Shane Warne caught smoking inside airport premises
Indore: Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne was today caught on camera puffing a cigarette inside the Airport premises.
Warne,
who reached here with his teammates a day ahead of his team's clash
against Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the IPL, he was caught smoking in the
presence of policemen by the waiting lensmen.Minutes after alighting
from the aircraft, the former Australian cricketer smoked hurriedly
before boarding a bus to go to the team hotel.
14/05/11 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com
ATF prices to come down by 2% on global declining trend
New Delhi: After being increased 14 consecutive times over
the last seven months, prices of aviation turbine fuel, or ATF, are set
to dip by two per cent, or around Rs 1,200 per kilolitre, later this
week, in tune with a decline in import parity prices. The move is
expected to bring marginal relief to cash-strapped domestic airlines.
Oil
marketing companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan
Petroleum and Essar Oil are looking to cut prices around May 15 in tune
with the declining global prices. The ATF price has jumped 50 per cent
since October last year to Rs 60,560 per kilolitre (for Delhi).Unlike
diesel, kerosene and domestic LPG, ATF is a decontrolled product and
OMCs can change its price on their own on a fortnightly basis. "The
global trend for the current fortnight is a declining one. The OMCs will
make a cut in ATF prices,” said an industry executive.The
rise in ATF prices, which constitute about 40 per cent of an airline’s
operating cost, has been exerting continuous pressure on cash-strapped
domestic carriers. In the case of low-cost carriers such as IndiGo and
SpiceJet, the impact is more severe as the share of ATF in the total
operating cost has gone up to 50 per cent.
13/05/11 Ajay Modi/Business Standard
Reward for arriving early on flight from India to Chicago? A tarmac wait
Due to quirks of winds, weather and airspace restrictions on
the other side of the globe, American Airlines Flight 293 from New
Delhi lands chronically early at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport
during winter and early spring, data show.Arriving ahead of
plan can actually mean a 30-minute or hour wait in a jet parked on the
tarmac for passengers who have just endured a marathon flight of more
than 15 hours.That's because travelers aren't allowed to exit
overseas flights if there aren't customs agents around to screen them.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who handle those duties at
O'Hare don't begin work until 5 a.m., the New Delhi flight's scheduled
arrival time in winter.
Flight 293's delays don't come close
to violating new four-hour tarmac limits for international flights,
which take effect Aug. 23. But its woes are rooted in the same red tape
and staffing snarls that stranded more than 10,000 people aboard
aircraft of foreign carriers for up to 11 hours at John F. Kennedy
International Airport during a blizzard Dec. 26, prodding regulators to
act.Federal officials, airlines, airports and law-enforcement
agencies are drafting plans to let travelers disembark from diverted or
off-schedule overseas flights and into secure waiting areas. Since the
Kennedy nightmare, the planning process has taken on greater urgency,
government and aviation sources said.
But for now,
international passengers are required to remain seated and behind closed
aircraft doors at the point when most want nothing more than to get out
of the giant aluminum tube."People get stir crazy," said
Abby Alconcher, an American flight attendant who, until January, flew
the New Delhi route every month for four years. Exhausted flight
attendants are bombarded with pleas and complaints from passengers, some
who speak little or no English. "You want to say, 'Oh, madam, I so want
to get off this plane too.'"
12/05/11 Julie Johnsson/Chicago Tribune
Second city airport in TN hands
New Delhi | Chennai: The civil aviation ministry and
state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Thursday held a meeting
to discuss the possible construction of a second airport for Chennai at
Sriperumbudur.
Ministry sources said it was expected that the
present airport could get saturated in a decade and parallel runways are
not possible in this airport."The AAI will submit all the
studies it had done and it’s up to the state government to decide
whether it wants a second airport or not,” a ministry source said,
adding that since the ‘site clearance’ of the possible venue at
Sriperumbudur was yet to be done, the move for a second airport for
Chennai "is at very preliminary stage”. The AAI is carrying out
modernisation of the existing airport.
AAI regional executive
director (South) Mr D Devaraj said a technical study had been undertaken
by International Civil Avia-tion Organisation for dual operations
(Chennai and Sripeumbudur). "It is under consideration.”An
industry source in Chennai said acquisition of land for the greenfield
airport at Sriperumbudur wou-ld be history in Tamil Nadu, as it is
expected to attract large amount of litigation.
13/05/11 Deccan Chronicle
Jet Airways pact with 3 new retail partners
Chennai: JetPrivilege has announced three exciting new
opportunities to earn JPMiles for its members with the addition of three
new retail partners in the retail category.
JetPrivilege has
partnered with EZone, a one-stop retail store for all kinds of national
and international consumer durables. This shopping destination offers
customers a choice of electronics from 55 stores in 14 cities across
India.
EZone stores a collection of consumer electronics from
premiere brands across the world ranging from plasmas to LCDs, flat TVs,
home theatre systems, DVD players, computers, laptops, handy cams, MP3
players, mobile phones to refrigerators, air conditioners, washing
machines and microwave ovens among other appliances.
JetPrivilege has also entered into an alliance with www.futurebazaar.com, the e-commerce arm of the Future Group.
