http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/6/business/17368997&sec=business
By B.K. SIDHU
Click to view to MAS HUB and Spoke networkAccords in China and India pending
PETALING JAYA: Just a week after inking a code-sharing agreement with South African Airways (SAA) for greater connectivity to the African continent, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) yesterday added Italy’s Alitalia as its latest code-share partner in a bid to strengthen its network access across Europe.
But still pending are code-share arrangements in India and China. Talks are under way and MAS managing director Idris Jala expects agreements to be sealed before the year-end “barring any unforeseen circumstances”.
Having code-share accords in China and India would complete the hub-and-spoke model that the MAS had embarked on as part of its business turnaround plan.
“The airline business is like a tribe; if you do not belong to the tribe and run it solo, you cannot succeed in this highly competitive environment of connectivity,” Jala told reporters after the agreement signing between MAS and Alitalia.
Code-share is the route that MAS is taking to expand and strengthen its network, given that it is not a member of any alliance. Such an arrangement allows airlines to pool their resources in passenger flights, accessing new markets, reducing costs and increasing revenues. The hub-and-spoke model is a shift from the previous point-to-point network.
Jala said with code-share arrangements in India and China, MAS’ network would cover “most of the points on the map” and that the airline would achieve continental reach. The national carrier is said to be talking to China Southern Airlines and Jet Airways, among other carriers, for code-share arrangements in China and India respectively.
From left: Aureliano Cicala, Idris Jala, Datuk Rashid Khan and MAS general manager (government and industry relations) Germal Singh KheraIn total, MAS has nearly 30 code-share pacts and partnerships with some major partners.
On the latest deal, Jala said typically, airlines saw a 5% increase in passenger volume in having collective routes via code-share.
But Alitalia director of network arrangements Aureliano Cicala was more bullish, estimating volumes to increase between 8% and 10%, based on the Italian carrier’s experience.
“We are happy to be the choice partner for MAS and we believe we can add value,” Cicala said. MAS commercial director Datuk Rashid Khan said the business between Italy, South-East Asia and Australia was worth US$650mil annually.
“With this agreement, we hope both airlines would be able to garner strong market share because of our brands. We (MAS and Alitalia) are now getting 9% market share and it would grow beyond that,” Rashid said.
With the latest inclusion, MAS now offers access to Milan, Frankfurt, Athens, Madrid, Barcelona, Geneva and Rome. Apart from Rome, the carrier's other hubs in Europe are London, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Stockholm.
Copyright © 1995-2007 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Jet, Sahara to fly to Gulf region
http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BD370E07C-15D5-46ED-B7C8-477820A8CD84%7D&CATEGORYNAME=NATL
New Delhi, April 5: Private carriers like Jet Airways and Air Sahara would get to fly to the lucrative gulf countries, hitherto exclusively serviced by flag carriers, by early next year as the government proposes not to review the ban imposed on other airlines to fly to this region.
Highly placed sources said that government was unlikely to review the three-year ban imposed on December 2004, under which the private airlines could not operate to gulf countries.
The Union Government, while throwing open other foreign destinations to private airlines, had barred them for a period of three years from flying to the Gulf and kept it reserved for state carriers like Air India, Air India Express and Indian.
But now the government has made up its mind not to continue with the policy thus paving the way for private airlines like Jet and Saharra to fly to these destinations.
The sectors in Gulf include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and these destinations have been a major source of revenue for the two national carriers.
The move would enable only Jet Airways and Air Sahara to fly to Gulf nations abroad as they meet the current criteria of having completed five years in the domestic market and fleet strength of 20 to fly internationally.
The sources said, however, there was no decision yet to review the five year criteria of flying abroad. (Agencies)
Copyright © 2007, Chennai Interactive Business Services (P) Ltd.
New Delhi, April 5: Private carriers like Jet Airways and Air Sahara would get to fly to the lucrative gulf countries, hitherto exclusively serviced by flag carriers, by early next year as the government proposes not to review the ban imposed on other airlines to fly to this region.
Highly placed sources said that government was unlikely to review the three-year ban imposed on December 2004, under which the private airlines could not operate to gulf countries.
The Union Government, while throwing open other foreign destinations to private airlines, had barred them for a period of three years from flying to the Gulf and kept it reserved for state carriers like Air India, Air India Express and Indian.
But now the government has made up its mind not to continue with the policy thus paving the way for private airlines like Jet and Saharra to fly to these destinations.
The sectors in Gulf include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and these destinations have been a major source of revenue for the two national carriers.
The move would enable only Jet Airways and Air Sahara to fly to Gulf nations abroad as they meet the current criteria of having completed five years in the domestic market and fleet strength of 20 to fly internationally.
The sources said, however, there was no decision yet to review the five year criteria of flying abroad. (Agencies)
Copyright © 2007, Chennai Interactive Business Services (P) Ltd.
'Global airport privatisation experience shows grave risks'
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200704060311.htm
Singapore, April 6 (PTI): With India going ahead with airport privatisation, a top global aviation official on Thursday warned that the worldwide experience was marred with "very grave risks" and a tough regulator was essential to ensure proper functioning of private airports.
"Some years ago we favoured privatisation of airports. But unfortunately the experience has proved to be fraught with very grave risks. This experience should act as a wake-up call for all governments that that they have a very tough regulator in place," Director General and CEO of International Air Transport Association (IATA) Giovanni Bisignani told PTI in an interview here.
In this context, he referred to the airport privatisation experiences of the UK, Mexico, Hong Kong and some other nations where either the absence of a regulator or the regulator's "inefficiency" led the private operator to make huge profits by hiking user charges substantially and providing no benefits to the consumers.
The IATA chief's comments came weeks ahead of government's plans present the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Bill in the Parliament during the second part of the on-going Budget Session.
The Left parties and airport unions have also been opposing privatisation of airports.
On the public-private partnership path chosen by India to develop major airports as well as 35 non-metro airports, Bisignani said while aviation infrastructure has to be constructed very fast in India, "let us be very careful about the role of the private parties. The airport regulator should be independent and have a very strong mandate."
"If the private parties do not fulfil their part of the commitments, there should be a provision in the agreement that the agreement itself can be withdrawn," he said, stressing the need to have appropriate regulations in place before allowing private firms to get into airport business.
The Mexican experience, he said, had shown that the private companies, which had committed to invest a certain amount of money, did not do it but continued to increase user charges and made considerable profits, he said.
The IATA chief also referred to the London-Heathrow airport private process and said the airport regulator's handling of the situation was "very inefficient" and "not effective". This had led the private parties to make very high profits.
"Private investors could also abuse the monopolistic situation," Bisignani said and referred to the Hong Kong experience where "IATA finally won the battle" and convinced the local government not to go ahead with privatising the airports.
Copyright © 2006, The Hindu.
Singapore, April 6 (PTI): With India going ahead with airport privatisation, a top global aviation official on Thursday warned that the worldwide experience was marred with "very grave risks" and a tough regulator was essential to ensure proper functioning of private airports.
"Some years ago we favoured privatisation of airports. But unfortunately the experience has proved to be fraught with very grave risks. This experience should act as a wake-up call for all governments that that they have a very tough regulator in place," Director General and CEO of International Air Transport Association (IATA) Giovanni Bisignani told PTI in an interview here.
In this context, he referred to the airport privatisation experiences of the UK, Mexico, Hong Kong and some other nations where either the absence of a regulator or the regulator's "inefficiency" led the private operator to make huge profits by hiking user charges substantially and providing no benefits to the consumers.
The IATA chief's comments came weeks ahead of government's plans present the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Bill in the Parliament during the second part of the on-going Budget Session.
The Left parties and airport unions have also been opposing privatisation of airports.
On the public-private partnership path chosen by India to develop major airports as well as 35 non-metro airports, Bisignani said while aviation infrastructure has to be constructed very fast in India, "let us be very careful about the role of the private parties. The airport regulator should be independent and have a very strong mandate."
"If the private parties do not fulfil their part of the commitments, there should be a provision in the agreement that the agreement itself can be withdrawn," he said, stressing the need to have appropriate regulations in place before allowing private firms to get into airport business.
The Mexican experience, he said, had shown that the private companies, which had committed to invest a certain amount of money, did not do it but continued to increase user charges and made considerable profits, he said.
The IATA chief also referred to the London-Heathrow airport private process and said the airport regulator's handling of the situation was "very inefficient" and "not effective". This had led the private parties to make very high profits.
"Private investors could also abuse the monopolistic situation," Bisignani said and referred to the Hong Kong experience where "IATA finally won the battle" and convinced the local government not to go ahead with privatising the airports.
