of Civil Aviation stopped them from doing so, may restart this fee anytime now. IndiGo will charge a fee of Rs 500 for sitting in row numbers one, two, 12 and 13 (emergency rows that have extra leg room) on domestic flights and Rs 800 on international routes. Pre-booking other window and aisle seats will cost Rs 200 and Rs 300 for domestic and internationals flights, respectively.
 After domestic flyers, Indian carriers will look at international flights too to increase ancillary revenue. AI is first going to re-examine the free baggage check-in on flights between India and Gulf and Southeast Asia. Later it may change baggage norms for flights to Europe and North America too.
 "Airlines know what charges are to be put where but are just waiting for someone to make the first move," admitted an official.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Flyers-to-pay-more-for-heavy-bags-changed-travel-plans/articleshow/19980939.cms?
 

Grounded Dreamliners to take to the skies

Air India is all set to resume operating its six B-787 Dreamliners from next week on the domestic circuit and a week later on international routes. Air India was operating the aircraft from Delhi to Bangalore, Chennai, Dubai, Paris and Frankfurt.Battery sparks in two Dreamliners of a Japanese airliner led to the grounding of 50 such aircraft on January 16 after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration asked all airlines worldwide to ground Dreamliners.
 New battery packs
A team of engineers from Boeing, along with Air India and Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) personnel, has started fixing new battery packs on all six Dreamliners of Air India.
“The Dreamliners have already undergone test flights on the domestic route to check the new battery packs. The test flights, along with pilots and cabin crew, were undertaken from Mumbai to Delhi. In the coming days, several tests flights will be undertaken, including those between Delhi and Amritsar, and observations will be made about take-off and landing in order to ensure that everything is working fine with the aircraft. The DGCA has already given permission to the Dreamliners to take to the skies and lifted the ban on their flying in India,” a senior government official said.
 First domestic flight
The first domestic flights are likely to be operated on the Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Bangalore routes. It is understood that Air India has resumed sale of tickets for the routes. Later, the aircraft will be deployed on the Chennai and Dubai routes.
Air India has been banking on the Dreamliner for reviving its sagging fortunes, as it not only ensures more load factor but also saves nearly 15 to 20 per cent on fuel expenses compared to the fuel-guzzling 777s. It had booked 27 Boeing-787s in a mega deal in 2006. It is supposed to get seven planes in 2013, five in 2014, six in 2015 and three in 2016. The aircraft is unique – it is made of composite materials. Its newly-developed engine and advanced flight technologies make it highly fuel-efficient. It can fly up to 16,000-km non-stop.
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/grounded-dreamliners-to-take-to-the-skies/article4699197.ece

V.N. Chandran to be MD of KIAL

The government has sought the services of V.N. Chandran, Director of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for appointing him as the Managing Director (MD) of Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL).The decision to approach the AAI to get the services of Mr. Chandran on deputation comes in the wake of the Cabinet nod to appoint him as the MD of the KIAL in place of V. Thulasidas who resigned on April 30 after serving four-and-a-half years to become Adviser and Director Board member of Oman Air.Official sources told The Hindu that the government had decided to write to the AAI seeking that Mr. Chandran be relieved at the earliest so that formal orders on his new posting could be issued. Principal Secretary Tom Jose now holds the charge of the MD of the KIAL.The decision to appoint Mr. Chandran has come as a surprise in the aviation sector as the names of many, including senior IAS officials such as V.J. Kurian, MD of CIAL; Mr. Jose; and former AAI member P.S. Nair were doing the rounds.The new MD’s appointment comes at a time when the engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the earthwork, runway, and pavements of the fourth international airport in the State near Mattannur in Kannur is to be awarded.
Biggest challenge
The biggest challenge for the new MD will be to stick to the schedule for making the Kannur airport operational by December 2015.Mr. Chandran, who has been serving as Director of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport since June 26, 2012, is in the grade of General Manager, and was all set to be elevated as Executive Director in the AAI.He was transferred on October 21, 2010 from here as Airport Director, Bhubaneswar, following a controversy over commissioning of the Rs.300-crore international terminal complex that has come up on the city side.
Mr. Chandran, a native of Ernakulam, earlier served as Deputy General Manager (Air Traffic Control) here before being promoted as Airport Director
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/vn-chandran-to-be-md-of-kial/article4691181.ece

