Neha Jain: http://indianairlinesnews.blogspot.com/1

1. New aviation charter alliance Powerfly to take wings Feb 14
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Mumbai, Feb 1 (IANS) Deccan Charters Limited, Taj Air and Business Jets India Tuesday announced a strategic alliance 'Powerfly' to offer customers a wider choice of aircraft and network.

Powerfly would also leverage the synergies of the three brands and their fleets and includes the marketing, maintenance and operational support between the Deccan Charters and BJETS, announced R.K. Krishna Kumar, director of Tata Sons and vice chairman of Indian Hotels, and Captain G.R. Gopinath, CMD of Deccan Chaters.

Powerfly has started bookings and will commence operations Feb 14, they said.

Speaking on the occasion, Gopinath said that India has witnessed unprecedented in the commercial aviation sector over the past few years.

The new alliance will fuel growth in the general aviation industry and provide entrepreneurs and professionals greater flexibility to conduct their business and connect remote destinations.

While Deccan Charters already has a range of 16 aircrafts, Taj Air and BJETS will add three Hawker 850XPs, Cessna Citation CJ-2, P180 Avanti-II Turbo-props and Falcons 2000LX through Powerfly, the officials said.

'Taj Air, Deccan Charters and BJETS all have their individual strengths and strongholds in the business, this collaboration will bring together a new force that will catalyse the sector,' remarked Kumar.

While Taj Air pioneered charter aviation in the country in 1993, and currently flies private jets to over 56 countries and 130 domestic destinations (compared to 71 by commercial carriers), Deccan Charters launched operations in 1997 and BJETS is backed by the Briley Group of Singapore.

2. Indians from Egypt accuse Air India of overcharging

MUMBAI: Indians who were brought back to the country from strife-ridden Egypt on special Air India flights complained Tuesday of being overcharged by the airline.

"While I appreciate the effort made by the airline to bring us back to India, I was taken aback when I had to pay Rs.45,000 to fly back," said telecom professional Pankaj Sharma, who went to Cairo on a business trip. He returned Monday.

"The normal one-way fare to Egypt would not exceed Rs.20,000. But what was also troubling was that the airline wanted to be paid in cash," said one of his co-passengers, who did not want to be named.

Passengers complained that the ATM at the Cairo Airport did not dispense cash and there was no way they could be carrying the amount in cash.

"There were several passengers who did not have cash, nor could they withdraw money from ATMs. Such people were made to sign an undertaking by the airline which stated that the amount will have to be paid within a month or else their passports will stand cancelled by the government of India," Sharma said.

An airline official said: "Air India was asked to operate on this sector on commercial terms. Air India is not making any money on this sector and it has only attempted to recover its cost."

"We do not fly to Cairo at all. This was not a flight of evacuation, but an unscheduled flight," the official said.

Stranded Indians from Egypt have been brought back to the country on two Air India flights.

The first Air India flight carrying 320 passengers arrived Monday. The second plane landed in Mumbai early Tuesday with 280 Indians on board.

Flight schedules in and out of Egypt have been disrupted in the past few days after anti-government protests broke out in the country to press for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak , who has been in power for more than three decades.

3. Global aviation giants to share stage with domestic industry at Aero India '11

NEW DELHI (BNS): India will kick off its grand air show – Aero India 2011 – in Bangalore next week which will witness the participation of over 350 defence and aerospace companies from all over the globe.

The eighth edition of the biennial event will be held at the Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru from February 9 to 13.

The domestic and international aviation industry heavyweights participating in the show will display a broad range of latest military technology and equipment including warplanes, gunships, unmanned aerial vehicles, commercial jets, radars and many more.

While the list of participating countries will increase from 25 in 2009 to 29 this time, the share of domestic defence industry is also expected see a rise.

Global aerospace giants including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, EADS, SAAB, Dassault Aviation and Finmeccanica will share the platform with India's DRDO, HAL and ISRO along with many other industrial units working in the defence and aerospace sector.

As India's voracious appetite for modern military equipment grows with the country awarding several major defence contracts in the recent past and planning to ink many more deals in the coming months, Aero India 2011 will certainly offer a lucrative platform for the leading defence firms to not only showcase their products but also to woo their customer in a big way.

The big ticket aviation deals that are awaiting the nod of the Indian Government are the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal for worth $10.4 billion, the $1.4 billion contract for 22 attack helicopters, $4.1 billion 10 C-17 Globemaster deal with Boeing and six air-to-air refueller aircraft worth around $1.3 billion.

The presence of domestic defence establishments, which are making rapid strides in making India self-reliant, will also be equally important during the exhibition.

India will showcase its home-grown Light Combat Aircraft Tejas (for Navy) during the show. Besides, DRDO will display its Aerostat radar which has been developed for the Indian Air Force to boost its surveillance capabilities.

Those making spectacular flying display will be US's F-16 fighters and Eurofighter Typhoons. India's Light Combat Helicopter is also set to fly during the grand event.

4. Jet's QIP plans not linked with expansion plans: Goyal
India's leading private carrier Jet Airways today said its aggressive overseas and domestic expansion plans are not linked with the USD 400-million qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue that provides cushion for buying more aircraft.

"Our expansion plan is not linked with the QIP issue. We are leasing and we are not planning to buy any more aircraft from funds raised via QIP, because we don't want our balance sheet to weaken," Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal told reporters here.

He added that QIP will be used to "repay some of our debt so that our interest payment comes down to improve the balance sheet".

He made it clear that Jet's aggressive fleet and route expansion plans were not linked with the QIP issue.

On relaxation of the foreign direct investment limit he said: "I don't see any problem in QIP... Policy is very clear. We are not a foreign company. There is no question of bringing down FDI. FIPB has asked for clarification and we will take some time to reply".

Goyal, who is in Italy as part of FICCI's CEOs delegation led by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma , is exploring opportunities for expansion in the European market.

He said Jet Airways was looking to expand in more European cities besides Shanghai, Beijing and Manila in the coming years.

"We will use Delhi and Mumbai as hubs to take traffic beyond India. Nobody has done this ever".

The premier private carrier will start Mumbai to Rome direct flights next year.

Jet Airways is taking ten more Airbus A-330s and some of them will be delivered next year. A-300 and A-330 aircraft have more seats and some of them will fly to Europe, Goyal added.

NEHA JAIN

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