Edits, Columns & Analysis - November 2007

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Ground reality at airports
Saurabh Sinha & Neha Lalchandani
Times of India
Nov 30, 2007
Indian passengers may now have an unprecedented choice of flights at all price levels, but this growth in traffic has only put them at a greater risk than ever before. Airports, built decades ago, designed to handle a lower traffic of flights daily are now witnessing movement of a much larger number of aircraft and support vehicles of airlines. A space crunch, coupled with ill-trained drivers and people working in apron area, has led to a sharp rise in tarmac-side mishaps.
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Security checks — Need for non-intrusive scanning
M. Somasekhar
Business Line
Nov 30, 2007
Most of those who travel by air these days would be resigned to the hassle of being subjected to a series of security checks at airports and their baggage being put through scanning machines. The exercise is essentially to ensure safety of the passengers and a check on the material being flown out. The growing passenger and cargo traffic at airports, sea ports and border crossings has necessitated such security measures.
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Interview with Vijay Mallya
Anjali Rao
CNN
Nov 29, 2007
Goa: He's dubbed the "King of Good Times." The billionaire tycoon casts a long shadow in India with high-profile launches and lavish parties. Vijay Mallya inherited an empire of different businesses at the tender age of 27, streamlining the operation and founding the Kingfisher brand. Today, his holding company United Breweries is worth $5 billion.
India's "King of Good Times" Vijay Mallya casts a long shadow with high-profile launches and lavish parties.
Internationally, he's best known for his beer and spirits companies, recently buying whiskey makers Whyte & Mackay, but is expanding his aviation business fast. He launched the airline in 2005 and is already looking to move into long-haul with an order of four A380 super jumbos. We meet soon after he acquired Air Dhakan, India's first budget carrier. Our journey begins aboard his private jet as he shuffles between meetings.
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Flemingo Duty Free upgrading stores and distribution in India and Africa
Trevor Lloyd-Jones
BI-ME and Gulf Africa Duty Free
Business Intelligence Middle East (press release), United Arab Emirates
Nov 28, 2007
Dubai’s strategic position and logistic advantages have contributed to the rise of Flemingo Duty Free, now the leading Indian duty free operator with 62 retail locations across Africa, India and Sri Lanka.
Flemingo Duty Free – Dubai’s only privately-owned duty free company - in many ways is an underestimated group, and one that was not taken seriously by many suppliers, even after it had broken into the Indian duty free monopoly with its first stores in Indian airports in 2003.
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GMR Infra can get advance rent at Delhi A'port space
CNBC-TV18
Moneycontrol.com
Nov 28, 2007
Apparently, the Attorney General has given GMR Infra clean chit to take rental advances for commercial space for the Delhi Airport.
Madhu Terdal of GMR Infrastructure said that his company is waiting for formal communication from airport authority; there?s no official confirmation on rental advances yet. The company is waiting for formal confirmation from AAI, he added. The deposits received from DIAL bids will be used for capex, he informed. The revenue impact will be positive but cannot be quantified yet, he said. Terdal hopes to close the process in 1-2 months. The company has been examining QIB issue and is talking to bankers, he informed.
Excerpts from CNBC-TV18?s exclusive interview with Madhu Terdal >>>

‘Full benefits from the merger in 2008-09’
K. Venugopal
Business Line
Nov 28, 2007
The external circumstances for airlines are tougher than ever before. With crude oil prices nearing $100, aviation fuel prices have touched an all-time high; wages in India are rising, and so are other costs. In 2006-07 all private airlines in India reported net losses and, over the weekend, public sector carrier Air India closed its accounts for the year with a loss of Rs 447 crore, and the domestic carrier, Indian, with a loss of over Rs 250 crore. What are the prospects this year for the two airlines that have since merged? Air India’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr V. Thulasidas, spoke to Business Line in Chennai about those challenges and what the merger can bring to the public sector carrier.
Excerpts from the interview >>>

Why not hedge away oil price shocks?
T. B. Kapali
Vice-President (Research), Shriram Group Companies, Chennai
Business Line
Nov 28, 2007
The sharp rise in oil and other commodity prices over the past several months and its possible adverse impact on inflation/inflation expectations has been a matter of deep concern to governments and policy makers the world over. This concern has been particularly acute in emerging economies such as India. How to reconcile the soaring energy requirements of a rapidly expanding economy and the inevitable price pressures brought on by such surging demand with the objective of non-inflationary growth? As has been pointed out by the Reserve Bank of India, the greatest challenge now is to manage the transition to a higher level of economic growth without entrenching higher inflation expectations.