Air trips get more expensive for travel-heavy passengers

Now, extra baggage and preferred seat are going to cost you more as you plan an air travel. Within days of the civil aviation ministry allowing airlines to unbundle services, IndiGo today decided to charge an additional Rs 200 for each aisle and window seat. Only the middle seat would not attract any additional charge. And, if you want a seat in the front row or next to the emergency exit — both with more leg space — you will have to fork out an additional Rs 500.These new charges would, however, apply only on pre-booking of preferred seats on the internet or through agents. Online travel firm Yatra.com has confirmed IndiGo’s new rates. You could still reach the airport check-in and ask — if you are lucky and such seats are available, the airline would offer you those without any extra cost.
 IndiGo’s decision, the first by an airline to charge more for preferred seats, has come a day after Air India reduced the free-package limit for each economy-class passenger from 20 kg to 15 kg. From next week, a flyer would have to pay Rs 200-250 more for every one kg of extra luggage.Jet Airways, too, is following suit. It has brought the free-luggage limit down to the same level as Air India. From May 15, the Naresh Goyal-promoted airline would charge Rs 250 more for every one kg of additional luggage. This essentially means a passenger who so far carried 20 kg of luggage without any extra cost will have to pay an additional Rs 1,250 for the same weight. Business-class passengers have, however, been spared from this. They would continue to be allowed to carry up to 30 kg of luggage on domestic routes without having to shell out any extra amount.SpiceJet, another key low-cost carrier, too, is weighing options to boost its ancillary revenues through excess baggage claims and pre-booking of seats. A decision on this is likely to be taken by the end of May.According to analysts, the additional income for IndiGo, assuming all its seats are pre-booked, would be equivalent to revenues from five additional passengers.While announcing the unbundling of services, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had said the move would surprisingly lower basic fares. However, that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. SpiceJet CEZNeil Mills says: “In an ideal environment, base fare should come down. But that would take time.”According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, the Indian airlines are set to earn ancillary revenues of $500 million a year after unbundling of services.Sunny Sodhi, Yatra’s COO (corporate travel) & senior vice-president (air product), says: “Sooner or later, all airlines would join the bandwagon and reduce free-baggage limits. Indians like to travel heavy. Globally, airlines like AirAsia charge even for carrying more than a specified number of bags. This, along with charges for preferential seats, will bring in additional revenue streams for airlines.” According to industry estimates, ancillary revenues account for 10-12 per cent of airlines’ top lines.
 “With extra charges on every one kg of additional luggage, we might see a cultural shift in India. Many a time, passengers pack in nearly seven days of luggage for a two-day trip. They might now begin to travel light. This would reduce fuel-burn, speed up baggage handling and lead to faster turnaround of aircraft,” said Amber Dubey, partner and head, aviation, KPMG.The Ministry of Civil Aviation had allowed Indian airlines to unbundle certain services and charge for them separately. The airlines would have to submit the details of various charges for unbundled services. The DGCA would monitor such that the fees are not altered unlike airfares for flights.The decision is expected to open up additional revenue streams for airlines - from check-in baggage, use of lounges by economy class passengers for a fee, carriage of sports or musical equipments - who have been struggling to maintain operations sustainably in an environment of wafer-thin margins.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/air-travel-to-get-costlier-113050800689_1.html

