16-May-2008

Kingfisher Airlines announced plans to launch services to Kathmandu from Mumbai or Bangalore via Delhi, subject to government approval.

The carrier plans to launch its first international service in Aug-08, with routes from Bangalore to San Francisco, London and New York, with plans to then rapidly expand its international route network to over 20 destinations, including Nepal.

This is the second short-haul destination the carrier has revealed in the past week. It previously announced plans to launch services, to Colombo by the end of 2008. This appears to be a departure from Kingfisher’s original strategy to focus on long-haul international destinations, perhaps caused by an excess of narrowbody aircraft serving the highly competitive domestic market.

Deccan, in which Kingfisher’s parent acquired a controlling stake last year (creating India’s largest domestic carrier) completes five years of domestic services on 26-Aug-08, with Deccan’s international rights to become immediately eligible for transfer to Kingfisher.

© Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 16-May-08

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI)

People wishing to fly abroad now have more options of travelling during day time, with several foreign airlines starting additional flights during these hours for passengers' convenience following India's insistence.

Civil Aviation Ministry has been pressing the international carriers to do away with night services and operate additional flights during day time and the effort has started bearing fruit now.

Premier British carrier Virgin Atlantic took the lead in introducing day time flights out of Delhi. British Airways followed suit by introducing its additional flight during day time.

German carrier Lufthansa now also operates day time flights to Munich out of Delhi and Mumbai, apart from its night services to Frankfurt.

Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways have also launched new morning flights out of Delhi, while Cathay Pacific, which now operates two flights, has one each in morning and evening.

Emirates Airlines of the United Arab Emirates has two-day flights out of Mumbai to Dubai, while Sri Lankan Airlines operates twice during the day out of Chennai.

India, a member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), has been contending that the night curfew at many European and US airports should be done away with as this practice is unfair to travellers from the developing world, especially those in the East.
(c) Press Trust of India

On May 13th, I had visited the new Bengaluru International Airport being constructed by the BIAL consortium, and posted my visit report. Some BIAL officials called around wanting to find out who took me inside the airport. The reason -- they wanted to escort and show me around the airport.

I welcome BIAL sentiments and will visit BIAL anytime, at BIAL's invitation.

Industry and citizens have genuine concerns on the capacity and cargo facilities at the new airport. BIAL has not, effectively utilised multiple opportunities offered by Chambers of Commerce to allay these concerns.

Industry, including me, are not opposed to BIAL, but at the same time, we are not willing to blindly believe vague indications being offered by BIAL. Mr. Brunner, please take the time to sit down with us, allay our fears, give us specific data, clarify our interpretations.

Convince us on your airport, Mr. Brunner.

Mr Praful Patel
Hon’ble Union Minister for Civil Aviation
Government of India
New Delhi

May 13th 2008

Dear Mr Patel

Sub: Renegotiation of BIAL concession agreement

As you are aware, Bangalore City Connect Foundation, a multi-stakeholder platform of Bangalore’s citizens, filed a PIL in the Karnataka High Court, seeking the intervention of the court to keep the current HAL airport at Bangalore open, even after the new BIAL airport is inaugurated. Our arguments for this are driven by a variety of factors, including the significant issue of capacity constraints at the new airport, given the explosive growth of air traffic beyond original projections and the need to keep existing infrastructure available rather than being shut down.

The Karnataka High Court has directed that the parties to the original concession agreement should renegotiate their agreement so as to keep HAL airport open. This view has also been supported by the Supreme Court of India in its subsequent ruling.

Against the background of these two rulings, we at Bangalore City Connect were very confident that the parties involved would take sufficient due diligence to reach a consensus for a renegotiation, led by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, GoI. We are therefore extremely surprised and dismayed to find that after barely two meetings that were not even attended by all key participants, a hasty decision has been reached to close down the HAL airport and open the BIAL airport in the next few days. We also find that when we have asked for minutes of these deliberations, these “meetings” were not even minuted. This leads us to wonder about the nature of effort taken to renegotiate. It took several months for the original concession agreement to be reached, and barely a few hours to determine that no renegotiation was possible. We also find that the decision to open BIAL and shut down HAL on May 23rd, is being taken even before the parties present their findings to the High Court.

We find this cavalier attitude to such a brave matter extremely objectionable. It is not only a refutation of the directives of the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court, but also a repudiation of the sentiments of the citizens of Bangalore. We urge that this decision be immediately be changed, and that a rigorous process for renegotiation be established. This must include a detailed feedback of the views of all stakeholders, including HAL Airport and the airline operators. We also urge that an independent study be undertaken of the capacity of BIAL airport. These activities are critical inputs for any reasonable decision-making regarding renegotiations. We are very confident that both these activities can be undertaken within a period of a few weeks, and thereby not cause any undue delay to the opening of BIAL airport, especially when compared to the several months that have already been incurred. We wish to state clearly here that our position is not to delay the opening of BIAL, but rather to ensure that HAL is kept open at this time.

Sir, as you can see, we are extremely anguished at the decision taken yesterday on the matter of HAL airport, we urge you to display the right leadership in calling for an immediate meeting of all the parties concerned, and establishing a rigorous, transparent and equitable process for the renegotiation of the BIAL concession agreement. This will be the only way by which the public can be convinced that sufficient due diligence was taken to address this serious public issue in the city of Bangalore.

We are confident that our plea will fall on receptive ears, and look forward to your actions!


Sincerely

M Lakshminarayan
Chairman
Bangalore City Connect

Ramesh Ramanathan
Secretary
Bangalore City Connect

Copy to:
Mr Ashok Chawla, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India
Mr Sudhakar Rao, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka

Bangalore's new airport: help or hindrance?
Posted by: Manjeet Kripalani on May 15
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2008/05/bangalores_new.html

On May 23, Bangalore’s new international airport will be open for business. It’ll be swish and modern, for sure. Built by a consortium that also built the Zurich airport, plus Siemens and India’s best infrastructure project company Larsen & Toubro. Cost $625 million.