Copyright © 2006, The Hindu.
Merged IA-AI to fly with Air India brand
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India_Business/Merged_IA-AI_to_fly_with_Air_India_brand/articleshow/1862713.cms
NEW DELHI: Love it or hate it, the brand name Air India is most likely to be retained for the new mega carrier government is going to create by merging AI and Indian Airlines. Ditto for the Maharaja which is going to remain the mascot. Accenture, the consultant appointed to handle the merger process, has submitted its report to the civil aviation ministry and is learnt to have suggested that AI enjoys a very strong brand recall across the world and this name should stay. "We may have to retain AI as the brand name for the merged airline because of several reasons. The popular international codename AI can be retained only if the name stays. Although a final decision would be taken by mid-April, it's most likely that AI will remain,"said a source in the ministry. Apart from the brand name, the other 'concrete' suggestion given by Accenture is that the design of livery and logo of the merged airline be such that looking at it reminds people of Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had recently tinkered with its name when it dropped Airlines. The old livery — where the tail wing was painted orange and had IA written in white — was changed and a design inspired by famous wheel on Konark sun temple was adopted. But the airline had retained the orange colour on tail wing by painting wheel's spokes in blue. "The logo and livery of the merged airline would use orange colour so that it has familiarity for Indian Airlines travellers within the country,"said the source. The fog has also lifted on who would head the new airline. The government is keen on having some continuity and that leaves AI CMD V Thulasidas and Indian chairman V Trivedi in the race for top job. Being the senior most in the ministry (secretary Ashok Chawla is a batch junior), the 1972-batch IAS officer Thulasidas appears to be the frontrunner for the post. The final structure is being worked out in a way that the number two person is also not unhappy. "The merger may be announced but for quite some time both airlines would have to be run as separate entities,"said a senior official. The first report submitted by Accenture on merger is learnt to have focussed on the main airline and not the low cost one that would be formed by merging AI Express and Alliance Air. The new name and look of the merged LCC is also going to be finalised shortly, said the source. By merging AI and IA, aviation minister Praful Patel is aiming at creating an airline with the "precision and reliability of Lufthansa and service standards of Singapore Airlines". Its fleet size will immediately take it in the league of top 30 airlines of the world. The government has placed orders for 111 new generation aircraft that would be delivered in next four years. By returning the leased aircraft, the new entity would have about 125 planes by 2010.
Copyright ©2007Times Internet Limited.
NEW DELHI: Love it or hate it, the brand name Air India is most likely to be retained for the new mega carrier government is going to create by merging AI and Indian Airlines. Ditto for the Maharaja which is going to remain the mascot. Accenture, the consultant appointed to handle the merger process, has submitted its report to the civil aviation ministry and is learnt to have suggested that AI enjoys a very strong brand recall across the world and this name should stay. "We may have to retain AI as the brand name for the merged airline because of several reasons. The popular international codename AI can be retained only if the name stays. Although a final decision would be taken by mid-April, it's most likely that AI will remain,"said a source in the ministry. Apart from the brand name, the other 'concrete' suggestion given by Accenture is that the design of livery and logo of the merged airline be such that looking at it reminds people of Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had recently tinkered with its name when it dropped Airlines. The old livery — where the tail wing was painted orange and had IA written in white — was changed and a design inspired by famous wheel on Konark sun temple was adopted. But the airline had retained the orange colour on tail wing by painting wheel's spokes in blue. "The logo and livery of the merged airline would use orange colour so that it has familiarity for Indian Airlines travellers within the country,"said the source. The fog has also lifted on who would head the new airline. The government is keen on having some continuity and that leaves AI CMD V Thulasidas and Indian chairman V Trivedi in the race for top job. Being the senior most in the ministry (secretary Ashok Chawla is a batch junior), the 1972-batch IAS officer Thulasidas appears to be the frontrunner for the post. The final structure is being worked out in a way that the number two person is also not unhappy. "The merger may be announced but for quite some time both airlines would have to be run as separate entities,"said a senior official. The first report submitted by Accenture on merger is learnt to have focussed on the main airline and not the low cost one that would be formed by merging AI Express and Alliance Air. The new name and look of the merged LCC is also going to be finalised shortly, said the source. By merging AI and IA, aviation minister Praful Patel is aiming at creating an airline with the "precision and reliability of Lufthansa and service standards of Singapore Airlines". Its fleet size will immediately take it in the league of top 30 airlines of the world. The government has placed orders for 111 new generation aircraft that would be delivered in next four years. By returning the leased aircraft, the new entity would have about 125 planes by 2010.
Copyright ©2007Times Internet Limited.
More facilities at airport soon for domestic passengers
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2007040624440500.htm&date=2007/04/06/&prd=th&
S. Anil Radhakrishnan
Thiruvananthapuram : The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will commission next week the Rs.45-lakh passenger facilities in the domestic terminal of the international airport to cater to the heavy movement of travellers in the domestic sector.
An additional 300 square metres of space is being made available by the AAI on the city side and airside in addition to the existing 4,465 square metres in the domestic terminal. Under this project, 240 square metres on the right side of the canopy of the domestic terminal was annexed to the terminal building to make available more space for the domestic passengers.
Air-conditioners have been provided for the comfort of the passengers and tiles have been laid on the floor. The X-ray machine now placed inside the building would be shifted outside so that the domestic passengers can screen their baggage and proceed straight to the terminal.
Two more airline counters would be set up inside the building to avoid rush. With this, the number of airline counters in the domestic terminal would go up to eight. Conveyor belts would be extended to all counters.
On the airside, the authorities have extended the security-hold area by 60 square metres to accommodate more passengers. Two toilets and a ramp have been created for the benefit of senior citizens and the physically challenged. In addition, an additional door has also been set up so that the passengers can enter the coaches that take them to the aircraft without any rush.
Airport Director K. Natarajan told The Hindu that the additional facilities being set up by AAI at a cost of Rs.45 lakh would be thrown open by the weekend.
The heavy movement of domestic passengers forced us to provide more facilities in the domestic terminal, he said.
The AAI would place more chairs in the security hold area for the benefit of checked-in passengers. One more X-ray machine would soon be installed for screening the baggage in the domestic terminal, he said.
As per the latest traffic figures, Mr. Natarajan said the increase in domestic aircraft movement through the airport was an astounding 225 per cent. The movement of domestic aircraft alone had gone up from 284 in January 2006 to 924 in January this year. "This had prompted us to provide more facilities for the passengers in the domestic terminal," he said.
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu
S. Anil Radhakrishnan
Thiruvananthapuram : The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will commission next week the Rs.45-lakh passenger facilities in the domestic terminal of the international airport to cater to the heavy movement of travellers in the domestic sector.
An additional 300 square metres of space is being made available by the AAI on the city side and airside in addition to the existing 4,465 square metres in the domestic terminal. Under this project, 240 square metres on the right side of the canopy of the domestic terminal was annexed to the terminal building to make available more space for the domestic passengers.
Air-conditioners have been provided for the comfort of the passengers and tiles have been laid on the floor. The X-ray machine now placed inside the building would be shifted outside so that the domestic passengers can screen their baggage and proceed straight to the terminal.
Two more airline counters would be set up inside the building to avoid rush. With this, the number of airline counters in the domestic terminal would go up to eight. Conveyor belts would be extended to all counters.
On the airside, the authorities have extended the security-hold area by 60 square metres to accommodate more passengers. Two toilets and a ramp have been created for the benefit of senior citizens and the physically challenged. In addition, an additional door has also been set up so that the passengers can enter the coaches that take them to the aircraft without any rush.
Airport Director K. Natarajan told The Hindu that the additional facilities being set up by AAI at a cost of Rs.45 lakh would be thrown open by the weekend.
The heavy movement of domestic passengers forced us to provide more facilities in the domestic terminal, he said.
The AAI would place more chairs in the security hold area for the benefit of checked-in passengers. One more X-ray machine would soon be installed for screening the baggage in the domestic terminal, he said.
As per the latest traffic figures, Mr. Natarajan said the increase in domestic aircraft movement through the airport was an astounding 225 per cent. The movement of domestic aircraft alone had gone up from 284 in January 2006 to 924 in January this year. "This had prompted us to provide more facilities for the passengers in the domestic terminal," he said.