GoAir scouts for partners to sell 49% stake

MUMBAI: GoAir, part of the Nusli Wadia Group, has appointed investment bank JPMorgan to scout for a foreign strategic partner to buy up to 49% in the low-cost passenger carrier, four people close to the development said, signaling the eagerness of Indian carriers to source capital in order to scale up their operations"GoAir is in talks with three to four overseas airlines from Europe and the Middle East to sell up to 49% stake," an investment banker with direct knowledge of the development said.
"The company is in talks with German carrier Lufthansa and Dubai-based Emirates and Qatar Airways, among others," said a second investment banker involved in the deal. "It is very early to divulge more details," he said. "As a company policy, the airline does not comment on market speculation," GoAir's spokesperson said. The Wadia family owns 100% of GoAir. Many Indian carriers have been scouting for foreign strategic partners after the government allowed foreign carriers to own up to 49% in Indian passenger carriers. On April 24, India's largest passenger carrier by revenue and number of passengers carried, Jet Airways, signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi governmentowned Etihad Airways to sell 24% stake for Rs 2,060 crore to pare its debt. The two carriers said it would make Abu Dhabi a hub for its international flights to Europe.Etihad paid a 32% premium to the price of Jet's shares on the BSE, indicating interest in the Indian aviation sector as the market is growing at 10% and the government has ambitious plans to build new airports and expand existing ones. "The European carriers are losing share of the Indian market to Middle East carriers," says a managing director of a foreign investment bank. "So, European carriers need to counter this by partnering with Indian carriers to connect more cities and towns." Last month, Lufthansa denied any interest in purchasing a stake in GoAir. But, the airline had said it needs to have a low-cost airline in the Asian region and may partner with an existing carrier in the region to deal with the onslaught of the Middle East airlines which are taking away traffic at a brisk pace.
 "With a global partner, GoAir will be able to realign its routes to feed into the bigger airports from where outbound Indian fliers can reach their global destinations through the partner airline's network," Amber Dubey, partner and head at KPMG. "This kind of end-to-end service creates a win-win deal for passengers and the airline partners alike." On Tuesday, Akbar al Baker, head of Doha-based carrier Qatar Airways, said the carrier wanted to have a co-operative alliance with India's largest budget carrier and market leader IndiGo.
The Wadia family, whose interests range from real estate to textile, has been trying to raise money as it rapidly expanded its fleet and connected more destinations. Aviation analysts said GoAir has an advantage as it can quickly scale up as it has placed large orders with aircraft maker Airbus and can provide connectivity with the smaller cities and towns allowing its foreign partner to use it as a hub-and-spoke model. Air Asia has recently said it would start its operations in Indian by connecting secondary cities and towns. GoAir, with 7% share, flies to 21 destinations and has 750 weekly flights. In January, GoAir, which wants to fly overseas, has asked the government to relax a stipulation that carriers seeking to fly to international destinations must have at least 20 planes. The Indian government allows only carriers with 20 planes or more to fly overseas.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-05-09/news/39143997_1_goair-indian-carriers-wadia-family
 

Unbundling services: A new revenue stream for airlines

The jury is still out on whether the Government’s decision to unbundle certain services on domestic flights is good news or bad for flyers. But a look at what airlines abroad charge provides some clues on what lies ahead.
Internationally, many airlines, especially low-cost, have for a while been charging for among other things checked-in bags, meals and even the seat.
Revenue stream
This is seen as a separate revenue stream for airlines. Ryanair — the airline Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said was among those that had been studied before the unbundling move — charges a priority boarding fee of €7-10 (Rs 500-700) This facility allows the flyer to be among the first to board a flight.AirAsia, which plans to begin India operations later this year, charges Rs 90 for a standard seat selection. This figure goes up to Rs 450 for a “hot seat”. Paying this allows the flyer priority boarding and get a comparatively comfortable seat with more leg space.For sports equipment and musical instruments (20 kg/per item/one way) Ryanair charges €50-60 (Rs 3,500-4,200). Checked-in bags will attract the usual charge. The unbundling in India covers these two categories. For every first checked-in bag (15 kg) Ryanair charges €15 (about Rs 1,100) if done at the time of booking on the airline’s Web site. This figure goes up to €60 (Rs 4,200) if the booking is made through the call centre or if the ticket is purchased at the airport. For the second checked-in bag (15 kg), the rate ranges from €105 (Rs 7,500) to €160 (Rs 11,000), depending on the flight and low/peak season. In comparison, American Airlines charges domestic flyers $25 (about Rs 1,400) for the first checked-in bag and $35 (about Rs 1,900) for the second.
Commercial decision
The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed airlines in India also to start charging separately for these services. Air India was first off the block,cutting baggage allowance to 15 kg and setting a fee of Rs 250/kg for excess weight. This applies from May 13. The other domestic airlines do not appear to have made up their minds yet. SpiceJet Chief Executive Officer Neil Mills said this will be a “commercial decision” which the airline will take at an appropriate time. “The lowering of fares will happen over a period,” he said declining to set a time line.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/unbundling-services-a-new-revenue-stream-for-airlines/article4696054.ece