Flights from all over the world will no longer land at the crowded, shabby old HAL airport, in Bangalore city. They’ll come into this swanky new facility on the outskirts of the city.

Those who are rejoicing should take pause.
For the commuter’s pain is about to be exacerbated, not relieved.

First, the drive into Bangalore from the new airport will be 35-km long and last over an hour. That’s nothing compared to cities like Bombay, where it could take an hour and a half. But Bangalore’s existing airport is five minutes from the city and that helps enormously in alleviating the pain of investors and businessmen already fed up with Bangalore’s infrastructure constraints and maddening traffic jams. An extra commuting hour is extreme torture. Add that high-priced ride to your high-priced hotel room.

Second, the road from the airport to the city isn’t a good one. The politicians were so busy making money buying the land around the new airport they all forgot to build a proper road. So may be the commute in will take two hours instead of one, once the traffic and chaos get under way.

Third, it’ll cost you more to land at the new airport - about $17 more for domestic passengers, and $25 more for international. That’s priced into your ticket. It’s not much, you’ll say. But for Indians - and most of the traffic in Bangalore comes from within India - $17 is a lot. Especially because air traffic has increased due to the emergence of low-cost airlines. Lots of young entrepreneurs and their families flying those airlines into Bangalore, will chaff at the $17 - especially if their air ticket cost $62. And that taxi ride into Bangalore - that’ll cost upwards of $25. Some new buses are being introduced with cheaper fares - but it’ll take two hours to Bangalore.

Fourth, let’s talk about congestion. When the airport was planned several years ago, it was to accommodate the 12 million passengers who will fly into Bangalore by 2012.
Chuck that number out. Bangalore already has 12 million passengers flying into its local HAL airport. And it’s growing by 42% a year. By 2012, it’ll be 22 million.

Okay, you’re saying, that’s 12 mil for the new airport and 10 mil for HAL airport. Great, it’ll be comfy.

Nope. Because HAL airport is being shut down.

The investors will want their money back.
Even if it’s at the cost of other foreign investors and ordinary Bangaloreans.

That's one of the terms under which the new airport was built. No other airport, just this one. A nice little monopoly for investors including the Karnataka government.

So all those expecting a reprieve from the congestion, well, don't.

Citizens groups went to court, seeking a stay order to stop HAL airport from being shut down, so that the city can have greater capacity, and citizens needn't be harassed by a monopoly. Isn't that what reform is all about? Breaking down those monopolies, bringing in competition?

The high court agreed, and asked the state government and the ministry of aviation to renegotiate terms with the investors of the new Bangalore airport. But who's to negotiate? Karnataka is in the throes of an election, there's a vaccum in the state till then, and the new Bangalore airport folks say all's well, in fact they're inaugurating early, on May 23, instead of the planned May 28.

Ramesh Ramanathan, who runs a highly credible civic forum called Janaagraha, and who sits on the Prime Minister's Urban Renewal Mission, says concerned citizens can't even move the courts to look into the matter because the Karnataka High Court is in recess - summer vacation - till May 26. By then the new airport will have begun business, HAL will have shut down, and the increased constraints on passengers to Bangalore will have begun. He worries terribly that Bangalore's citizens will suffer, and that "business will simply be diverted to other Indian cities because Bangalore will have become a nightmare."

I came across the below enclosed press story dated September 2006. In 2006 itself, based a various information, including reports, authored by me, submitted by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC), the Ministry of Civil Aviation, forced the BIAL consortium to expand the capacity of the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA).

Please observe the following in the story.

1. The terminal area was expanded only 27%, but claimed passenger capacity increased by 244%.
   
2. Even today, the BIA terminal is still at 71,000 sq. mtr. However the claimed capacity of 11 million, has been increased to 15 million.
   
3. Additional funding of Rs. 518 Crore was by debt financed by Indian institutions and advance security deposits, not promoter investment. (Also read http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/09/08/stories/2006090802710700.htm
4. What happened to that rail link BIAL announced ?
   

I checked BIAL website. All references to these announcements are removed.

-------------------------
Bangalore to increase planned airport capacity
07-Sep-2006
Airport Code [BLR]
http://indiaaviation.aero/news/airline/1918/59/Bangalore-to-increase-planned-airport-capacity

The Central Government approved (07-Sep-06) amendments to the Concession Agreement of Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) to allow a redesign to increase capacity.

A study conducted by BIAL showed the original traffic forecast of 8.4 million passengers p/a in 2020 would be reached by 2010, and the airport would handle 7.0 million passengers upon opening in Apr-08. BIAL currently holds the concession to operate the airport for 60 years.

The projected cost, including the redesign, will increase from USD305 million to USD418 million, which BIAL plans to raise through additional debt. Details of the expansion include:

• Terminal: Expanded from 55,850 sqm to 71,000 sqm with capacity to handle 11 million passengers p/a, up from an initial capacity of 4.5 million;
• Apron: Expanded to accommodate 36 narrowbody aircraft;
• Taxiways: Lengthened, although details were not disclosed.

BIAL also announced (14-Sep-06) plans to construct a rail link between Byappanahalli (the location of the new airport) and Devanahalli, although a timeframe was not disclosed.

Meanwhile, BIAL announced (20-Sep-06) it has shortlisted an Air India-SATS consortium for one of two ground handling concessions at the new Bangalore International Airport. The consortium is currently in negotiations with BIAL on the concession agreement.

How govt hoodwinked the public
R K Misra

The new airport would start functioning by “May-end’’ and BIAL was “not agreeable to keep the existing (HAL) airport open’’. So said civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla. This was a government representative announcing the decision to close HAL airport after a short meeting with BIAL.

It seems like Chawla was making this announcement on behalf of BIAL as its spokesperson. The tone was as if the government of India was begging BIAL.