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu
Two held in job scam
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Two_held_in_job_scam/articleshow/1868083.cms
MUMBAI: Two persons have been arrested by the Santa Cruz airport police for duping job-seekers by promising them employment as loaders with Kingfisher Airlines and accepting money for it. The accused, both undergraduates, won the confidence of their victims by getting them to fill up a variety of forms, including a police clearance paper required for the job. One of the accused, Jitendra Shah, had earlier worked on contract for an agency that reported to Kingfisher Airlines. The other accused, Amar Panda, worked as a waiter with a canteen located on the domestic airport premises. The police suspect the fraud may run into several lakhs. So far, two complainants have come forward and the police have appealed to others who might have been conned in a similar manner to lodge complaints. According to the police, Dadar resident Damodar Gurav approached them with a complaint against the duo on April 3. According to Gurav, he first came in contact with Panda in October 2006. Panda then promised him a job as a loader and asked for Rs 30,000, with an initial instalment of Rs 15,000 to be paid immediately. Panda then asked Gurav to fill up several forms, besides asking for his photographs. "Panda and Shah had laid their hands on a sheaf of original documents of a job applicant. They used to take photocopies of these documents and replace the name of the original applicant with that of the job-seeker whom they were duping. They used a whitener to wipe out the original applicant's name,"said senior inspector D Sidham. Shah had flaunted an identity-card issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) when he worked with his former employer till three years ago. He had not returned the card when he left the job. "The card is now invalid but this was not realised by job-seekers who thought Shah had the powers to get them a job,"an officer said. The police have also recovered documents from the accused including hospitality forms and a no-objection certificate addressed to the Special Branch-CID. Shah, a resident of Andheri and Panda, a Dadar resident, have been booked for cheating. The spokesperson for Kingfisher Airlines was unavailable for comment.
Copyright ©2007Times Internet Limited.
MUMBAI: Two persons have been arrested by the Santa Cruz airport police for duping job-seekers by promising them employment as loaders with Kingfisher Airlines and accepting money for it. The accused, both undergraduates, won the confidence of their victims by getting them to fill up a variety of forms, including a police clearance paper required for the job. One of the accused, Jitendra Shah, had earlier worked on contract for an agency that reported to Kingfisher Airlines. The other accused, Amar Panda, worked as a waiter with a canteen located on the domestic airport premises. The police suspect the fraud may run into several lakhs. So far, two complainants have come forward and the police have appealed to others who might have been conned in a similar manner to lodge complaints. According to the police, Dadar resident Damodar Gurav approached them with a complaint against the duo on April 3. According to Gurav, he first came in contact with Panda in October 2006. Panda then promised him a job as a loader and asked for Rs 30,000, with an initial instalment of Rs 15,000 to be paid immediately. Panda then asked Gurav to fill up several forms, besides asking for his photographs. "Panda and Shah had laid their hands on a sheaf of original documents of a job applicant. They used to take photocopies of these documents and replace the name of the original applicant with that of the job-seeker whom they were duping. They used a whitener to wipe out the original applicant's name,"said senior inspector D Sidham. Shah had flaunted an identity-card issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) when he worked with his former employer till three years ago. He had not returned the card when he left the job. "The card is now invalid but this was not realised by job-seekers who thought Shah had the powers to get them a job,"an officer said. The police have also recovered documents from the accused including hospitality forms and a no-objection certificate addressed to the Special Branch-CID. Shah, a resident of Andheri and Panda, a Dadar resident, have been booked for cheating. The spokesperson for Kingfisher Airlines was unavailable for comment.
Copyright ©2007Times Internet Limited.
Prime accused in online air ticket booking scam held
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=230411#
Prime accused in online air ticket booking scam held Express News Service
Mumbai, April 6: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Thursday arrested Sameer Qasim Shaikh (22), the prime accused in an online ticket booking scam that caused Kingfisher Airlines a loss of Rs 13.47 crores.
A case had been lodged with the EOW by the airline on December 21 last year. And 16 persons have been arrested in the case so far.
“We have arrested Sameer Shaikh, a resident of Mira Road, who is a prime accused, and a leader of one of the three gangs involved in the online ticket booking scam case. He is accused of stealing credit card details of unsuspecting persons through people working in malls and hotels, and using the information to book 15,255 Kingfisher Airlines tickets online. He then sold the tickets at a lower rate in exchange for cash,” confirmed Additional Commissioner of Police, EOW, Sadanand Date.
According to the police, Sameer was arrested on Thursday afternoon, when he was attempting to meet his wife Firdaus and their two-year-old son — Firdaus was being produced at Esplanade Court for an extension of judicial custody.
On February 22, Sameer managed to give Crime Branch officers the slip at Chicalim in Goa. However, his wife was arrested along with his two accomplices Mehboob Shaikh and Sameer Maktum Shaik, after the car they were fleeing in collided with a truck.
Sameer was produced at the Esplanade Court on Friday morning, where he was remanded to police custody till April 19.
© 2007: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.
Prime accused in online air ticket booking scam held Express News Service
Mumbai, April 6: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Thursday arrested Sameer Qasim Shaikh (22), the prime accused in an online ticket booking scam that caused Kingfisher Airlines a loss of Rs 13.47 crores.
A case had been lodged with the EOW by the airline on December 21 last year. And 16 persons have been arrested in the case so far.
“We have arrested Sameer Shaikh, a resident of Mira Road, who is a prime accused, and a leader of one of the three gangs involved in the online ticket booking scam case. He is accused of stealing credit card details of unsuspecting persons through people working in malls and hotels, and using the information to book 15,255 Kingfisher Airlines tickets online. He then sold the tickets at a lower rate in exchange for cash,” confirmed Additional Commissioner of Police, EOW, Sadanand Date.
According to the police, Sameer was arrested on Thursday afternoon, when he was attempting to meet his wife Firdaus and their two-year-old son — Firdaus was being produced at Esplanade Court for an extension of judicial custody.
On February 22, Sameer managed to give Crime Branch officers the slip at Chicalim in Goa. However, his wife was arrested along with his two accomplices Mehboob Shaikh and Sameer Maktum Shaik, after the car they were fleeing in collided with a truck.
Sameer was produced at the Esplanade Court on Friday morning, where he was remanded to police custody till April 19.
© 2007: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.
A Historic Injustice Perpetrated on Adivasis
http://pd.cpim.org/2007/0408/04082007_jharkhand.htm
J S Majumdar
After series of village meetings and local demonstrations, an adivasi delegation from Jharkhand consisting of Prakash Toppo, Suresh Oroan and Suresh Munda, led by the state secretary of the Party, met the union minister for Defence A.K.Antony on April 2 at New Delhi and submitted a joint petition signed by 552 affected adivasis from seven villages around Ranchi airport demanding the return of 1200 acres of adivasi lands occupied by the defence establishment. In response to an earlier memorandum of the state committee of the Party, the Defence minister wrote back to Brinda Karat, MP that the lands belong to Defence establishment and that some of the adivasis, who are cultivating a small portion of the lands, were encroachers. This joint petition of the adivasis exposed, with documentary evidences from British period, the hollowness of the claim of the Defence establishment.
This is a story of historic injustice done to the adivasis in British India which continued even in independent India. During Second World War, the headquarters of Eastern Command was shifted temporarily from Kolkata to Ranchi. Under Defence of India rule, using extraordinary power, thousands of acres of adivasi lands were requisitioned by the British government for this purpose. Adivasi houses were demolished, trees were cut and an airstrip was constructed for Defence aircraft landing. Since the lands were requisitioned, there was neither any rehabilitation of adivasis nor any compensation was given to them. The lands were never acquired under Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The lands continued to remain in the name of adivasis, but occupied by the Defence even after the war ended, India became independent and a republic. In 1962, the temporarily constructed airstrip of the Defence at Ranchi was handed over to civil aviation ministry where present Ranchi Airport is situated.
This led to an abnormal situation which was continuously ignored by the Defence and Civil Aviation ministries of the central government. The adivasis are having khatiyans (land records) and, with the hope that their lands would be returned to them some day, have been paying land taxes, earlier to Bihar government and at present to Jharkhand government, of the lands which are in occupation of Defence and even of the lands where present Ranchi Airport is situated and where aircrafts are landing! State governments issued receipts to them on regular basis. Copies of these documents were submitted to the Defence minister.Defence personnel are regularly preventing the adivasis, who are cultivating some portion of their vacant lands, preventing their entry in the villages, preventing them from repairing their houses and performing religious functions. Against such high handed actions of the Defence, regular demonstrations and protests are taking place.