13/05/11 ExpressBuzz
Avis India introduces Limousine Airport Transfers in Mercedes E Class
Avis India, the
No.1 premium car rental services provider has introduced a new service -
Limousine Airport Transfer in a Mercedes E Class for valued customers.
The luxurious Chauffeur service is available for Delhi NCR, Mumbai,
Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad and covers airport transfers and city
business day usage.
The Limousine Airport Transfer offer comes
in two packages i.e. Half business day at Rs. 3,000/- for 4 hour 40
kilometers and Full business day at Rs. 4500/- for 8 hours and 80
kilometers."We are happy to introduce this service and wanted
people to experience Mercedes luxury at a very interesting price.
Combining the business day package with the airport transfer will not
only provide our customers with luxurious mobility but also help them to
manage their time better at an affordable price” said Mr. Sunil Gupta,
CEO Avis India.We are committed to provide our customers with innovative and best-in-class services at all times, added Mr. Gupta.
12/05/11 Business Standard
AAPSU demands CBI inquiry into chopper crash
Itanagar: The apex students’ organisation of Arunachal
Pradesh, AAPSU, has demanded CBI inquiry into the April 30 helicopter
crash that killed former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four other
persons.The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU),
which has been playing the role of watchdog in absence of a distinct
Opposition in the State Assembly, urged the State Government to conduct a
probe into the chopper crash by the premier investigating agency for a
free-and-fair inquiry.
AAPSU, which had organised a candle-lit
march at Akashdeep here in honour of late Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu,
who was laid to rest in his home town, Tawang on Tuesday itself, sought
to know several queries pertaining to the air crash of the ill-fated
Pawan Hans chopper in Luguthang area in Tawang district on April 30
last.
During the prayer meet, the AAPSU put a banner alongside
the portrait of late Khandu that read: "Let CBI probe and make us know -
1) Who made the anonymous phone call..? 2) What happened to the black
box..? 3) Why the emergency locating transmitter in the ill-fated
helicopter did not work? 4) Detailed report of Air Traffic Control
before taking off..! 5) Post-mortem report...viz. reason of the late
CM’s death and timing of death! 6) Failure of ISRO and Sukhoi in
locating the crash site...”
11/05/11 Assam Tribune
Air India reinstates pilots who faced action during stir
New Delhi: Five days after pilots called off their strike,
Air India management has finally reinstated its 15 pilots who were
suspended or sacked for participating in the 10-day long stir.Air
India management had suspended six and terminated the services of nine
pilots, including the leaders of pilot's body - the Indian Commercial
Pilot's Association (ICPA) and executive pilots - for spearheading the
indefinite strike.Seeing no action on reinstatement of pilots
by the management, ICPA General Secretary Rishbah Kapur yesterday wrote
to Civil Aviation Minister Valayar Ravi seeking his intervention on the
issue."We have revoked the suspension of six pilots and
reinstated the services of nine terminated pilots last evening and some
of them have been even put on duty also," an Air India official said
today.When asked about the five-day delay, he said various procedures have to be followed before reinstating a terminated pilot.Air
India pilots had called off their 10-day-old strike on May 6 after
Government agreed to reinstate the sacked and suspended pilots, restore
recognition to their union and look into their complaints of
irregularities.
12/05/11 PTI/Deccan Chronicle
Airlines ask Maha CM to lower sales tax on aviation fuel
Mumbai: A delegation representing Federation of Indian
Airlines met chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and made a strong case for
a reduction in sales tax on air turbine fuel (ATF) in Maharashtra . The
meeting held in Mantralaya on Wednesday.
The delegation ,
led by business tycoon Vijay Mallya , told Chavan that airlines
preferred to refuel in other states due to the higher tax in Maharashtra
.
The sales tax on ATFin the stateis 25%.Between 2008 and
2010, the state collected Rs 178 crore as sales tax on ATF. A total of
Rs 44 crore has been collected as sales tax from the aviation industry
during the first three months of 2011( January toMarch ). Whilethe
average per liter ATF price during 2005-2007 was Rs 29 .70, it shotup
toRs 34 .30 in 2008-2010 . For the first three months of 2011, the
average per litre ATF price stood at Rs 42.20.
13/05/11 Sanjeev Shivadekar/Times of India
Mumbai airport could handle 60% more flights
Mumbai: The city's airport could soon improve its flight
handling capacity by 60%. But this can happen only if the
recommendations made by the UK-based consultant appointed to study the
airport's efficiency are accepted. Last week, NATS, which was appointed
as a consultant by the Mumbai International Airport Ltd in January,
submitted a preliminary report with two solutions to the civil aviation
ministry. "The presentation appears to be feasible. We are waiting for
the final report," said Alok Sinha, joint secretary with the civil
aviation ministry.
The consultant’s main suggestion is to
reduce the distance between the flights in the landing queue. Presently,
the air traffic control officials maintain a distance of seven nautical
miles between flights hovering above the airport to land.The
NATS presentation also stated that presently flights take too long to
vacate the runway after landing and the runway occupancy time needs to
be cut down. "The airport can increase its flight handling capacity from
30 flight movements (take-offs and landings) per hour to 48 movements
an hour, as per the presentation," said a senior official with the
Airports Authority of India, on condition of anonymity.
An
increase in the number of daily flights would translate into
availability of more passenger seats and could indirectly make air
tickets cheaper.
12/05/11 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times