These so-called negotiations were forced upon the government by an order of the Karnataka High Court and, subsequently, the Supreme Court. All along, it appeared as though government lawyers were making a case for BIAL.

When the high court forced their hands by asking them to negotiate, they had two friendly meetings among the shareholders of BIAL (of which the government owns 26%) in the guise of negotiations, without information, consultation or participation of other stakeholders such as the public, airlines and cargo companies.

An analysis of events will establish that it was a well-planned and calculated game played by the government. When public anger made parties fearful of losing votes during the Karnataka elections, the date of the airport opening was postponed to May 11, just the day after polls. A coincidence?

When the high court ordered negotiations, the first meeting was held just before the first round of elections. After the meeting, it was announced that 80-seater planes would be allowed to fly from HAL. The public felt happy as some grievances were solved. This was another clever ploy to give hope and fool the public. The moment the first round of polls (including in Bangalore) was over, negotiations were concluded the next day at a meeting, without any minutes, and the government announced the closure of HAL airport.

The opening date was conveniently slotted for May 23, which is just after the polls (to avoid the Election Commission’s wrath) and two days before the high court opens after the summer recess. This denies the public an opportunity to expose the negotiation drama and request the HC for an interim stay order.

Surprisingly, no leader is available for comment now. This is our democracy, where the public is being duped by seasoned politicians playing a well-orchestrated drama.

On May 5, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to consider a citizen group’s demand to keep the existing airport operational, given the apprehensions over reaching the new airport located 40 km from the city.

(The writer is winner of The Times of India’s Lead India initiative. These are his personal views).

You can get info on BIAL under RTI
15 May 2008, 0425 hrs IST,TNN

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/You_can_get_info_on_BIAL_under_RTI/articleshow/3041376.cms

BANGALORE: In a landmark verdict passed by the Karnataka Information Commission (KIC), the consortium company of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has been deemed as a 'public authority'. Dwelling into the financial structure and funding patterns of BIAL, the commission found that the private-public consortia has been 'substantially financed' by the government of India under the Comptroller and Auditor General (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Services) Act 1971, or CAG Act, thus making it (BIAL) more a public enterprise than a private one. Hence, now under the Right to Information Act (RTI), citizens are entitled to any information sought on BIAL. "The project (BIA) serves public purpose and the public have a right to know about the proper management of the project," the commission noted. This judgment comes in pursuance of a Bangalorean, Benson Issac, seeking information on BIAL under RTI. As per Issac's argument, the government's equity (Centre & State) in BIAL is 26%, for which the government has substantially funded the enterprise bringing it under the purview of RTI. In its observations, KIC, which had collected relevant information pertaining to the matter from BIAL and KSIIDC (Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation), found that "even direct financing by the government promoters to this project (construction of the Bengaluru International Airport) is higher than the financing by the private promoters. If the indirect support, which has not been quantified, is also taken into account, the government support would be much higher." As per the KIC's findings, the total investment made by the government into BIAL is Rs 434.94 crore, of which Rs 350 crore has been given as a loan under the provisions made by the State Support Agreement (SSA) that has been channelized through KSIIDC. Indirectly, the government has funded BIAL through exemptions from entry tax and property tax for five years; lease of land on concessional rent; waiver of stamp duty and registration charges; exemption from fee for change of land use; exemption from payment of road cess. Also, the loan amount of Rs 350 crore will be repaid by BIAL to the government in 20 equal half yearly instalments, the first instalment of which will be only paid in the 11th financial year of the company (BIAL). Funding into BIAL from the consortium of private partners, Seimen-Zurich Airport-L&T, is to the tune of Rs 326.70 crore. A debt of Rs 1,185.09 crore has been raised through banks and financial institutions and Rs 68.50 crore raised though internal accruals. The commission has directed BIAL to furnish all the details sought by Issac under RTI within the next one month.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/15/stories/2008051550130100.htm
Bangalore Bureau

Set to create history: An Indian flight will be the first to take off from Bangalore International Airport on May 23.

Bangalore: An Indian flight to Singapore will be the first aircraft to take off from the new Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli on May 23.

Sources said that the IC 957 Airbus A-320 will take off from Devanahalli at 00.01 hours on May 23.

“This flight to Singapore is popular among passengers headed for destinations in Australia, the west coast of the U.S. and Japan,” sources told The Hindu.

Meanwhile, the Airlines Operators Committee (AOC) has informed its members that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued a notification regarding the opening of the airport on May 23.

It has said that the airport will be open for landing at 8 p.m. on May 22 and the first departure will be at 00.01 hours. HAL Airport will cease to be operational for civilian traffic on that day, an AOC communiqué said.

The inauguration of the new airport will be a low-key function, a senior State Government official said.

The State Government and Bangalore International Airport Ltd, are, meanwhile, awaiting a formal notification from the Centre announcing the closure of the HAL Airport and the opening of the new airport.

The Election Commission has given its approval for the inauguration of the new airport at Devanahalli, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami told The Hindu.

Irony

There is some irony in the fact that the existing operator of the airport at Bangalore, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), has no information about the timing of impending closure.

A senior official at HAL said, “The commercial airlines may know it, but we have no information.” He hinted that the Ministry may be issuing the notification on HAL’s closure soon.

© Copyright 2000 - 2008 The Hindu

Radar-less BIAL faces dearth of ATCs
Tuesday May 13 2008 09:50 IST
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE120080512232926&Title=Bangalore&rLink=0

Monica Jha / Express News Service

BANGALORE: THE two radars at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) are not yet stabilised.

BIA has a primary and a secondary radar which are not working properly and need some fine-tuning on the software. BIA is using a simulator to train its controllers.

Out of the two simulators at BIA, one is not working, while the other is inconsistent and needs to be reset during an operation, restarting the whole process.

The data fed in the simulator is taken from the HAL Airport but BIA has different restrictions of airspace and different procedure for arrivals and departures.