IndiGo to charge for pre-selection of seats

New Delhi: After Air India,leading low cost carrier (LCC) IndiGo is going to take the next step towards unbundling services and charging separately for them.
The LCC is going to charge for pre-selection of seats where it will give passengers the option of blocking front row,emergency exit row or window aisle seats for a fee of 100 to 200.The airline will apply to the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) to levy this fee which was stopped by the regulator two years back.
But now the governments go ahead to airlines for unbundling services and monetizing those means airlines can again levy this fee.We are not going to tinker with our 20kg free check-in baggage allowance for now and are going to introduce a fee for preselection of seats.Seats with extra leg room,window and aisle seats can be booked at time of buying the ticket.However,there will be no extra charge for these seats for passengers who get them at the time of check-in, said a senior official.Other airlines are also planning to re-introduce the seat selection charge but fear that they may run into a VVIP roadblock.The bureau of civil aviation securitys had some years back issued a list of 31 categories of people with Sonia Gandhis son-in-law Robert Vadra being the only individual in it who are exempt from security checks at airports.The list includes the top dignitaries of the country,cabinet ministers and chief ministers.All airlines are expected to give them front row seats for security reasons.As a result two years back when we used to offer preselection of seats to passengers for a fee,there were many times that some VIP would turn up and then the passenger who had bought the front row seat would have had to be requested to shift elsewhere.So as long as the security requirement of giving front row seats to VVIPs remains,pre-selection will remain a grey area, said an airline official.Meanwhile,all airlines are now devising innovative packages for unbundling services and levying fees,some players are working on having a 5kg excess check-in weight package for a certain sum that will be cheaper than the Rs 200-300 per kg that airlines charge for more than the allowed weight.For instance,Air Asia does not allow any free check-in baggage and passengers have to buy the weight they wish to carry at the time of buying their tickets.Clearly,now the Indian carriers will try to outdo each other in terms of devising such packages.

AIR INDIA FORCES FLIERS TO GO LIGHT

Air Indias decision to bring down the check-in baggage allowance from 20kg to 15kg will have a cascading effect as other airlines are likely to follow suit.An average Indian family carries around 20kg a head.Theyll have to throw some items out of their bags with the allowance coming down.Most domestic carriers,including Indigo,Jet Airways,Go Air and Spice Jet,provide a baggage allowance of 20kg per passenger.This goes up to 30kg on international airlines such as Etihad and Emirates.Air India will charge between 200 and 250 for every extra kg.Nirmal Selvamani,a businessman who flies regularly,said most middle-class passengers carry as much as they can to avoid spending at their destination.The airline should review its decision,especially since the money they collect as excess baggage charges is not going to save cash-starved Air India, he said.A senior Air India pilot agreed.An e m p t y b a g weighs about 5 k g,wh i ch means passengers can only pack items weighing 10kg as check-in baggage, he said.This could be difficult if a person is taking a long trip.Airlines allow 7kg as hand baggage.Sources said other airlines might cut their check-in baggage allowance too.The decision cannot be challenged because there are no norms for the free baggage allowance.In the US,most airlines do not allow free checked-in baggage, said an airline official at Chennai airport.International Air Transport Association (IATA) is framing new norms for baggage services.Aviation experts said that the only rule restricts the weight of a bag to 32kg based on labour laws and concern for loaders who handle baggage.Air Passengers Association of India president D Sudhakara Reddy said,Air passengers in the US are different from India.Most domestic air passengers there are business travellers and do not have check-in baggage.They holidays are road trips.Indian passengers fly on domestic holidays. Low-cost carriers have always been indifferent to the idea of free baggage allowance.Since the ticket prices are low,people should be willing to pay for checking in baggage because we incur operational costs and difficulties while handling bags, said an airline official.
http://mobiletoi.timesofindia.com/mobile.aspx?article=yes&pageid=9&sectid=edid=&edlabel=TOIKRKO&mydateHid=09-05-2013&pubname=Times+of+India+-+Kochi&edname=&articleid=Ar00901&publabel=TOI

CM stands by Aranmula airport plan

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has made it clear that there will be no change in the pro-Aranmula airport stand of the state government. He also made it clear that the notification on excess land in the area envisaged for the project is only ‘technical’ and will be rectified.Replying to media queries at a post Cabinet briefing on whether the state government is still for retaining its share in the airport project, Chandy said on Wednesday that all the clearances regarding the Aranmula airport in  the private sector was given by the former LDF government.
“It was only followed by the present government. We stand by all measures initiated by the previous government,” he said.When pointed out that 222 acres of land earmarked for the airport and in the possession of KGS Group, the promoters of the airport, was taken over as excess land by the Taluk Land Board recently, the Chief Minister asserted that it was only technical. “It will be rectified soon,” he insisted.It is notable that the Chief Minister’s announcement comes amid a relief among those opposing the project, including environmentalists in the Aranmula region. It has become certain now that the government support for the project will continue and agitations will increase.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/CM-stands-by-Aranmula-airport-plan/2013/05/09/article1581290.ece