In a judgement related to these lands, occupied by Defence, the Ranchi Bench of Patna High Court stated, “ According to the State (State of Bihar) the lands in dispute and other plots which belong to Scheduled Tribes as was shown in annexure-3, were never acquired nor possession of the same was given for Air Field/Aerodrome” and ordered the Station Commander of Defence at Ranchi, “ not to interfere with the petitioner and other similarly situated persons, whoever having right, title and possession over the land, except by obtaining an order of the court of competent jurisdiction.”In this land dispute between the adivasis and the Defence, three member bench of Supreme Court in 1989 directed, “Status quo as on today regarding possession shall be maintained.”
Yet Defence minister of India writes that the lands belong to Defence establishment and that the adivasis were the encroachers! Though to the delegation, Defence minister assured to re-look into the entire issue, adivasis under the banner of CPI(M) are preparing for continuous agitation till historic injustice to them is corrected. A massive meeting of the adivasis is scheduled to be held shortly.
J S Majumdar
After series of village meetings and local demonstrations, an adivasi delegation from Jharkhand consisting of Prakash Toppo, Suresh Oroan and Suresh Munda, led by the state secretary of the Party, met the union minister for Defence A.K.Antony on April 2 at New Delhi and submitted a joint petition signed by 552 affected adivasis from seven villages around Ranchi airport demanding the return of 1200 acres of adivasi lands occupied by the defence establishment. In response to an earlier memorandum of the state committee of the Party, the Defence minister wrote back to Brinda Karat, MP that the lands belong to Defence establishment and that some of the adivasis, who are cultivating a small portion of the lands, were encroachers. This joint petition of the adivasis exposed, with documentary evidences from British period, the hollowness of the claim of the Defence establishment.
This is a story of historic injustice done to the adivasis in British India which continued even in independent India. During Second World War, the headquarters of Eastern Command was shifted temporarily from Kolkata to Ranchi. Under Defence of India rule, using extraordinary power, thousands of acres of adivasi lands were requisitioned by the British government for this purpose. Adivasi houses were demolished, trees were cut and an airstrip was constructed for Defence aircraft landing. Since the lands were requisitioned, there was neither any rehabilitation of adivasis nor any compensation was given to them. The lands were never acquired under Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The lands continued to remain in the name of adivasis, but occupied by the Defence even after the war ended, India became independent and a republic. In 1962, the temporarily constructed airstrip of the Defence at Ranchi was handed over to civil aviation ministry where present Ranchi Airport is situated.
This led to an abnormal situation which was continuously ignored by the Defence and Civil Aviation ministries of the central government. The adivasis are having khatiyans (land records) and, with the hope that their lands would be returned to them some day, have been paying land taxes, earlier to Bihar government and at present to Jharkhand government, of the lands which are in occupation of Defence and even of the lands where present Ranchi Airport is situated and where aircrafts are landing! State governments issued receipts to them on regular basis. Copies of these documents were submitted to the Defence minister.Defence personnel are regularly preventing the adivasis, who are cultivating some portion of their vacant lands, preventing their entry in the villages, preventing them from repairing their houses and performing religious functions. Against such high handed actions of the Defence, regular demonstrations and protests are taking place.
In a judgement related to these lands, occupied by Defence, the Ranchi Bench of Patna High Court stated, “ According to the State (State of Bihar) the lands in dispute and other plots which belong to Scheduled Tribes as was shown in annexure-3, were never acquired nor possession of the same was given for Air Field/Aerodrome” and ordered the Station Commander of Defence at Ranchi, “ not to interfere with the petitioner and other similarly situated persons, whoever having right, title and possession over the land, except by obtaining an order of the court of competent jurisdiction.”In this land dispute between the adivasis and the Defence, three member bench of Supreme Court in 1989 directed, “Status quo as on today regarding possession shall be maintained.”
Yet Defence minister of India writes that the lands belong to Defence establishment and that the adivasis were the encroachers! Though to the delegation, Defence minister assured to re-look into the entire issue, adivasis under the banner of CPI(M) are preparing for continuous agitation till historic injustice to them is corrected. A massive meeting of the adivasis is scheduled to be held shortly.
Delhi dreams longest runway, but village roadblock
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=230431#
New Delhi, April 6: COME 2008, Delhi will get its third runway strip--4,430 meters long Code-F standard, capable of accommodating the dream aircraft A380. Also, with CAT IIIB Instrument Landing System (ILS) to boot, Delhi will boast of one of the longest runways in Asia.
But all this will take shape only when the 20,000 residents of Nangal Dewat, which is situated right next to the airport, move out. The villagers have been offered a location in D block, Vasant Kunj with 'well-planned parks, water treatment plants' and adjacent to the National Plant Quarantine Station.
But residents of this nearly 300-year-old village are not impressed. With barricades all around, drains choked with debris just outside their village, residents say they will not yield an inch of their ancestral land because they feel the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been 'unfair' to them.
AAI had acquired land from the villagers for airport expansion in 1972 at a compensation rate of Rs 24 square per meter. Three decades later, the villagers now want more.
"We have given land for the airport in 1964 and again in 1972 for its expansion. We are not against moving out but, the deal should be fair. While we live in houses spread across 145 sqm or more, DDA is offering us 26 sqm plots. They are also offering us a paltry Rs 24 per square yard for our land. As per 1972 land acquisition rates, the price of land here is now Rs 4-5 lakh per square yard," says Gajendra Chaudhary, a resident and Secretary of Harijan and Backward Jan Kalyan Samiti--the body under whose banner the villagers are voicing their protest.
"The people have held talks with Civil Aviation Ministry and put forth their point of view. I am confident the issue will be sorted out and the people of Nangal Dewat will get a fair deal. In any event, I will stand by them," said former Defence Minister George Fernandes, who is backing the villagers.
The DDA has sent several notices asking the villagers to vacate. In response, the villagers went to the High Court seeking proper rehabilitation and compensation and the court issued a stay order. The next hearing is on April 13.
"We had sent eviction notices earlier but the matter is now sub-judice. We will wait and see how things turn out," said Sanjeev Kumar, Deputy Director Lease Administration, DDA.
While DIAL is waiting for the issue to be sorted out, the villagers have created a permanent protest site at the village.
"The alternative site they are offering us has open manholes and trees between plots. DDA says we have to take care of all this on our own. Also there is no school in that area. Where will our children study?" said Prahlad Singh,a resident.
© 2007: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.
New Delhi, April 6: COME 2008, Delhi will get its third runway strip--4,430 meters long Code-F standard, capable of accommodating the dream aircraft A380. Also, with CAT IIIB Instrument Landing System (ILS) to boot, Delhi will boast of one of the longest runways in Asia.
But all this will take shape only when the 20,000 residents of Nangal Dewat, which is situated right next to the airport, move out. The villagers have been offered a location in D block, Vasant Kunj with 'well-planned parks, water treatment plants' and adjacent to the National Plant Quarantine Station.
But residents of this nearly 300-year-old village are not impressed. With barricades all around, drains choked with debris just outside their village, residents say they will not yield an inch of their ancestral land because they feel the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been 'unfair' to them.
AAI had acquired land from the villagers for airport expansion in 1972 at a compensation rate of Rs 24 square per meter. Three decades later, the villagers now want more.
"We have given land for the airport in 1964 and again in 1972 for its expansion. We are not against moving out but, the deal should be fair. While we live in houses spread across 145 sqm or more, DDA is offering us 26 sqm plots. They are also offering us a paltry Rs 24 per square yard for our land. As per 1972 land acquisition rates, the price of land here is now Rs 4-5 lakh per square yard," says Gajendra Chaudhary, a resident and Secretary of Harijan and Backward Jan Kalyan Samiti--the body under whose banner the villagers are voicing their protest.
"The people have held talks with Civil Aviation Ministry and put forth their point of view. I am confident the issue will be sorted out and the people of Nangal Dewat will get a fair deal. In any event, I will stand by them," said former Defence Minister George Fernandes, who is backing the villagers.
The DDA has sent several notices asking the villagers to vacate. In response, the villagers went to the High Court seeking proper rehabilitation and compensation and the court issued a stay order. The next hearing is on April 13.
"We had sent eviction notices earlier but the matter is now sub-judice. We will wait and see how things turn out," said Sanjeev Kumar, Deputy Director Lease Administration, DDA.
While DIAL is waiting for the issue to be sorted out, the villagers have created a permanent protest site at the village.
"The alternative site they are offering us has open manholes and trees between plots. DDA says we have to take care of all this on our own. Also there is no school in that area. Where will our children study?" said Prahlad Singh,a resident.
© 2007: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.
Three paths to no-frills flight
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1089342
Praveena Sharma Friday, April 06, 2007 22:38 IST
BANGALORE: These are desperate times for the low-cost carriers. And each one is trying to chart a different flight path to shore up yields and load factors.