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Bye boss, hi boss!
Anjuli Bhargava
Business Standard
Nov 26, 2007
New Delhi: He came to do one job but finds himself doing another. He came to work with a certain set of people and finds himself working with quite another. That's the piquant situation in which Ramki Sundaram, the 38-year-old officiating chief executive officer (CEO) of SimpliFly Deccan finds himself today.
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The flights of liberty
SP Ketkar
Economic Times
Nov 26, 2007
Freedom is ‘the state’ that all of us try to move to, through our actions at all the times. We take pride in our constitution granting us the freedom of thought, speech, expression, belief, faith and worship and are always striving to achieve definitive freedom in all spheres of life. Irrespective of the age, sex, cast or class, ‘freedom’ is by far the most cherished goal in our lives. If that is freedom to us, what exactly are ‘freedoms of the air’? By ‘freedom of air’, we do not mean our right to breath anywhere on this earth. We are talking about ‘freedoms of the air,’ as generally referred to, by international airlines.
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'Fly Airbus until the last piece stops moving'
Newindpress
Nov 26, 2007

Did you ever get a chance to watch the movie, Independence Day where the American President stands by his people till the end, against all odds faced by the alien-inflicted America? Similar has been the case with Airbus lately. "Fly it until the last piece stops moving" is what Thomas Enders believes in. Despite loads of criticism due to delivery delays, order cancellations and a head strong competition from its American arch rival, Boeing; this company still kept bustling in the air.
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Search them... or don’t
Hindustan Times
November 23, 2007
It appears to be the latest in VIP accessories. The ability to bypass the security measures that normal people are subjected to. Now selective frisking has resulted in a bit of a kerfuffle with army generals demanding to know why they are more prone to suspicion than a Robert Vadra who holds no known public office. The generals do have a point. But this desire to place oneself above all rules and regulations is par for the course in India.
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Ground the Maharaja
Times of India
Nov 22, 2007
Air India should call itself Ground India. For its aircraft spend more time on the ground than in the air. In no other country would an airline that calls itself a national carrier get away with such chaos. The past Sunday, at least six AI flights were delayed for between five and 24 hours because of technical problems, shortage of pilots and what is termed "flight duty time restrictions". The merger of Indian and AI has not brought about staff rationalisation. Nor have the enlarged aircraft pool and hangar availability led to better service to passengers.
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Air of chaos
Daily News & Analysis
Nov 21, 2007
Not just in the air, but on the ground too, the safety of aircraft is an issue of concern. On November 18, a taxiing plane almost bumped into another in the parking bay in Coimbatore.
On November 19, we have the bizarre instance of an airline vehicle slamming into an aircraft ready for takeoff in Chennai.Tarmacs in India are fast becoming like our unruly city roads. Do not be surprised if tarmac and air rage follow road rage.
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Hedging, the only logical option for airlines to control ATF cost
D.Murali
The Hindu
Nov 21, 2007
Chennai: In Greek mythology, you’d read about King Minos who held Icarus and his father, Daedalus, captive in the Labyrinth, a prison. “The Labyrinth’s original purpose was intended to hold the horrible creature, the Minotaur, a beast that was a product of one of the King’s mistress’s affairs with a bull,” informs Wikipedia. To escape from the prison, “Daedalus fashioned a pair of wings for himself and his son, made of feathers and wax…”
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Indian firms ready fleets for logistics takeoff
C. Jacob Kuncheria and Rakesh Sharma
Reuters India
Nov 21, 2007
New Delhi: Indian logistics companies are acquiring cargo planes, and foreign players are trooping afield, as strong growth in Asia's third largest economy spurs demand for speedy movement of goods.
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India moves on consolidation
Nicholas Ionides
Airline Business
Flight International
Nov 20, 2007
Consolidation in the Indian market has taken another step forward with Kingfisher Airlines parent UB Group starting to transform the operations of Air Deccan after lifting its stake to 46%. In June UB Group acquired 26% of cash-strapped low-cost carrier Air Deccan through the purchase of new shares, which made it the largest single shareholder.
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Open skies over small town India
B Rajesh
Financial Express
November 20, 2007
The are a number of opportunities in the aviation sector in India. They include: development of greenfield airports, city-side development in non-metro airports, aviation academies, and maintenance & repair operations (MROs). The most recent initiative from policymakers is the creation of a separate category for regional airlines. The entry of low-cost carriers has brought down the cost of air travel. However, this has largely benefited travel between metros.