The acute shortage of air traffic controllers (ATCs) is also a worry to the BIA. The sanctioned number of ATCs at BIA is 120, but only 60 ATCs have reported to the Airport so far.

The number of radar controllers presently working at BIA is 12, out of which two are fresh from institutes having no prior work experiences.

“A youngster can have a better thought process, faster reaction and can be more productive than many experienced controllers but experience becomes critical in a situation of crisis, if the radar fails. Confidence of the controller would also count,” said an expert from the aviation industry.

According to the rules of Airports Authority of India (AAI) for greenfield airports, a controller needs to have at least 60 hours of experience of working on a simulator before handling the actual air traffic at an airport. Twelve radar controllers together at the BIA require a minimum of 720 hours of training.

The AAI installed the ATC equipment in the first half of April. The minimum training period cannot be completed before operations in spite of working in extra shifts, as only 8 to 10 hours of training was effectively available per day due to the inconsistent performance of one simulator and the non performance of the other.

Now, as BIA is about to receive approval from Director General of Civil Aviation, the operator of the Airport Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) will have to complete training before the launch of commercial operations at BIA.

BIAL has apparently requested HAL for radar services. Presently, nine radar controllers are working at HAL Airport in three shifts. HAL would be able to meet the requirements of its own, as well as that of BIA, only if at least over 20 radar controllers are available.

Moreover, the radar at HAL Airport is old and is not capable of handling all the work of HAL and BIA together and two new radars are under installation. Radar controllers at HAL Airport are not trained to work under specific restrictions enforced at the BIA.

On Tuesday 13 May, 2008, along with experienced members of the Aviation Industry, I visited, the soon to be opened Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), being promoted by the BIAL consortium. My assessment on the airport. I must inform you, that I was not invited by BIAL, and so information I received was a variety of sources at the airport, including some BIAL staff.

Getting to BIA
Started from Koramangala at 9:30am. It took us 1.5 hours using the Inner Ring Road to Airport Road to Old Madras Road to Outer Ring Road to NH-7, to reach BIA. There were the usual traffic jams within the city, and the traffic police at many junctions were either missing or just watching the "show". On NH-7, we encountered the usual problem of trucks chugging along the right most (the supposedly fast lane), and autos taking up the left two lanes, all thinking they are James Bonds (remember Octopussy).

The traffic police will have to impose discipline or else the commute will take longer once traffic builds up.

Once beyond Yelahanka the drive was considerably easier.

BMTC will be offering bus services to the new airport, which are detailed on the Bangalore Praja website.


The Trumpet Interchange
Larsen & Toubro and its contractors were working furiously. 3 loops have been completed. Just the loop from airport to North on NH-7 (towards Devanahalli) is pending. This is representative of the fast and efficient (read value for money) work by the private sector envisaged by PPP. Good job L&T.


Approaching the Passenger Terminal Building (PTB)
The overall airport has a well organised, linear, and logical layout, but long distances within the airport itself, will pose a intra-airport travel inconvenience for those who work at the airport.

The road from NH7 to the PTB is long, almost 6km, and only 1 lane. There are circles with cross traffic, and there are no traffic signs, this can pose potential traffic hazards within the airport itself.

The PTB, is in one small corner of the gigantic airport area, which caused me to wonder, what are they planning to do with ALL that extra land.

Non passengers aren't allowed inside the terminal, like the present airport.

The inner lane is meant for crew and VIPs. Regular passengers will have to alight on the outer lane. I was informed, that the small canopy which provided for basic shelter from the elements, was put, only after the airlines' repeated demands.

There is fairly large area in front of the terminal, but no place to sit. I could not find any food or toilet facilities for the public. Only inside the airport, for which you must pay the entrance fee. This large area reminds me of a railway plaform with its lack of seats and the people just congregating and bustling around. For delayed flights, if you are the welcoming party, you are in trouble. Either put up with no creature comforts, or be ready to pay some very fancy fees.

Inside the PTB
By Indian standards, the PTB is decent and better than any of the legacy airports in India. It is clean but simplistic. It's very spartan and minimalist approach, was in line with my interiors philosophy, but the externally factory shed look, is just not reflective of the about $625 million, that BIAL claims, to have invested. They could have done a lot more architecturally. I fear that once the initial charm wears off, it will become a just "another factory" building.

BIAL has demonstrated its European roots, by using natural lighting, and other energy saving and eco-friendly features, and kudos to them for this forward thinking approach. They also have a passion for cleaning, given the number of cleaning staff that was constantly at their job.

There are plentiful LCD TV Flight Information Displays (FIDs) around the terminal, but they have too small a font, and require a passenger to come to within 10 feet to read easily. It will help for BIAL to increase the font size or the display. The FIDs appeared only in English. I did not see any display with Kannada or Hindi.

There is good multi-lingual signage around the terminal, except at the top of the right side escalator, but that is something BIAL can fix easily.

In comparison to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) run terminal at HAL airport, the BIA PTB explains the "wow" factor for the average lay-person. I am giving due credit to BIAL for the new airport. The PTB is significantly better than the AAI run one at HAL. It is clean, green, simple, and functional.

However, I am fairly expert on airports having spent over 15 years monitoring various airports, and have visited well over 50 airports globally. I am take a holistic view, so please do not assume, I am raving and ranting negatively about BIA. Incidentally AAI is part of the BIAL consortium.


Ground Floor
There are 54 CUTE or Common Use Terminals for checking-in, in the departure hall. These terminals allow any airline to use any check-in counters, and balances the load. Some airlines like Kingfisher and Jet who are committing significant flights to Bangalore will have dedicated counters though. I have been pushing AAI to install CUTE in HAL since 2004. There are LCD TV displays on the top of each counter. In addition there will be 6 CUSS (Common Use Self Service) machines that will facilitate self-check-in. The baggage system has "in-line" X-Ray facilities, so there will be no need to screen your registered baggage before check-in. The check-in process is the Ace in BIA's sleeve.

