Airlines owe Rs 1,122 crore to AAI

Airlines operating within the country owe Rs 1,122 crore to Airports Authority of India, Lok Sabha was informed today.

The dues of Airports Authority of India (AAI) against Air India as on January 31, 2011 are Rs 720 crore, Minister of Civil Aviation Vayalar Ravi mentioned inside a written reply.

For Kingfisher, the figure is Rs 257.62 crore, Go Airlines - Rs 6.77 crore, Interglobe Aviation Ltd. (Indigo)- Rs 13.29 crore, Jet Airways - Rs 38.49 crore, Jet Lite (India) Ltd Rs 13.96 crore, Spicejet Ltd - Rs 16.99 crore and Paramount Airways - Rs 4.88 crore.

For others modest or non-operating airlines the dues stand at 50.13 crore.

He mentioned the matter of pending dues is taken up by the AAI with respective airlines from time to time .

The Minister mentioned steps have been taken to increase the facilities at the airports which include modernisation of Chennai and Kolkata Airports, development of 35 non-metro airports of the terminal buildings having state-of-the-art passenger facilities, user friendly amenities, very good ambiance and satellite based navigation system.

Airlines to Hire 5,000 as Aviation Boom Returns

MUMBAI | NEW DELHI: Indian carriers will hire at least 5,000 professionals across categories this year — pilots, cabin crew and airport ground staff — buoyed by the recent boom during the aviation sector which saw high attrition and retrenchment following the onset of the downturn in 2008.

“Airlines had pulled out at least 20% ability during the industry during the downturn. That ability was restored last year and we see airlines adding another 20% ability this year and would be hiring 4,500-5,000 individuals this year,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO of aviation consultancy company Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, South Asia.

The Indian aviation sector will grow by 18-20% this year, said aviation industry experts. Among airlines, national carrier Air India Airlines and low-cost airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet will add more than 1,000 this year. “Our flights will go up to 350 flights per day from 221 currently. We are during the technique of hiring 200 pilots, 400-500 cabin crew and as many airport ground staff this year at IndiGo,” said Aditya Ghosh, president, IndiGo.

Demand for pilots is rising because of the dearth of professionals. Airlines are chasing expats as the aviation regulator has allowed foreign nationals being employed as pilots till December 13, 2013.

“The fact these days is that all airlines in India are asking for foreign pilots and no single agency can supply those people many numbers. Airlines in India have asked all agencies that these pilots needs to be recruited on an urgent basis,” said somebody directly involved with hiring of expats, requesting anonymity.

In all, airlines are looking for about 230 commanders on an immediate basis , based on recruitment agencies. “We are searching to hire 500-600 pilots to meet the demand,” Jet’s chairman Naresh Goyal had said recently. Jet, which seems to add 49 aircraft, need 100 commanders alone to meet its international expansion plans. Jet Airways , during the downturn, had fired 1,800 flight attendants only to re-hire them following protests and political intervention. It also slashed salaries by up to 25% at greater levels.

GoAir, which plans to add 20 aircraft by 2014, will hire 250 individuals this year with 100 every for cabin crew and ground staff and 50 pilots. The only airline that doesn't look being on an expanding spree stands out as the Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines . The airline pulled ability by 22% during the downturn, losing pilots to competitive airlines.

Aviation experts, however, feel that the modern-day hiring spree usually do not translate into greater salaries because of inflation and other costs. “Salaries will only go up by 15-20% on an average,” said an expert.

The staffing agencies are conservative in their demand projections. “2010 was a recovery year, which saw world-wide-web addition of 1,500 people, but 2011 is a boom year and we’ll see world-wide-web addition of 3,000 individuals or more,” said Kamal Karanth, MD, Kelly Services India, a global staffing company. Out of these 3,000, two-thirds are going to be cabin crew as well as the sleep are going to be a mix of engineers and pilots. More than the following 5 years, the growth in hiring are going to be among 100% and 200%.”

Source: India Times

Go Airways flight makes emergency landing

A Go Airways flight from Lucknow to Delhi Friday morning made emergency landing at Patna Airport due to bad weather.

The incident took place at Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport, Patna when the flight SG-352 was on its way from Lucknow to Delhi, the officials said. The flight was diverted to Patna after dense fog at Delhi airport.

All the passengers were exited safely from the flight after its landing at the airport.

No causalities or mishappening had occurred, the officials added.

The passengers created ruckus at the airport when there was no information about the next flight by the Airport Authorities.

It is mentioned that it was the third case of emergency landing in the last couple of days.
Source: Samay Live

GoAir eyes early A320 delivery, to fly more

Wadia Group-promoted low-cost carrier GoAir on Monday said the airline was in talks with Airbus to advance the delivery of 10 planes within a year. GoAir has an all-Airbus fleet comprising eight aircraft. The airline will add two new Airbus A320s in the next two months. It had ordered 20 Airbus planes in 2006 for $1.2 billion. The ten remaining aircraft are to be delivered by April 2014.

"We are hopeful that the delivery would be preponed by an year to March 2013," said Kaushik Khona, CEO, GoAir.

The airline also announced the addition of four new destinations — Patna, Pune, Leh and Lucknow — to its domestic network, signalling its intent to focus on mini-metros and Tier II cities.

Go Airlines had no plans to fly abroad as the airline did not meet the basic criteria of having a minimum fleet of 20 aircraft for launching international operations, Khona said. The company was hopeful of breaking even in another one-and-a-half years but did not have any plans for an initial public offering, he said.

The airline's focus was to strengthen the domestic network. At present, it runs 1,162 weekly flights connecting 19 stations.

Khona also criticised Air India's desicion to reduce fares on 48 domestic routes by 3-23 per cent. "All other airlines would feel the pressure and everybody will suffer because of this."

Source: Hindustan Times

GoAir expands network

GoAir announced the addition of four new stations - Patna, Pune, Leh and Lucknow and two new Airbus A320 to its growing network.

The services on these new stations and new aircrafts would start from 2nd September for Patna and for Pune, Lucknow and Leh from 2nd October, 2010 onwards.

This move comes as part of GoAir’s growth strategy and to strengthen its existing network by having more than 1162 weekly flights connecting 19 stations. GoAir will now serve daily nonstop flight between Delhi and the four new stations.

Today, mini-metros, satellite towns and Tier II cities are where India is witnessing huge growth.

Education, business houses and service industries are mushrooming in these places. Pune has emerged as the educational hub, while Patna has established itself as a business hub and Lucknow has been known for its culture and is a vibrant city that is witnessing an economic boom.

Source: Indian Express