Is our fixation with user development fee (UDF) as the funding workhorse for our airports causing us to overlook other more efficient and social benefit-maximizing funding options? V Ranganathan, Indranil Guha, Manuj Sethi & Reema Mahajan Indian airports are in the throes of modernization. With work complete or nearing completion in four major ones — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore …

Airports need 1,000 more ATC officersAnirban Chowdhury / New Delhi If you thought that the IGI airport in Delhi is the only one suffering a shortage of air traffic controllers (ATC), think again. The country has 1,500 ATC officers, which is only 60 per cent of its requirement of 2,500 ATC officers. And despite new recruitments and training, the shortage …

By TBM Staff | Beijing Beijing Capital International Airport performed without fault in the lead-up to and during the 2008 Summer Olympics, with reports the ‘mass exodus’ after the closing ceremony is also progressing smoothly. This is a great credit to the planning and execution of airport officials. According to a Centre for Asia Pacific Association (CAPA),as predicted in the …

To move Mumbai flights to Terminal 5 at Heathrow AirportTBM Staff | Mumbai British Airways (BA) has announced the launch of direct flights from Hyderabad to London from December 7, 2008. The airline is scheduled to operate five flights a week and will operate a Boeing 777 aircraft on the route. The aircraft to be deployed on the Hyderabad route …

From September 1, 2008, Jet Airways, will re-introduce its third service on the Delhi-Udaipur sector with a new ATR 72-500 aircraft. Jet Airways flight 9W 3325 will depart Delhi at 1635 hrs, arriving in Udaipur at 1810 hrs. On the return leg, flight 9W 3326 will depart Udaipur at 1840 hrs, arriving in Delhi at 2020 hrs. The flight will …

Jet Airways has started advertising its maiden international flights from Bangalore to and from Brussels, expected to commence from October 31, 2008, and November 1, 2008, respectively, subject to Government approvals. The flights will be operated using Jet’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft. Jet Airways has 10 in its fleet of of date. The schedule announced on the company website is : …

Manisha Singhal / Mumbai, Business Standard For decades, more than 70 per cent of the business and first-class passenger market between India and Singapore has been controlled by Singapore International Airlines (SIA). But home grown Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines is all set to challenge that with daily flights to the island city starting September 18 from Mumbai, a move that …

Nirbhay Kumar & Chanchal Pal Chauhan, ET Bureau NEW DELHI: Yet another hitch is cropping up in the way of Kingfisher’s international dreams. While UB Group chief Vijay Mallya wants to fly on the global routes using Kingfisher’s call sign, civil aviation ministry officials feel that international operations of the airline can use only the Air Deccan call sign. Mr …

I have updated all the BIAL transport information in December 2008 click here for that article. Please use the Bus & Taxi link on the main menu bar. If you find this article useful, before jumping off the blog, I will appreciate if you can leave a comment or your thanks. Also consider subscribing to the blog via RSS or …

DH News Service, Bangalore: Work on the much awaited six-lane elevated road between Hebbal and Yelahanka bypass to facilitate smooth traffic to and from the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will start from November this year. Speaking to reporters here after reviewing the progress of various national highway development projects in the State, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport …

A commercially oriented machine, without heart or soul Business sense‘Small thinking has sunk in in the infrastructure at BIA’Chairs in the international departure area are uncomfortable BAD PLANNING: A view of departure lounge at Bengaluru International Airport. Reading, day in, day out of the challenges facing Bangalore’s spanking new international airport, one begins to wonder whether proximity to a few …

Kingfisher Airlines – Air Deccan will commence its much awaited international operations on September 3, 2008, offering Bangalore to London Heathrow non-stop service using its newly arrived Airbus A330 aircraft. As per the airline website, the schedules are : BLR-LHR IT1 0840 – 1450LHR-BLR IT2 2205 – 1235+1 More details on the Kingfisher website. Totally four A330 aircraft have arrived. …

I have updated all the BIAL transport information in October 2008. Please use the “Bus” link on the main menu bar. Redbus DOES NOT accept online bookings for Vayu Vajra anymore.

Indira Gandhi Airport third runway commences operations soon18-Aug-2008 Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi is undergoing a transformation. Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) is carrying out an extensive modernisation programme at IGIA. A key step in this process is the commissioning of the airport’s third runway. This runway, currently in the final stages of development, will enable IGIA to significantly …

19 Aug, 2008, IANS NEW DELHI: The national consumer redressal body has pulled up Kingfisher Airlines for adopting an unfair trade practice by misinforming passengers about the airline they were flying by. J.K. Mittal bought a Delhi-Bhubaneswar return ticket on a March 8 Kingfisher flight over the internet from the airline’s website. He paid Rs.4,800 each way. When he reached …

Perfect storm Shuchi Bansal Airlines are blaming the rising ATF prices for their woes. But it is also a crisis of their own making. How are they coping? The exasperation in Saroj K Datta’s voice is unmistakable. “We are doing whatever needs to be done — capacity rationalisation, maintaining aircraft fuel efficiency, and so on,” says the executive-director of Jet …

The civil aviation ministry has directed the Hyderabad airport to levy a user development fee (UDF) of Rs 375 on each domestic passenger, more than 38 per cent lower than what GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), the developer of the airport, had asked for. The airport had asked for a UDF of at least Rs 600 from domestic passengers …

BIA facilities under scannerB S Arun, DH News Service, New Delhi: A team of the civil aviation ministry will visit the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) on August 19 for an inspection of the facilities there in the light adverse remarks made against the new aerodrome in its report by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The ministry officials will also …

Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) CEO Albert Brunner has said that airport capacity is not measured by passengers per annum but by passengers per peak hour. “Currently, we handle an average of 24 ATMs (Air Traffic Movements) during peak hours and about 303 a day. The ATC figures estimate it to be 30 ATM an hour. This calculated in passengers …

WL Ross announces execution of definitive documents for funding transaction13-Aug-2008 SpiceJet Limited and WL Ross & Co. LLC (WL Ross) announced the execution of definitive documents for a funding transaction with WL Ross and others. The completion of the transaction will make available up to INR421 crores (USD 100 million) to SpiceJet. This is higher than the INR345 crore (USD …