If the oldest budget airline Air Deccan is looking at connecting metros to under-served cities, rival SpiceJet has decided to sub-lease two aircraft during the next lean season (July to September).
GoAir is taking the consolidation route and has focused completely on profitability. “Chasing market share is not economical. What we want to concentrate on is yields, people performance and productivity. Our strategy is being aggressive in the peak season and consolidating in the off-season,” said GoAir’s promoter Jeh Wadia.
In contrast, newest no-frills but fastest-growing airline IndiGo has aggressive expansion plans. By March 2008, it will expand its fleet to 18 aircraft. This, it wants to do by giving affordable fares without compromising on yields
Even Air Deccan, which has reached a fleet size of 40 aircraft (19 Airbus +19 ATR), has not plans of slowing down. By the end of this calendar year, the carrier would be adding 12 aircraft. “There are so many under-served markets. These markets give us better earnings as they have lower cost per available seat kilometre (ASKM) compared with metros. Our inaugural flight from Delhi to Dharamshala to be launched this month has been fully booked,” says Deccan Aviation chief revenue officer Samyukta Sridharan.
Today, of Air Deccan’s 333 flights only 80 flights are operated on the top eight metro routes - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. And Air Deccan is planning to chase these non-metro markets by offering attractive offers. This would be mean that it will continue to flood the market with discounted fares, which will be subsidised by ancillary income (non-passenger revenues).
This is reason Air Deccan managing director Capt G R Gopinath is keen on boosting the ancillary revenues to 25% in the next 2-3 years. But he is not alone. Every budget carrier has turned its attention to allied revenues.
SpiceJet, which till now had kept away from onboard food sale, is planning to start hawking snacks and beverages on its long-haul (more than two hours) flights from April 10. For this, it has tied up with Skychef.
“Foreign low-cost carriers like Ryan Air and EasyJet generate a chunk of their revenues from allied services. A major part of their ancillary income comes from selling alcoholic beverages on the flight but in India, we can’t do that,” says SpiceJet CEO and chairman Siddhanta Sharma. And this income has not just caught the fancy of Air Deccan and SpiceJet, it is being pursued by every budget airline.
But Air Deccan’s ancillary plans do not end there. Soon, it will be selling travel insurance, home loans, credit cards and tour packages on it website. SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo also have similar plans.
Currently, Air Deccan earns the highest ancillary income - 6.5% of its total revenues. It wants to take this income to 10% in the next 12-15 months. For SpiceJet and GoAir, it is 6% and IndiGo’s is 5%. While SpiceJet will take it to 9% by March 2009, IndiGo is targeting 15% by March 2008. Like ancillary revenues, SpiceJet’s plan for fleet expansion is also toned down. While IndiGo will have 18 aircraft in its fleet by March 2008, SpiceJet is aiming at 25 by March 2009.
GoAir, which scaled down its fleet from seven to five aircraft, will have 12 aircraft by the end of this year.
© 2005-2007 Diligent Media Corporation Ltd.
Praveena Sharma Friday, April 06, 2007 22:38 IST
BANGALORE: These are desperate times for the low-cost carriers. And each one is trying to chart a different flight path to shore up yields and load factors.
If the oldest budget airline Air Deccan is looking at connecting metros to under-served cities, rival SpiceJet has decided to sub-lease two aircraft during the next lean season (July to September).
GoAir is taking the consolidation route and has focused completely on profitability. “Chasing market share is not economical. What we want to concentrate on is yields, people performance and productivity. Our strategy is being aggressive in the peak season and consolidating in the off-season,” said GoAir’s promoter Jeh Wadia.
In contrast, newest no-frills but fastest-growing airline IndiGo has aggressive expansion plans. By March 2008, it will expand its fleet to 18 aircraft. This, it wants to do by giving affordable fares without compromising on yields
Even Air Deccan, which has reached a fleet size of 40 aircraft (19 Airbus +19 ATR), has not plans of slowing down. By the end of this calendar year, the carrier would be adding 12 aircraft. “There are so many under-served markets. These markets give us better earnings as they have lower cost per available seat kilometre (ASKM) compared with metros. Our inaugural flight from Delhi to Dharamshala to be launched this month has been fully booked,” says Deccan Aviation chief revenue officer Samyukta Sridharan.
Today, of Air Deccan’s 333 flights only 80 flights are operated on the top eight metro routes - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. And Air Deccan is planning to chase these non-metro markets by offering attractive offers. This would be mean that it will continue to flood the market with discounted fares, which will be subsidised by ancillary income (non-passenger revenues).
This is reason Air Deccan managing director Capt G R Gopinath is keen on boosting the ancillary revenues to 25% in the next 2-3 years. But he is not alone. Every budget carrier has turned its attention to allied revenues.
SpiceJet, which till now had kept away from onboard food sale, is planning to start hawking snacks and beverages on its long-haul (more than two hours) flights from April 10. For this, it has tied up with Skychef.
“Foreign low-cost carriers like Ryan Air and EasyJet generate a chunk of their revenues from allied services. A major part of their ancillary income comes from selling alcoholic beverages on the flight but in India, we can’t do that,” says SpiceJet CEO and chairman Siddhanta Sharma. And this income has not just caught the fancy of Air Deccan and SpiceJet, it is being pursued by every budget airline.
But Air Deccan’s ancillary plans do not end there. Soon, it will be selling travel insurance, home loans, credit cards and tour packages on it website. SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo also have similar plans.
Currently, Air Deccan earns the highest ancillary income - 6.5% of its total revenues. It wants to take this income to 10% in the next 12-15 months. For SpiceJet and GoAir, it is 6% and IndiGo’s is 5%. While SpiceJet will take it to 9% by March 2009, IndiGo is targeting 15% by March 2008. Like ancillary revenues, SpiceJet’s plan for fleet expansion is also toned down. While IndiGo will have 18 aircraft in its fleet by March 2008, SpiceJet is aiming at 25 by March 2009.
GoAir, which scaled down its fleet from seven to five aircraft, will have 12 aircraft by the end of this year.
© 2005-2007 Diligent Media Corporation Ltd.
Passengers of flight find luggage missing after landing
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=152338
Press Trust of India BHUBANESWAR, April 6: An Air Deccan flight from Chennai today landed here without the luggage of half the 45 passengers on board. The Chennai-Bhubaneswar flight (761) landed here at about 10:40 am with 22 of the 45 passengers complaining to the Air Deccan authorities that their luggages were missing. A spokesperson for the private airline said the luggage could not be loaded and steps were being taken to bring them here by tomorrow morning. While 22 passengers complained that they did not get their luggage, some complained they had lost a part of their belongings. “We travelled by the flight in order to save time. But we have been told to wait till tomorrow morning to get back our baggage. What is the point in flying?” asked Ansuman Mohapatra, a passenger. “We are not sure whether they loaded the baggage at the point of departure or not,” said Dilip Kumar Gupta, another passenger who missed his baggage. Seven-year-old Sapna, a child who was returning to Orissa after a heart operation at Bangalore, complained of chest pain as she had not taken medicines.
Press Trust of India BHUBANESWAR, April 6: An Air Deccan flight from Chennai today landed here without the luggage of half the 45 passengers on board. The Chennai-Bhubaneswar flight (761) landed here at about 10:40 am with 22 of the 45 passengers complaining to the Air Deccan authorities that their luggages were missing. A spokesperson for the private airline said the luggage could not be loaded and steps were being taken to bring them here by tomorrow morning. While 22 passengers complained that they did not get their luggage, some complained they had lost a part of their belongings. “We travelled by the flight in order to save time. But we have been told to wait till tomorrow morning to get back our baggage. What is the point in flying?” asked Ansuman Mohapatra, a passenger. “We are not sure whether they loaded the baggage at the point of departure or not,” said Dilip Kumar Gupta, another passenger who missed his baggage. Seven-year-old Sapna, a child who was returning to Orissa after a heart operation at Bangalore, complained of chest pain as she had not taken medicines.
