Airbus SAS today handed over its 11th A380 superjumbo to Qantas Airways Ltd. of Australia.

Airframe serial number MSN022 was registered VH-OQC and christened Paul McGinness.

The plane was the third A380 for Qantas this year, Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said in an interview to Bloomberg.

The first two VH-OQA (Nancy-Bird Walton) and VH-OQB (Hudson Fysh) have been operating between Melbourne and Sydney and Los Angeles. Qantas is expected to deploy Paul McGinness on the "Kangaroo Run" between Sydney and London, starting in January 2009.

With just four days left in 2008, Airbus, the world’s largest maker of commercial aircraft, is scrambling to make one more delivery, in order to reach its goal of 12 deliveries this year.

That aircraft is expected to be delivered to Emirates, its largest customer for the A380, by Dec. 31, Schaffrath said.

Five A380's are already in operation with launch customer Singapore Airlines, and three with Emirates.

In the aviation world, one hears of competition and disagreements in the skies, but in India, over the past year, an air-related battle has been steadily brewing -- on the ground.

Ground-handling is all the work on the ground relating passengers, cargo and aircraft. It involves passenger check-in, aircraft cleaning, aircraft handling, fuelling, baggage handling, cargo handling, boarding and disembarking passengers i.e. attaching the aero-bridge or ladder, etc. It does not include engineering functions, and catering.

Most passengers remain blissfully unaware of ground handling, since much of it happens out of sight, and is transparently to us, till there is a hiccup.

In India, most domestic airlines do the ground handling themselves also called "self handling", as they find it cheaper. Some foreign airlines with extensive operations to a given city, also do self-handling. Other airlines outsource the ground handling to either Air India or private companies like Cambata Aviation.

This has produced what I can best describe as an "organised zoo" at most Indian airports, especially the larger ones. As per the government, currently, more than 50 ground handling agencies, employing over 70,000 people, operate in India, which in many ways leads to chaos and congestion, especially at Mumbai and Delhi airports.

The duplication of equipment is enormous, as is the consumption of space used to store them when not in use, which is significant. The multitudes of companies and people involved, have also created a security nightmare in terms of administration.

To address these issues, in 2007, the Government of India laid down a new Ground Handling Policy (GHP). The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a circular dated September 28, 2007, and the Airports Authority of India issued a notification dated October 18, 2007 — to be effective January 1, 2009 that essentially said, airlines cannot employ their own staff for ground handling, nor can they engage any outside agency at the six major airports (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore), other than from a basket of those pre-selected by the airport operator. Simultaneously, the new policy also clarified that only domestic airlines can handle the ground services at the other smaller airports.

The idea was noble, and does make sense. The six major airports were to have selected two ground handling agencies, each, to provide services, using “competitive bidding to ensure that the best-equipped ground handling agency is selected.", but, as with any government initiative, it got lost in translation to policy, and flawed in implementation.

A taste of the "competitiveness" was given earlier this year, when the government had to back down from implementing this policy, after airlines boycotted India's first private Greenfield airport, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad, citing the exorbitant prices demanded by the private ground handling agents. The back-down affected the revenue plans of all airports, especially the privately operated ones at Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.

A government affidavit in a recent court case also gives us clues to some of the motives behind the new GHP. The affidavit admits that “upkeep, development and upgradation of the airport infrastructure require financial resources, which are to be raised from airport-related services such as ground handling. This ensures generation of income not only for the airport operator to maintain the infrastructure, but to ensure orderly growth and development of the airports.”

Another fundamental flaw is the inclusion of passenger facing services such as check-in in the ground handling policy. Check-in is a core customer service and product differentiation function for airlines. To expect airlines to exclude themselves from this critical function, is outright naive, and has expectedly, invited protests and non-cooperation from the airlines and their staff.

Another factor, and for this, one has to blame decades of left-leaning, communist hugging, Indian labour laws, that allow an organisation to hire a person, but never to fire. Government being the champion of these laws, and by extension all government controlled entities, have thus created a culture which tolerates unheard levels of incompetence, indifference, and sloth, in some cases bordering on criminal.