Two sets of two escalators, are at each end of the hall. I advise ALL domestic passengers to take the left set of escalators, as the domestic security check is on the left, and international the right escalators as emigration check is on the right. However, there are no signs to indicate this. BIAL officials may please note this.

I experienced a major bottleneck at the top of the right escalators, and during peak hours, and it does pose a safety risk. The bottleneck is not visible till you are 3/4th the way up the escalator, by then it is too late. It will behoove BIAL to post some security guards at the top of the escalators to ensure smooth movement and prevent any "incidents".

On the right of the departure hall is the arrivals area. Despite the map, visitors inside the airport are tucked away in a little corner. I say, save you money and wait outside.

The arrivals hall is quite small, considering there are 7 conveyor belts. Also movement area around the belts is limited. I took the liberty of going beyond the doors to the back area of the belts. BIAL has sensibly installed X-Ray machines (for Customs inspection) on the four belts that can serve international arrivals, and assuming Customs officials man the machines in full strength, baggage should come fairly quick. I was also impressed with the fact that BIAL has insisted against the smoke belching agricultural tractors, and gone for eco-friendly electric "tugs". I was aghast to see very little movement space for the baggage trolleys and their attendant tugs. Life for the baggage handlers will be tough, especially in peak hours. I observed a lot of wasted space in between the columns, and I could not figure out the use, nor get any clear answer.

Similarly on the departure side, the baggage make up area is pathetically small, and baggage container movement will be constrained and affect large volume operations, especially at night when large international flights operate.

I am concerned that BIAL claims a measly 3,600 bags per hour baggage handling capacity. Even the featureless Singapore Changi BUDGET terminal has almost 2.5 times the baggage handling capacity of BIA, forget comparison with the main terminals of Singapore Changi, which are much higher. My concerns get amplified by the claims of BIAL CEO Mr. Albert Brunner of a peak capacity of 2,700 passengers per hour. That translates to only about 1.33 bags per passenger.

A similar constraint exists with International arrivals. Most of the area is dedicated to duty free retail, and while the green channel of Customs is reasonably wide, the red channel is just a narrow passage. Unless, there is an overnight change in the attitude of Customs officials, this will pose a bottleneck.

The concept of "swing" belts leaves much to be desired. Given the narrow glass doors, negotiating bagagge laden trolleys will require dexterity.


First floor
It is here, I find the weakness of the terminal first rearing its ugly head. There are two major bottlenecks at the top of the escalators. The domestic departures have 8 Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs). I could not see separate frisking booths for ladies, but was informed that two, one at each end were being put in. My suggestion to AAI in 2005, of having multiple frisking stations being served by one DFMD has found a taker, finally. Thank you BIAL.

While the BIA PTB is bigger than both HAL terminals put together, it is does not have significantly more space than the current HAL airport. Much of the first floor space is over dedicated to shops, restaurants, bar, and airline lounges.

The swing areas are accessible only via narrow glass doors, and I foresee some traffic jams in these areas. While it will be better than HAL, passengers who expect a smooth comfortable passage, are definitely in for a rude shock, and some traffic jams. Despite the layout map, there are only 8 contact gates. Only Gate 20 is a two arm contact gate. A feature now common at all airports with international traffic. The rest are bus gates. Given that CISF always locks one door, and expects passengers to squeeze through the narrow passage, I cannot see more than 8 flights being boarded at a time.

The nice feature added here is the concept of "gate level" announcements. Each gate has a desk, and is equipped with a Public Address system that will announce in the gate area only. No more shouting all over the airport, and no more incessant announcements of flights boarding or arriving all over the airport. A very desired requirement in today's frenetic pace.

The number of departure emigration counters, 16, are the same as in the HAL airport. So passenger volume throughput will be determined not by BIA, but by the number of counters the immigration officials staff. All passengers are expected to walk through the narrow passage in duty free and I foresee some traffic jams here. The departure lounge is about 1.5 times bigger as the one in HAL, but significantly, there is a Kingfisher Sports Bar (yeah!!!!), and a common CIP (Business/First Class) lounge run by Oberoi.

A similar situation exists for the arrival immigration. The number of counters are the same and the hall size is also about the same. Arriving international passengers are expected to come from the gate and then go up one floor to the mezzanine and proceed in a glass enclosed catwalk across the first floor wall, and take an escalator down, to arrive at the immigration counters. This reminded me of an aquarium. The area in front of immigration cannot take more than 2 flight loads of passengers. This is a choke point, and again, is right at the bottom of the escalator, creating another safety hazard. BIA will have to consider deploying security personnel to ensure no unfortunate incidents occur.


Runway
BIA has one runway 09-27 with ILS Cat 1 at both ends. Readers know that the single runway at BIA is my biggest concern. I have shown that BIA's single runway will saturate at 15 million passengers. Some BIAL officials confirmed to me, that the second Rapid Exit Taxiway shown in the plans for Runway 09, has been dropped. This will have at least a 10% impact on the flight capacity.

Unfortunately, it is Runway 09 that is used during the winter months, when load is at its highest. BIAL needs to re-instate the second Rapid Exit right away.


Support Facilities
The support facilities are sorely lacking. The existing canteen cannot even cope with BIAL employees, let alone non-BIAL employees. There is no office facilities for the airlines, their office building is still under construction. Readers will be advised to be understand if any airline employee is grouchy.

The cargo terminals are getting ready, but the offices for the cargo and customs agents are not, but BIAL is putting in fire-fighting efforts, and by June end, there should be a temporary facility ready.


Future Expansion
There was talk about a "revised master plan" that will make an L shaped terminal rather than two terminal concept as per the current "master plan". I still cannot comprehend how passenger traffic will be increased 3.5 times to 50 million with only a doubling of existing infrastructure.

During the visit some BIAL officials admitted that with the single runway, their capacity is a maximum 15 million, and there are doubts about the second runway. The Indian Air Force is very concerned about safety since Yelahanka Air Base is only 3 nm south of BIA. Permission for the second runway is not forthcoming, and there were apprehensions within BIAL, that even if permission was given, significant operational constraints would be imposed, hence rendering the second runway with only half capacity, effectively.