QA and Indian airline in loyalty programme pact
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=142209&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
Published: Friday, 6 April, 2007, 01:23 PM Doha Time
Tareq (middle) and Shafiq (third left) with other staff at a Kingfisher Airlines presentationStaff ReporterINDIA’S premier domestic private carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, has entered into an arrangement with Qatar Airways to share each other’s loyalty programme.The arrangement would allow members of both Privilege Club and King Club, the loyalty programmes of the QR and Kingfisher, respectively, to redeem their points with either carrier.This was announced at a product presentation held on Wednesday jointly by Kingfisher and its recently-appointed general sales agent (GSA) Regency Travel & Tours.The appointment “is a significant development that can open new avenues for the travel and hospitality industry in Qatar”, said GSA general manager Tareq Abdullatif Taha.He highlighted that as “the number one travel agent in Qatar”, his organisation had partnered with Kingfisher, “the fastest-growing airline in India”, and this had resulted in an excellent synergy of capabilities and interests.The presentation covered the salient features of Kingfisher such as its expanding network of destinations, its all-Airbus fleet of aircraft, and special amenities for business class and first class passengers.Operations manager of Regency N Shafiq guided the audience through the airline’s present capabilities and plans that would eventually impact the business of the travel and hospitality industry in Qatar.
Gulf Times Newspaper, 2007
Published: Friday, 6 April, 2007, 01:23 PM Doha Time
Tareq (middle) and Shafiq (third left) with other staff at a Kingfisher Airlines presentationStaff ReporterINDIA’S premier domestic private carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, has entered into an arrangement with Qatar Airways to share each other’s loyalty programme.The arrangement would allow members of both Privilege Club and King Club, the loyalty programmes of the QR and Kingfisher, respectively, to redeem their points with either carrier.This was announced at a product presentation held on Wednesday jointly by Kingfisher and its recently-appointed general sales agent (GSA) Regency Travel & Tours.The appointment “is a significant development that can open new avenues for the travel and hospitality industry in Qatar”, said GSA general manager Tareq Abdullatif Taha.He highlighted that as “the number one travel agent in Qatar”, his organisation had partnered with Kingfisher, “the fastest-growing airline in India”, and this had resulted in an excellent synergy of capabilities and interests.The presentation covered the salient features of Kingfisher such as its expanding network of destinations, its all-Airbus fleet of aircraft, and special amenities for business class and first class passengers.Operations manager of Regency N Shafiq guided the audience through the airline’s present capabilities and plans that would eventually impact the business of the travel and hospitality industry in Qatar.
Gulf Times Newspaper, 2007
Court orders probe into complaint against Air India MD, others
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200704061310.htm
Mumbai, April 6. (PTI): A magistrate's court has ordered a probe into a private complaint filed by former employee of Air India against its Managing Director V Tulsidas and ten others.
Anupam Pandya, a maintenance engineer, had filed a complaint with the Andheri Metropolitan Court last month, alleging that he was removed from the service wrongfully.
He has impleaded Tulsidas in the complaint for allegedly not following proper procedure before terminating his services.
According to Pandya, his seniors started harrassing him after he took exception to non-lincensed staff being made to work on Boeing 747, on which the then Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain was going to travel.
This incident took place in June 2002. Pandya's case was that he as well as other maintenance staff did not possess the license issued by Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which was needed for servicing the plane.
However, he alleges, his seniors instead chargesheeted him for refusing to work.
An inquiry committee was set up against him and he states that one P A Pawar manhandled him during the proceedings, at the instigation of B R Warude, Manager, Administration.
Following the inquiry, a show cause notice was served to him, and his salary was stopped.
He claims that he appraoched the MD V Tulsidas pleading for giving him a hearing to no avail.
Following his complaint charging Tulsidas and nine others -- all his seniors or co-workers -- for criminal conspiracy and fabricating evidence metropolitan magistrate last week ordered senior police inspector of Airport Police Station to probe the complaint and file a report.
Copyright © 2006, The Hindu.
Mumbai, April 6. (PTI): A magistrate's court has ordered a probe into a private complaint filed by former employee of Air India against its Managing Director V Tulsidas and ten others.
Anupam Pandya, a maintenance engineer, had filed a complaint with the Andheri Metropolitan Court last month, alleging that he was removed from the service wrongfully.
He has impleaded Tulsidas in the complaint for allegedly not following proper procedure before terminating his services.
According to Pandya, his seniors started harrassing him after he took exception to non-lincensed staff being made to work on Boeing 747, on which the then Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain was going to travel.
This incident took place in June 2002. Pandya's case was that he as well as other maintenance staff did not possess the license issued by Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which was needed for servicing the plane.
However, he alleges, his seniors instead chargesheeted him for refusing to work.
An inquiry committee was set up against him and he states that one P A Pawar manhandled him during the proceedings, at the instigation of B R Warude, Manager, Administration.
Following the inquiry, a show cause notice was served to him, and his salary was stopped.
He claims that he appraoched the MD V Tulsidas pleading for giving him a hearing to no avail.
Following his complaint charging Tulsidas and nine others -- all his seniors or co-workers -- for criminal conspiracy and fabricating evidence metropolitan magistrate last week ordered senior police inspector of Airport Police Station to probe the complaint and file a report.
Copyright © 2006, The Hindu.
Panel to hear Jet-Sahara row from Monday
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Panel_to_hear_Jet-Sahara_row_from_Monday/articleshow/1868087.cms
CUCKOO PAULTIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, APRIL 07, 2007 01:43:02 AM]
MUMBAI: The acrimonious battle between Jet Airways and Air Sahara is entering the final round with the arbitration panel starting final hearing in Mumbai from Monday. Sources close to the affair say that the panel has made it clear that they will focus on whether the specific performance parameters inked in the share purchase agreement were met before the deal fell through in June last year. Jet is likely to maintain — as it has done in the past — that various approvals from the government had not been secured before the cut-off date. Sahara, on the other hand, will argue that all the eight to nine major conditions — such as approval from the banks and government clearances for directors on the board — had been met and that the transaction should be closed. Much rides on the panel’s verdict as it will be binding on both carriers. At stake is about Rs 2,200 crore, of which Rs 1,500 crore is in the form of a bank guarantee given by Jet Airways, about Rs 500 crore in cash that Air Sahara is in possession of and about Rs 200 crore that the Mumbai-based airline invested in Air Sahara when it was running it. Both sides have armed themselves with a battery of high-profile lawyers, who have for the past fortnight, filed a flurry of affidavits and counter-affidavits. Sahara is being represented by Queens Counsel Bruber, a UK-based lawyer and advised by DSK Legal, while Jet has a legal team led by Harish Salve. Sources close to developments say a settlement on the issue is unlikely considering the hard line that both airlines have taken on the issue over the past few months. The clash of ego of the promoters after the public breakdown of the Rs 2,220-crore deal is reportedly the major issue that impedes any settlement. Jet Airways had virtually taken over the operations of Air Sahara for about three months and then walked out of the deal on June 21, claiming that the conditions precedent to the deal were not met. Both airlines subsequently went to court and have since gone into arbitration. The panel is headed by British judge Lord Stein, Jet has named former India chief justice SP Bharucha as its arbitrator while Sahara has brought in Justice BP Jeevan Reddy, also a Supreme Court judge. The conditions included getting approvals from banks as well as the government for Jet’s takeover of the Lucknow-based airline. Sahara will argue that seeking clearance for Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal to be on the Air Sahara board was not among the conditions precedent to the deal. In its petition to the courts earlier, Air Sahara had held that Sahara India Commercial Corporation Limited (SICCL), the Sahara group company which is the prime shareholder of Sahara Airlines, had made a last ditch effort to secure an extension of the share purchase agreement (spa) with Jet Airways on June 19, just two days before it lapsed. SICCL had written to Jet Airways requesting an extension of 15 days for the conditions for purchase to be fulfilled. Jet Airways is sticking to its stand that the conditions precedent were not met and had therefore justified its decision to walk out of the deal.