The state owned carrier, Air India, is also, one of the biggest ground handlers, but has formed a separate joint venture company Air India-Singapore Airport Terminal Services (AI-SATS) for ground handling. In most countries, one would logically expect a smooth transfer of employees to the new company and minimal disruption, but not in this case. After all, SATS has operational control, and will demand maximum productivity from these employees.

Naturally, incidences of union led disruptions have erupted over the last month, as the implementation date draws closer. A union called CAJAF (Civil Aviation Joint Action Front) has been protesting, disrupting ground operations, and in one totally deplorable incident, Air India staff, part of CAJAF, beat up the COO of SATS, Mr. Karamjit Singh .

Thanks to the inclusion of passenger check-in in to the GHP, and exclusion of foreign carrier, employee unions of of foreign carriers, Gulf Air, British Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines have challenged the notifications in court claiming this would lead to job losses for over 50,000 workers. Staff of other airlines are silently cheering them on.

I must congratulate the government on achieving the impossible. In one fell swoop, the policy has united domestic and international airlines, as well as trade unions in their wrath. While the employees fear the new policy will divest a staggering 15,000 people of their jobs, airlines fear that it will affect customer services.

A new approach to ground handling is critically required, but it needs to be done with cooperation and rational expectations from all sides. Everyone will have to compromise to reach an amicable solution, the question is will they ?

As usual your comments are requested.

While many travellers in the US, had a miserable time last few days, thanks to the winter storms, this story from AP takes the cake.

It is small solace, but I hope it at least brings a wry smile to some lips. Across the world in sunny Philippines, a Philippine Airlines airplane was stuck circling the Zamboanga airport, in southern Philippines, for some time before landing Friday, because air traffic controllers apparently still in a Christmas holiday mood were missing from the tower, and came in late for work!!!!!

Mabuhay everyone, and keep the cheer and the chin up.

I must tip my hat to the travel agents' associations in India. Their strategy of targeting one airline at a time, has paid handsome dividends.

From a paltry five per cent commission on the basic fare, they have successfully made all the airlines pay three per cent on the gross fare, which includes the fuel surcharges, on domestic fares. Passengers will recognise that very often, fuel surcharges are anywhere from 4 to 10 times greater than the basic fare.

Travel agents represent as much as 85 per cent of the full service airlines' business. By selectively boycotting one airline at a time, the agents focussed all the hurt on one airline, while still preserving relations by continuing to provide services to their customers, using other airlines. In these days of economic crises, and rabid competition, the "non-boycotted" airlines were happy to benefit from their competitor's misery.

Like dominoes, each airline folded its negotiation hand. It started with Jet, then Kingfisher, then Paramount, and finally Air India.

In the history of air travel, prior to this action, only agents in Japan have been able to force a roll back of the zero commission regime. I wonder if it is too late for agents in other countries to learn from the Indian strategy. For all of us, regardless of business vertical, we should take lessons. Prior to negotiation, recognise the weaknesses in the opposite party/parties, if possible target one at a time i.e. divide and rule, adopt a strategy that pressures them, but never, ever, compromise your business survival, by pressuring your customers.

After obtaining concessions from the domestic airlines, the travel agents have now focussed their attention on the international carriers. starting with Singapore Airlines.

Following a failure of negotiations (read re-instatement of agency commission), six associations of travel agents today decided not to sell tickets of Singapore Airlines from Monday, December 29, 2008. Later, they have also decided to boycott, Singapore Airlines' subsidiary, SilkAir from January 1, 2009.

In the case of foreign travel, since the commission is paid only on basic fare, and fuel surcharges do not constitute as significant a component as in the case of domestic travel, the agents are demanding a five per cent commission.

Singapore Airlines, like other foreign airlines, at present, allows travel agents to charge around Rs 1,200 on sale of its tickets as a transaction fee.