If this is the case, BIA can at best grow to 22.5 million passengers, a figure that BIAL projects it will reach by end 2013.

The ancillary activities at the airport like Cargo etc., will need a LOT more investment than is currently made.


Plenty of land, but not for airport
I was amazed at the amount of land lying unused at BIAL. 4,000 acres is a lot, and in comparison, the PTB, occupies one small puny corner of the airport. BIAL consortium is planning to lease out more than 1,000 acres of land to developers for malls, offices, flats, parks, hotels, everything, but airport. Space that should be used for a third terminal and additional airport infrastructure, is instead being diverted.


Global Hub
In India, we are the victim of legacy thinking. We feel that international flight timings are limited to the night only. Therefore an airport can operate 24x7 utilising the same infrastructure for the two different peaks of domestic and international demand. However, BIAL was conceived as, and even BIAL officials promote the BIA as an international hub. This will require 24x7 international operations, coupled with 18x7 domestic.

For this, the airport needs far more facilities, at global standards, than the BIAL consortium appears willing to make.

Money, Money, Money
The impression I got from touring the airport, and speaking to people was that this was all about money. EVERYTHING is subservient to money.

BIAL as a company stands to make profits that will choke an elephant. They have a 60 year EXCLUSIVE lease, with a 150 km monopoly, and even before opening, they are demonstrating their power. While other airports like RGIA, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), have accepted Government requests to curb UDFs, BIAL has ignored multiple requests and will hit all departing passengers with a User Development Fee (UDF) of Rs. 757 (675 + Tax) for domestic, and Rs. 1,122 (1,000 + Tax). This is over and above the Rs. 225 Passenger Service Fee (PSF).

In the first year alone BIAL will earn in excess of Rs. 500 Crore ($125 million) in UDF. BIAL will earn in UDF its entire project investment till date in less than 5 years.

After that they will develop the real estate and continue raking in the profits.

I am not against profits. Running a company myself, I know companies are in business for profits not charity. I do not deny the right of BIAL consortium to make money. But the issue raising it's head is, deciding the balance between private profits and the social responsibilities of a monopoly infrastructure ?

We have experienced another PPP monopoly in the past -- it was called the British East India Company.


In conclusion
The passenger terminal is decent, and definitely a step above the AAI terminal at HAL. The cargo facilities are definitely ahead of the miserable excuses run by MSIL and JWG.

I am not against BIAL. Having a track record of fighting for additional infrastructure, I welcome the Bengaluru International Airport . I am concerned about the capacity, and therefore, am in favour of keeping HAL airport running, as a supplement to BIA. I have even made a radical proposal that BIAL ground handling agent Globe Ground or RGIA handling agent Air India-Singapore Air Terminal Services (AI-SATS) take over terminal handling from AAI at HAL.

We have to consider that our government has already spent over Rs. 1,000 Cr on developing roads to the airport, and plans to spend at least another Rs. 5,000 Cr in connectivity. BIAL and its concessionaires have spent Rs. 3,500 Cr., and will spend probably another Rs. 2,500 Cr. BIAL wants India to shut down existing infrastructure (something which I vehemently oppose) worth another Rs. 2,000 Cr.

Let us to do a reality check. Are we are getting value for our Rs. 14,000 Cr spent ? At this stage in the project, I feel we are essentially getting an airport that is similar HAL, but with just a pretty terminal, and my answer is a resounding NO.

For those who claim BIA to be a "world class" airport, I have only one word "PUH-LEASE".

Having visited Zurich airport over 30 times till now, I know that Mr. Brunner and his team are capable of delivering much more value.

BIAL keeps claiming that the airport will be able to cater to 15 million passengers per year, and up till now, I believed BIAL claims as far as the terminal is concerned.

After my visit, I cannot accept BIAL claims. There is no way on God's green earth, that BIA with the present terminal can cater to 15 million passengers, in the comfort, of a halfway decent international airport. May be in cramped conditions like HAL, 15 million it is possible.

But then why do we need to spend all this money and go all that distance ?

When compared to Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), which has 105,300 sq. metres of terminal space for 12 million passengers (currently at 6.5 million), BIAL has only 71,000 sq. meters for a claimed 15 million passengers (at 12 million). Effectively BIA will have twice the passengers in the same terminal area as RGIA.

I am an open person, with no affiliation to any aviation related entity (airline, airport, or company). Till someone from BIAL shows me around, clarifies my concerns, and convinces me otherwise, my views will remain.

To obtain the most independent assessment, I did not carry a camera, and did not use my cell phone, as per instructions, inside the terminal. Therefore I have used some Photos of Flickr user Photoyogi, from his BIAL visit photoset.

The government has finally set the opening for the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) for the night of May 23rd, early morning of May 24th, 2008.

Govt decides, says just one airport in Bangalore

ibnlive.com

Published on Mon, May 12, 2008 at 21:11 in Nation section

Bangalore: The city will have just one airport two weeks from Monday—the new one at Devanahalli, it has been decided.

The old HAL airport will close down for all commercial flights as soon as the new BIAL airport is opened, the Civil Aviation Ministry has decided.

Civic groups and frequent fliers demand that the HAL airport be retained, saying BIAL is far away from the city and the roads to it are not ready. There are four petitions pending before the Karnataka HC for the old airport to be retained.

The Director General of Civil Aviation decided to issue a licence to the BIAL airport this week after holding a meeting with the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Karnataka government on Monday.

The new airport would start functioning by "this month-end" and BIAL was "not agreeable to keep the existing (HAL) airport open", said Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla after the meeting.

On May 5, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to consider a citizen group's demand to keep the existing airport operational, given apprehensions on accessing the new airport located 40 kms away from the city.

As per the government's contract with BIAL the existing airport should be shut down once the new one start operation.