CUCKOO PAULTIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, APRIL 07, 2007 01:43:02 AM]
MUMBAI: The acrimonious battle between Jet Airways and Air Sahara is entering the final round with the arbitration panel starting final hearing in Mumbai from Monday. Sources close to the affair say that the panel has made it clear that they will focus on whether the specific performance parameters inked in the share purchase agreement were met before the deal fell through in June last year. Jet is likely to maintain — as it has done in the past — that various approvals from the government had not been secured before the cut-off date. Sahara, on the other hand, will argue that all the eight to nine major conditions — such as approval from the banks and government clearances for directors on the board — had been met and that the transaction should be closed. Much rides on the panel’s verdict as it will be binding on both carriers. At stake is about Rs 2,200 crore, of which Rs 1,500 crore is in the form of a bank guarantee given by Jet Airways, about Rs 500 crore in cash that Air Sahara is in possession of and about Rs 200 crore that the Mumbai-based airline invested in Air Sahara when it was running it. Both sides have armed themselves with a battery of high-profile lawyers, who have for the past fortnight, filed a flurry of affidavits and counter-affidavits. Sahara is being represented by Queens Counsel Bruber, a UK-based lawyer and advised by DSK Legal, while Jet has a legal team led by Harish Salve. Sources close to developments say a settlement on the issue is unlikely considering the hard line that both airlines have taken on the issue over the past few months. The clash of ego of the promoters after the public breakdown of the Rs 2,220-crore deal is reportedly the major issue that impedes any settlement. Jet Airways had virtually taken over the operations of Air Sahara for about three months and then walked out of the deal on June 21, claiming that the conditions precedent to the deal were not met. Both airlines subsequently went to court and have since gone into arbitration. The panel is headed by British judge Lord Stein, Jet has named former India chief justice SP Bharucha as its arbitrator while Sahara has brought in Justice BP Jeevan Reddy, also a Supreme Court judge. The conditions included getting approvals from banks as well as the government for Jet’s takeover of the Lucknow-based airline. Sahara will argue that seeking clearance for Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal to be on the Air Sahara board was not among the conditions precedent to the deal. In its petition to the courts earlier, Air Sahara had held that Sahara India Commercial Corporation Limited (SICCL), the Sahara group company which is the prime shareholder of Sahara Airlines, had made a last ditch effort to secure an extension of the share purchase agreement (spa) with Jet Airways on June 19, just two days before it lapsed. SICCL had written to Jet Airways requesting an extension of 15 days for the conditions for purchase to be fulfilled. Jet Airways is sticking to its stand that the conditions precedent were not met and had therefore justified its decision to walk out of the deal.
RALPH AIR GIRL TAKES OVERDOSE
http://www.people.co.uk/news/tm_headline=ralph-air-girl-takes-overdose--&method=full&objectid=18875026&siteid=93463-name_page.html
8 April 2007
By Frank Thorne
THE air hostess who claimed she romped with actor Ralph Fiennes in a plane loo tried to kill herself after she was sacked.
Lisa Robertson was given the boot by airline Qantas after saying she joined the mile-high club with Fiennes, 44, on a flight from Australia to India.
The blonde, 39, also feared she was about to be exposed as a hooker after working in a brothel to make ends meet.
And she was tipped over the edge when she learned she would never see a penny from selling her story because she was an undischarged bankrupt.
Aussie Lisa, 39, swallowed handfuls of prescription drugs, slashed her arm, put on her favourite dress and waited to die.
But four hours later she woke up, had a change of heart and got medical help.
Now recovered, ex-cop Lisa is living on a pal's floor in Sydney and modelling lingerie.
She said of Harry Potter star Ralph: "I don't blame him. He has his own demons to deal with."
8 April 2007
By Frank Thorne
THE air hostess who claimed she romped with actor Ralph Fiennes in a plane loo tried to kill herself after she was sacked.
Lisa Robertson was given the boot by airline Qantas after saying she joined the mile-high club with Fiennes, 44, on a flight from Australia to India.
The blonde, 39, also feared she was about to be exposed as a hooker after working in a brothel to make ends meet.
And she was tipped over the edge when she learned she would never see a penny from selling her story because she was an undischarged bankrupt.
Aussie Lisa, 39, swallowed handfuls of prescription drugs, slashed her arm, put on her favourite dress and waited to die.
But four hours later she woke up, had a change of heart and got medical help.
Now recovered, ex-cop Lisa is living on a pal's floor in Sydney and modelling lingerie.
She said of Harry Potter star Ralph: "I don't blame him. He has his own demons to deal with."
Execs give Jet lag
http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=inbombay&xfile=April2007_inbombay_standard12578
BY A STAFF REPORTER Saturday, April 07, 2007 11:42:41 IST
Top executives leave Jet Airways for Kingfisher Airlines
Jet Airways has been thrown into a tizzy. Five of its top executives left their posts with Jet on Wednesday and five more are rumoured to leave, say anonymous sources at Jet. The employees have reportedly left for Kingfisher Airlines.Jet Airways executive director S.K. Dutta did not confirm all the resignations but did concede that ‘a few people’ had decided to leave.He normalised the situation by saying that no one is indispensable in an organisation and leaving old posts to join new ones in different organisations is part and parcel of any industry.The two confirmed who have resigned are V. Raju, General Manager of Operations, South East Asia and Nandini Verma, Vice President of corporate communications. They will be joining Kingfisher shortly.A senior Jet official has hinted that the reason for the sudden transfer of loyalty can be because of money.“These things are bound to happen,” he said. “People are always on the lookout for better prospects. If better prospects beckon they are bound to follow.”Official statements corroborating all the information garnered were not forthcoming.Jet’s loss is Kingfisher’s gain and Mallya has yet another reason to smile.
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© 2007, Cybernoon e-mail: webmaster@cybernoon.com
BY A STAFF REPORTER Saturday, April 07, 2007 11:42:41 IST
Top executives leave Jet Airways for Kingfisher Airlines
Jet Airways has been thrown into a tizzy. Five of its top executives left their posts with Jet on Wednesday and five more are rumoured to leave, say anonymous sources at Jet. The employees have reportedly left for Kingfisher Airlines.Jet Airways executive director S.K. Dutta did not confirm all the resignations but did concede that ‘a few people’ had decided to leave.He normalised the situation by saying that no one is indispensable in an organisation and leaving old posts to join new ones in different organisations is part and parcel of any industry.The two confirmed who have resigned are V. Raju, General Manager of Operations, South East Asia and Nandini Verma, Vice President of corporate communications. They will be joining Kingfisher shortly.A senior Jet official has hinted that the reason for the sudden transfer of loyalty can be because of money.“These things are bound to happen,” he said. “People are always on the lookout for better prospects. If better prospects beckon they are bound to follow.”Official statements corroborating all the information garnered were not forthcoming.Jet’s loss is Kingfisher’s gain and Mallya has yet another reason to smile.
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Mother's 'living nightmare' ends as drugs charge Briton is freed
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2052477,00.html
Jamie Doward and Jeananne CraigSunday April 8, 2007 The Observer
The mother of a British woman jailed for drug smuggling in India told yesterday of how she had woken up from a 'living nightmare' when she heard that her daughter was to be freed.
The Bombay high court acquitted Daisy Angus, 26, a French-born British citizen, of attempting to smuggle 10 kilos of hashish out of India to Europe. She has been in prison since she was arrested by the Indian authorities in November 2002, attempting to travel to Berlin with an Israeli, Yoram Kadesh, whom she met on the internet.
At her trial last year she said that the bag belonged to Kadesh, but he denied the claim and was acquitted. His whereabouts are unknown. Angus, from Southbourne, West Sussex, was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. Her father, John, died of leukaemia two years ago but she was refused permission to return home for his funeral.
During her appeal hearing last Thursday, the court heard that Kadesh and his brother were known drug dealers. Kadesh's KLM North-West Airline ticket to Berlin had two baggage tags attached to it, one of which was found in Angus's possession. Her defence team said Kadesh offered to pay for her airline ticket if she would carry his bag in return. When she had inquired about the contents of the bag, she was told that the slabs of hashish were incense sticks.
'After nearly five years of litigation, we have finally got justice,' said her mother, Nadine, who collapsed in the courtroom as the verdict was read out.
Angus's family have expressed anger at the time it took for her case to be heard, but Catherine Wolthuizen, chief executive of Fair Trials Abroad, which campaigned for her release, said that this was not unusual: 'The Indian justice system often involves lengthy delays before the trial and during the case. It can take many years for an appeal to be heard again.'
Jamie Doward and Jeananne CraigSunday April 8, 2007 The Observer
The mother of a British woman jailed for drug smuggling in India told yesterday of how she had woken up from a 'living nightmare' when she heard that her daughter was to be freed.
The Bombay high court acquitted Daisy Angus, 26, a French-born British citizen, of attempting to smuggle 10 kilos of hashish out of India to Europe. She has been in prison since she was arrested by the Indian authorities in November 2002, attempting to travel to Berlin with an Israeli, Yoram Kadesh, whom she met on the internet.
At her trial last year she said that the bag belonged to Kadesh, but he denied the claim and was acquitted. His whereabouts are unknown. Angus, from Southbourne, West Sussex, was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. Her father, John, died of leukaemia two years ago but she was refused permission to return home for his funeral.
During her appeal hearing last Thursday, the court heard that Kadesh and his brother were known drug dealers. Kadesh's KLM North-West Airline ticket to Berlin had two baggage tags attached to it, one of which was found in Angus's possession. Her defence team said Kadesh offered to pay for her airline ticket if she would carry his bag in return. When she had inquired about the contents of the bag, she was told that the slabs of hashish were incense sticks.