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Dubai Aims to Soar In Global Aerospace
Stefania Bianchi and Daniel Michaels
Wall Street Journal
Nov 20, 2007
Rich but tiny Dubai has ambitions to become a global player in aerospace.
Already, the Persian Gulf emirate, part of the United Arab Emirates, has ratcheted up competition in the global airline industry. State-owned Emirates Airline, founded in 1985, has orders for 196 jetliners to add to its fleet of 111, promising to put even more seats on the industry's most-profitable intercontinental routes. Now Dubai has set its sights on a corner of the aerospace business dominated by Western giants: aircraft leasing.
State-controlled Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, started last year with $15 billion in government capital and backing from Dubai's ruling Maktoum family, bought 228 Airbus and Boeing Co. jetliners last week at the Dubai Air Show to offer to airlines looking to lease aircraft.
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‘Limited Open Skies’ policy will not help solve overseas travellers’ woes
Moiz Mannan
Peninsula On-line, Qatar
Nov 19, 2007
To the linguist, it may sound like an antithesis. To the overseas travellers it’s somewhat of a cruel joke. To the Indian planners, however, the term “Limited Open Skies”seems to make sense. In its latest whack on the cheek of free trade, the Civil Aviation Ministry has issued a directive barring foreign airlines from adding flights between December 1, 2007, and January 31, 2008. Earlier, the government used to allow foreign carriers to increase the number of flights during the peak season.
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Starry starry skies
Meena Iyer
Times of India
Sept 18, 2007
No Bollywood celebrity has quite matched actor Ralph Fiennes' record of making out in an aircraft toilet with the air-hostess. But if reliable airline sources are to be believed, Bollywood's in-flight escapades have more masala in them than Om Shanti Om.
The buzz was that recently a light-eyed married actor and his dusky heroine were wrapped so tight on a flight after an outdoor stint of a hit film that the staff feared that both of them would be asphyxiated.
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Still on the runway
Hindustan Times
Nov 15, 2007
It is good to hear that the country will have a score of new civilian airports by next year. Announcing this at the economic editors’ conference in New Delhi earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel spoke of roping in the private sector to build these new airports.
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Begumpet airport set to pass into history
TS Sudhir
NDTV.com
Nov 15, 2007
Hyderabad: It will probably be the most dramatic change Hyderabad will ever see. In four months from now the Hyderabad airport, as we know today, will be part of history. The airport is a legacy of the Nizam of Hyderabad, the richest man in the world in his time, whose state, Hyderabad, was the only one in India to operate an airline.
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A tale of two airports
Economic Times
Nov 12, 2007
Nothing illustrates the paradox of lopsided development in India than the two airports in Bangalore. The existing airport at HAL has excellent road connectivity with the rest of the city but is not geared to take the load of air-traffic to and from Bangalore, estimated to have grown by 38% this year, the highest growth-rate for all Indian airports. A new international airport at Devanahalli has been designed to take the air-traffic but is 37 km from the city and the connecting roads are not expected to be ready by the time it is opened! However, as per the agreement inked with the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), all civilian flights to and from HAL will stop the moment the new airport is opened on March 30, 2008.
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We need better airports
G V Sanjay Reddy
Vice-chairman, GVK group
Times of India
Nov 12, 2007
India is at a crossroads in terms of its infrastructure development. The critical role of infrastructure in facilitating growth has been borne out by experiences of various Far Eastern economies. The transformation of countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Malaysia was preceded and reinforced by substantial investments in physical infrastructure. It is now increasingly recognised that aviation, far from being a mere mode of transportation of an elite few, is a crucial cog in the infrastructure wheel. The quality of airport infrastructure contributes directly to a country's inter-national competitiveness and attractiveness as an investment destination.
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Will Common Man soars Kingfisher style?
Moneycontrol.com
Nov 09, 2007
After Kingfisher Airlines acquired an initial 26% stake in low cost carrier Air Deccan earlier this year, rebranding the airline was just a matter of time. The all-new Deccan promises to make a splash in the low cost carrier space with a new logo and improved brand promise. But will this new avatar dilute its core brand positioning of being the common man’s or the Aam Aadmi’s airline.
For the last four years this brand has been the quintessential Indian low cost airline, with the common man as its brand ambassador. Based on a model similar to the American airline Southwest, Air Deccan was struggling to fend off competition in highly cluttered low cost airline space.
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