(With inputs from PTI)

New Bangalore airport to open soon
12 May 2008, 2024 hrs IST, PTI
The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Amid indications that no civilian flights will be allowed at Bangalore's HAL airport, government on Monday said the new international airport will open by the end of this month and operator's licence will be issued to it in the next 2-3 days.

This emerged after a meeting convened by the Civil Aviation Ministry in which top officials of the Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) as well as those from the Karnataka government participated.

The meeting came in the backdrop of a letter being shot off by Parliamentary Standing Committee Chairman Sitaram Yechury to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that the existing HAL airport be kept open for small aircraft operations, as was the case in major cities like Dallas, Houston and Newark.

Announcing that the new airport would start functioning by "this month-end", Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla said BIAL was "not agreeable to keep the existing airport open" as this was not in the contract.

To a pointed question whether the existing airport operated by the Indian Air Force and Hindustan Aeronautics would be closed down for civilian operations, he said: "I suppose that is how it is working out."

However, Chawla said talks were on with various stakeholders, including the airlines now operating at the HAL airport, on several options as to how it can be kept operational for civilian air traffic.

On May 5, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to consider a citizen group's demand to keep the existing airport operational, given apprehensions on accessing the new airport located 40 kms away from the city.

As per the government's contract with BIAL the existing airport should be shut down once the new one start operation.

The following news story on Sift/DNA, highlights the immediate need for the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). The AERA bill has been languishing since early September 2007, when it was introduced in the Indian Parliament. Such disputes are increasing by the day, and excessive charges will spell the death knell of the Indian aviation industry, which is so dependent on the "Low Cost Airline" approach.

- Devesh

Get ready to pay for facilities at airports
Sindhu Bhattacharya/ DNA MONEY
Monday, 12 May, 2008

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14671250

New Delhi: You may soon have to pay an airport development fee for using facilities at the Delhi International Airport (DIAL).

According to a proposal being discussed between the ministry of civil aviation and the airport developer consortium led by GMR, the latter has proposed a levy of Rs 200 for domestic passengers and Rs 1,000 for international passengers.

The money so raised would be used for completing the development and modernisation of the airport, which has been stalled due to frequent flip-flops by the ministry.

Invoking the Airports Authority Act, the ministry has suggested that GMR levy a charge per passenger, to close the funding gap for modernising DIAL.

So far, this Rs 8,950-crore project modernisation process of DIAL has been hanging fire, because of continuous change in stand by the government on funding models.

The government is a 26% stake holder in DIAL through the Airports Authority of India. As per the concession agreement for DIAL, it will get 46% of all revenues from the airport.

The project has, from the very beginning, sought to complete its funding through a mix of equity, debt and raising money for commercial development of 5% of the airport land. It is the money needed from commercial development — Rs 2,750 crore — over which the government and GMR have been at loggerheads.

First, GMR’s proposal for accepting security deposits from developers for this 5% of the airport land was rejected by the government, because of concerns on revenue dilution. Then, GMR proposed to fill this funding gap by raising equity from all the stakeholders, which meant the government had to shell out an additional Rs 715 crore for the DIAL project to be completed.

It now emerges that the government has reneged on additional equity infusion as well, instead asking GMR to consider levying an airport development fee to close the funding gap.

Now, there is a dispute over whether the money raised through ADF is to be considered as revenue or can it be classified as a cost recovery mechanism. If the money collected is treated as revenue, the government (through AAI) would have a 46% share in it, but it will get nothing in case this money is considered to be under the cost recovery mechanism.

Though a final decision has not been taken on levying ADF, any such proposal is sure to cause the government some embarrassment since it has been actively discouraging ‘User Development Fee’, which new airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore have proposed to recover costs.

Taking a cue from DIAL, even GVK, the developer of Mumbai International Airport, could also think in terms of levying an ADF.

Under the concession agreements the government has signed with both GVK and GMR, the developers are entitled to an ADFUDF levy for two years from the date of commencing work on the respective airports.

Under license from www.3dsyndication.com

To make Delhi double daily from July 1, 2008
By Charmaine Fernz | Dubai

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com

Emirates is going all out in their expansion plans for India. Apart from announcing the launch of their six-weekly non-stop services to Kozhikode, starting July 1, 2008, the airline will also be ramping up their Delhi services. Talking to TravelBiz Monitor, Salem Obaidalla, Sr. Vice President – Commercial Operations – West Asia and Indian Ocean, Emirates mentioned, “India is a growing market for us. Considering the growth, we will be increasing our Delhi connections to 10 flights a week thereby taking the service to a double daily from July 1, 2008. We will also consider increasing frequency to Mumbai by four additional flights.”

Kozhikode will be the third city in Kerala to be served with non-stop connections by Emirates from Dubai, after the airline introduced services to Kochi in 2002 and Thiruvananthapuram in 2006. The airline will initially operate its Boeing 777-200 and Airbus A330-200 aircraft, offering over 4,000 business and economy class seats and close to 200 tonnes of cargo capacity per week in both directions.

Elaborating on the airline’s plans for India, Obaidalla added, “We will launch the chauffeur drive service for our First and Business Class passengers in Mumbai by end of the month or in June. On the global routes, we will be starting the Dubai - Los Angeles flight on September 1, 2008 followed by Cape Town. We will also be commencing our San Francisco services from Dubai by December 1, 2008 and another destination in China by July, this year.”


.

Taking a cue from other statutory bodies like the Airports Authority of India (AAI), and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indian Customs authorities have demanded payment for their services rendered at the private operated airports like Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA).

Up till now, while AAI and CISF used to be paid for services like air traffic control and security services, even at AAI operated airports, Customs and Immigration were seen as a sovereign function, and no airport operator had to pay for it. But then, all airports in the country had been developed and/or operated by the state-owned AAI.

