Edits, Columns & Analysis - August 2008

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Sell Maharaja
Times of India
Aug 22, 2008
Air India's tale of woe is by now part of India's aviation lore as much as its initial glory is part of history. From riches to rags, the Maharaja has been through more than a fair share of turbulence since 1932. Maharajas of princely states have long since turned their huge palaces and forts into private sector business enterprises, transforming them into either hotels, spas, resorts or galleries. The former rulers realised that in order to salvage past glory, maintain heritage buildings and artefacts and make a decent living out of them, they had to become Maharaja-CEOs. The national carrier, Air India, with the Maharaja as its mascot, hasn't been so savvy.
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Gulf 'will play key role in our business'
Shakir Husain,
GulfNews, United Arab Emirates
August 21, 2008
Dubai: Naresh Goyal, 59, is the founder chairman of India's Jet Airways. After earning a bachelor's degree in commerce in 1967, Goyal worked for a travel firm in India.Using his training and experience in the travel business, he set up Jetair (Private) Limited in May 1974 with the aim of providing sales and marketing representation to foreign airlines in India.
Goyal took advantage of New Delhi's economic liberalisation policy, which facilitated the opening up of the aviation sector, in 1991 to set up Jet Airways.
Goyal spoke to Gulf News in an exclusive interview during his recent visit to the UAE.
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ICAO didn’t say ‘Yes’ to Mopa
Anthony J Simoes
Herald Publications
August 21, 2008
Panjim: The Goa government’s decision to go ahead with the construction of the Mopa airport is based on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) report, we are told. Really? A close look at the report actually tells quite a different story.
The ICAO deputed a two-member team – made up of an airport operations and planning expert and an air traffic forecasting/air transport economics expert – to assess the airport.
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The Dream Ain't Over
G R Gopinath
Times of India
Aug 21, 2008
The aviation industry, like other businesses, has been impacted by the global oil crisis and strong inflationary trends. What is ironic, however, are the obituaries lamenting the end of the low-cost carrier era in Indian aviation. If anything, it is the low-cost model in any business, not the high-end or luxury model, which is advantageously positioned and poised to withstand inflationary pressures.
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Indian aviation takes off on faulty runway
Merinews
Aug 16, 2008
I have been working in aviation industry for quite a long time. So long so that to carefully observe what the Indian aviation is lacking. I would say it’s lacking right management. Here are some salient shortcomings, which I feel need to be addressed immediately.
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Pay more fly less
Vibha Sharma
The Tribune
Aug 14, 2008
The smooth flight of the aviation industry in India seems to have hit a turbulent patch and with that the customer-is-king attitude, too, seems to have been grounded. With rising fuel and infrastructure costs, the era of cheap airfares seems to be over, at least for the time being. On July 31, several airlines hiked domestic airfares for the fifth time this year to meet the increasing cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF). With the last increase the airfares have almost doubled during 2008. The cheapest Delhi-Mumbai ticket, which was earlier available for between Rs 2,800 and 3,000, now costs about Rs 5,000.
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