'After nearly five years of litigation, we have finally got justice,' said her mother, Nadine, who collapsed in the courtroom as the verdict was read out.
Angus's family have expressed anger at the time it took for her case to be heard, but Catherine Wolthuizen, chief executive of Fair Trials Abroad, which campaigned for her release, said that this was not unusual: 'The Indian justice system often involves lengthy delays before the trial and during the case. It can take many years for an appeal to be heard again.'
Texas Pacific, 2 PE firms eye Air Deccan stake
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=280413&leftnm=1&subLeft=0&chkFlg=
P R Sanjai / Mumbai April 8, 2007
The US-based private equity firm Texas Pacific group, among three others, is in talks with country’s second largest airline Air Deccan for picking up a minority stake.
Sources said the low fare airline is planning to raise around $100 million by diluting 5 to 7 per cent stake to private equity players. Air Deccan has mandated Edelweiss Capital for raising funds which would be utilised for expansion.
“Edelweiss has shortlisted three to four players who are willing to invest in Air Deccan. A deal is likely to be signed in next 10 days. Among four players, Texas Pacific has emerged as aggressive player,” the sources said.
Texas Pacific, which has made investments in airlines globally, had dropped its plans to invest $30 million in the Delhi-based budget carrier SpiceJet owing to differences in valuation.
A senior Air Deccan executive declined to comment on the issue.
Operating 43 aircraft, Air Deccan has the largest network in India covering 61 airports, plying over 300 flights a day.
As on December 31, promoters of the airline hold 22.13 per cent of stake, while the public, including the ICICI Venture-promoted India Advantage Fund-1 with 14.22 per cent and the UK-based Investec Bank with 1.96 per cent, holds remaining stake.
SpiceJet has raised nearly Rs 300 crore from private equity firms, while the Chennai-based Paramount Airways managed to get over Rs 80 crore. Meanwhile, the Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways are in talks with private equity for raising funds.
P R Sanjai / Mumbai April 8, 2007
The US-based private equity firm Texas Pacific group, among three others, is in talks with country’s second largest airline Air Deccan for picking up a minority stake.
Sources said the low fare airline is planning to raise around $100 million by diluting 5 to 7 per cent stake to private equity players. Air Deccan has mandated Edelweiss Capital for raising funds which would be utilised for expansion.
“Edelweiss has shortlisted three to four players who are willing to invest in Air Deccan. A deal is likely to be signed in next 10 days. Among four players, Texas Pacific has emerged as aggressive player,” the sources said.
Texas Pacific, which has made investments in airlines globally, had dropped its plans to invest $30 million in the Delhi-based budget carrier SpiceJet owing to differences in valuation.
A senior Air Deccan executive declined to comment on the issue.
Operating 43 aircraft, Air Deccan has the largest network in India covering 61 airports, plying over 300 flights a day.
As on December 31, promoters of the airline hold 22.13 per cent of stake, while the public, including the ICICI Venture-promoted India Advantage Fund-1 with 14.22 per cent and the UK-based Investec Bank with 1.96 per cent, holds remaining stake.
SpiceJet has raised nearly Rs 300 crore from private equity firms, while the Chennai-based Paramount Airways managed to get over Rs 80 crore. Meanwhile, the Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways are in talks with private equity for raising funds.
Indiapost hiring aircraft to service metros, North-East
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=364617&sid=NAT
New Delhi, April 08: Taking on the challenge posed by private courier companies in offering quality and quicker services, Indiapost has decided to hire aircraft from national carrier Indian to service North-Eastern states and metros. Aircraft will be taken on lease basis from Indian Airlines, which will serve during the day in the North-Eastern states and in the night time will cater to the needs of metro cities like Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai to begin with both for speed and ordinary post, a senior official of the DoP (Department of Post) told. North East not being as conveniently connected to other parts of the country, the postal delivery service is usually delayed and difficult. DoP plans to address this problem by hiring the aircraft. The initiative to check the falling market share does not stop at that with the department planning to establish call centres with national toll-free number initially in the metros. Later on, the service will be expanded to all cities. India Post call centers will act as nodal points for getting information and delivery status and also offer collection of parcels from customers' residence or place of work, the official said. Speed post, the premium mail service from DoP is also bracing up for competition. Bureau Report
New Delhi, April 08: Taking on the challenge posed by private courier companies in offering quality and quicker services, Indiapost has decided to hire aircraft from national carrier Indian to service North-Eastern states and metros. Aircraft will be taken on lease basis from Indian Airlines, which will serve during the day in the North-Eastern states and in the night time will cater to the needs of metro cities like Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai to begin with both for speed and ordinary post, a senior official of the DoP (Department of Post) told. North East not being as conveniently connected to other parts of the country, the postal delivery service is usually delayed and difficult. DoP plans to address this problem by hiring the aircraft. The initiative to check the falling market share does not stop at that with the department planning to establish call centres with national toll-free number initially in the metros. Later on, the service will be expanded to all cities. India Post call centers will act as nodal points for getting information and delivery status and also offer collection of parcels from customers' residence or place of work, the official said. Speed post, the premium mail service from DoP is also bracing up for competition. Bureau Report
Opportunity for Thai airlines in India's northeast
http://www.bangkokpost.com/070407_Business/07Apr2007_focus06.php
ASIA FOCUSTax-free incentives to be offered to SMEs
Umesh Pandey
A senior Indian cabinet minister visited Bangkok recently to publicise a set of economic incentives aimed at boosting Thai investment in India's impoverished northeast.
Mani Shankar Aiyar, who is in charge of development for India's northeastern states, said that the unprecedented package would be revealed in full at the end of the month.
India's Northeast comprises eight states with a population of about 38 million. Although one of India's poorest areas, the northeast is rich in natural resources including oil, gas and coal. It is also plagued by violence, with numerous insurgency groups operating in the area.
The minister urged Thai companies to invest in infrastructure, adding that over the next five years, the Indian government will invest about $12 billion to develop roads in India's northeast.
Mr Aiyar said that the government would forge joint ventures with companies interested in developing the region.
"I first came to Bangkok in 1968, and Bangkok now is far different from the Bangkok then. I want to see Thai people perform the same miracle in these states as they have done to this country and the market will yield the reward for their efforts," he said.He also urged Thai companies to invest in tourism in India's Northeast, saying that government efforts to improve roads and airstrips were an opportunity for Thai tour operators and airlines. The incentives are set to be approved later this month.
The incentives would be in place until 2027, and are aimed at new investors, or companies that expand existing operations in the Northeast. Among the features are exemptions from excise and income tax and access to state subsidies.
"All of this is going to make the region virtually a tax-free zone for investments, but companies eligible for most of the subsidies have to be small and medium-sized industries," he said.
© Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2006Privacy PolicyComments to: WebmasterAdvertising enquiries to: Internet MarketingPrinted display ad enquiries to: Display AdsFull contact details: Contact us
ASIA FOCUSTax-free incentives to be offered to SMEs
Umesh Pandey
A senior Indian cabinet minister visited Bangkok recently to publicise a set of economic incentives aimed at boosting Thai investment in India's impoverished northeast.
Mani Shankar Aiyar, who is in charge of development for India's northeastern states, said that the unprecedented package would be revealed in full at the end of the month.
India's Northeast comprises eight states with a population of about 38 million. Although one of India's poorest areas, the northeast is rich in natural resources including oil, gas and coal. It is also plagued by violence, with numerous insurgency groups operating in the area.
The minister urged Thai companies to invest in infrastructure, adding that over the next five years, the Indian government will invest about $12 billion to develop roads in India's northeast.
Mr Aiyar said that the government would forge joint ventures with companies interested in developing the region.
"I first came to Bangkok in 1968, and Bangkok now is far different from the Bangkok then. I want to see Thai people perform the same miracle in these states as they have done to this country and the market will yield the reward for their efforts," he said.He also urged Thai companies to invest in tourism in India's Northeast, saying that government efforts to improve roads and airstrips were an opportunity for Thai tour operators and airlines. The incentives are set to be approved later this month.
The incentives would be in place until 2027, and are aimed at new investors, or companies that expand existing operations in the Northeast. Among the features are exemptions from excise and income tax and access to state subsidies.
"All of this is going to make the region virtually a tax-free zone for investments, but companies eligible for most of the subsidies have to be small and medium-sized industries," he said.
© Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2006Privacy PolicyComments to: WebmasterAdvertising enquiries to: Internet MarketingPrinted display ad enquiries to: Display AdsFull contact details: Contact us
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