As per a news story by DNA of Sify, "The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is seeking payment of salaries for its staff to be deployed at the new airport as well as expenses on fittings and fixtures, housing and transport for these people. As per existing policy, no airport operator is permitted to conduct certain operations (including security of the airport, customs and immigration) on its own so it has no choice but to approach the designated central agency for the purpose."

This demand poses an additional cost for both GMR and BIAL, the promoters of RGIA and BIA respective, and puts the Ministry of Civil Aviation in an embarrassing position. While the ministry has lodged a strong protest with the Finance Ministry, the operators at RGIA, are paying the demand "under protest". When BIA opens up, BIAL will also have no choice but to accept and pay.

I am in favour of this approach. For too long, we in India, have been used to getting services from the Government "gratis". We need to move to a lower tax regime, with a "payment for services", even for Governmental services. Customs have the right to demand their costs be re-imbursed, however, then, the airport operator should also be given the ability, to demand responsibility on the Customs authorities to follow rules of commerce and deliver the required services for payment received.

The rupee should cut both ways.

Part of this story was sourced from Sify.com and DNA Money

The BIAL consortium, promoters of the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), have a strong plan to make their airport a major aviation hub, for domestic and international airlines.

Its strongest competition is coming from the GMR promoted Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad.

Unfortunately for BIAL, successive governments in Karnataka are addicted to oil, or at least the revenues their high sales tax rates bring in. Karnataka has one of the highest rates of tax on petroleum products in India, and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) is no exception.

While Andhra Pradesh and Kerala (home to Cochin International Airport), have sales tax rates on ATF at the 'declared goods' rate of 4%, Karnataka continues to levy a budget busting 28% sales tax on ATF. This dent in the wallets of airlines, makes Bangalore a less attractive destination.

Coupled with the higher costs of operating from BIAL, airlines are thinking hard on expanding operations at Bangalore, and that lessens our choices and weakens our economy as a whole.

May be the next finance minister of Karnataka will take a cue from a former finance minister, who proved that reducing income tax rates raised consumption and compliance, and kept the actual tax collected the same.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, please talk some sense in to the administrators of Karnataka, and while you are at it, may be the 4% can be applied to all petroleum products.

Ultimately, if we Bangaloreans, spend less on fuel and transport, we will spend on more productive goods and services that will ripple-benefit Karnataka's economy.

On May 5, 2008, the Indian Government finally approved the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) Bill, and passed it to the Parliament of India. This bill has been languishing since its introduction on September 5, 2007, by the Civil Aviation Minister Shri Praful Patel.

Till now, almost all airports in India were controlled and operated by the Airports Authority of India. The rates they charged were controlled by the government, and were artificially low. The newly introduced private airport operators in Cochin, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore, could not operate at these low rates. They began exercising their private monopoly powers and threatened to hit airlines, passengers, and industry with large raises in landing and parking fees, user development fees (UDF), and cargo handling fees.

As per the press release, the function of the AERA will be to:

• Determine tariff structure for aeronautical services taking into consideration.
• capital expenditure incurred and timely investment in improvement of airport facilities.
• service provided, its quality and other relevant factors
• cost of improving efficiency
• economic and viable operation of major airports
• concession offered by central government in any MoU; etc. provided that different tariff structures are determined for different airport
• Determine the amount of development fees in respect of major airports
• Determine amount of passenger service fee to be levied under the Aircraft Rules.
• Monitor the performance standards relating to quality, continuity and reliability of service as may be specified by Central Government or any authority authorized by it.
• Call for information as may be necessary to determine the tariff.
• Perform such other tariff related functions as may be entrusted to it by the Central Government or as may be necessary to carry out the provision of the Act.

The Authority will also have penal powers. It will have the power to:

• Penalize for willful failure to comply with its orders and directions of the AERA Act.
• Punish for non-compliance of the orders of the Authority
• Penalize for offences by companies
• Penalize for offences by Government Departments.

The Authority shall determine tariff once in 5 years and may, if it considers appropriate in public interest amend, the tariff from time to time during the 5 years.

The AERA will have just 3 members, one Chairperson and 2 members, all appointed by the Central Government.

I can only hope that the Government pushes the bill through the Parliament, and sets up the AERA soon.

But, keep in mind, the AERA Bill is not meant for you and me, the individual passenger. Its is squarely aimed at the airlines and the airport operators.

For the last year, there has been a constant battle between the private airport operators and airlines. Earlier, DGCA, MoCA and Airports Authority of India (AAI) used to manage and regulate airports and aviation issues. With the AERA in place, private airlines can breathe a sigh of relief and hope to get fair treatment, and protection, from the monopolies of the airport operators, both private and Governmental.

If you are expecting relief from the outrageously high UDF being proposed by all the private airport operators, don't hold your breath.

From TravelBizMonitor.com

By Krupa Vora| Mumbai

After the recent announcement of starting flights to Kozhikode by June 15, 2008, Qatar Airways is now eyeing Bangalore as their destination in India. The airline is currently evaluating the feasibility of the route (Doha-Bangalore) and will apply for passenger operations once the new Bangalore International Airport is operational. “While the User Development Fee (UDF) at the Bangalore International Airport will add to the cost of travelling, the airport will also offer better services and a hassle free journey for passengers. Our strategy is to position Doha as a transit hub. Almost 30 per cent of our passengers disembark at Doha, whereas the remaining 60 per cent take connections to destinations in US, Europe and Africa,” stated Naveen Chawla, Regional Manager, India, Qatar Airways.

The airline is also in the process of augmenting online sales through various promotions. It recently concluded a month long pilot project, whereby passengers booking through the website of the airline availed special fares, as well added double miles to their frequent flyer programme. The carrier will look at introducing the project after conducting a feasibility study. “Currently, the online sales are very low. We are observing the trends in e-commerce market and will develop the segment and promote the online sales more aggressively after a detailed study,” informed Chawla. Apart from this Qatar Holidays, the holiday division of the airline is evaluating the market size in the country and may look at setting up a representation at a later stage.