A Singapore Airlines spokesperson said travel agents comprised an important element of its business and that it was very much interested in working with them. "Travel agents are getting a transaction fee, around Rs 1,200 per ticket. We think this model is good for the business. The model is working well and we would like to persist with it," the spokesperson said.

However, having tasted success with their "selective boycott" strategy, the associations are firm in their stand, that they would not settle for anything less, than a five per cent commission.

The senior management of Singapore Airlines has rushed to Singapore for "consulatations" with senior airline management. Stay tuned. I am sure, an announcement from Singapore Airlines, capitulating to the agents, will follow, very shortly. After which it will be the turn of Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates, and other major foreign carriers.

According to a PIB release, at a recent parliamentary session of the Rajya Sabha, Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel informed that major work in modernisation of Air Traffic Control System (ATCs) has been undertaken at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Mangalore, Bangalore, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Varanasi and Guwahati.

The expenditure incurred by Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the modernisation of the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance and Air Traffic Management systems (CNS / ATM) during the last three years is as follows: (Rs. 5 Cr. = 1 Million)

• for the year 2005-06, Rs 118.20 crores;
• for the year 2006-07, Rs 66.15 crores;
• for the year 2007-08, Rs 200.71 crores.

After the installation of modern navigational/landing aids, increase in the handling capacity of airspace and airport, enhanced safety, reduction in delays in flight, saving of fuel and thus minimisation of adverse affect on environment, have been observed. Other benefits accrued include uninterrupted operation of flights through airports during the periods of poor visibility, monitoring of aircraft movements in avoiding over-flying over the restricted and prohibited areas and more effective and efficient monitoring of runways during periods of poor visibility.

Patel informed that Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radars (MSSRs) have been installed at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Guwahati, Nagpur, Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Behrampur and Varanasi, by the AAI, at a cost of Rs 229 crore.

MSSR provides position, distance, call sign and altitude of the aircraft and data link between controller and pilot. It also provides seamless surveillance over territorial airspace by filling the radar coverage gaps for smooth and efficient air-traffic flow.

New Delhi, and Mumbai will be installing a GBAS navigation system similar to the one proposed at Newark Liberty airport, by 2010.

At a time when airport authorities in Singapore, Thailand, Korea, and Taiwan, are reducing their airport charges to stimulate air travel, travellers flying from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai will pay more soon.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has recently sent a letter to the GVK promoted, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), allowing the airport operator to increase aeronautical charges by ten per cent which in turn will be passed on to the passengers.

Aeronautical charges comprise Passenger Service Fee (PSF) currently at Rs. 225, and aircraft landing and parking charges. According to a report in Economic Times, certain sources informed that MoCA has allowed MIAL to increase aeronautical charges by ten per cent effective January 1, 2009. MIAL has already issued a circular in this regard to airlines. A ten per cent increase in airport charges will add to about Rs 35 crore to the airport’s total annual revenue.

Passengers can expect a similar hike at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport operator, GMR promoted, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).

Air New Zealand, the launch customer, of the much awaited, and much delayed, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, in a statement announced

"Boeing confirmed yesterday a further 12 month delay could be expected with the first 787-9 aircraft to be delivered to Air New Zealand in the first quarter of 2013,"

Air New Zealand has eight 787-9 on order. Originally deliveries were expected to commence towards the end of 2010. Thanks to the various problems at Boeing, deliveries were delayed to early 2012, and now 2013.

Boeing photo

Jon Ostrower of FlightBlogger, explains in an analysis of an internal Airbus dossier, the 787-9 is the killer application for the Dreamliner project. Many customers are expected to switch to, or order, 787-9's.

Naturally, the airline is incensed. Both Reuters and Bloomberg report, the airline is seeking compensation from Boeing.

On the positive side, Boeing's maintenance plan, a key component of the Dreamliner's economic positioning, has been approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Boeing has been promoting the 787 as

requiring less maintenance, less often than comparably sized jets, which allows the 787 to be more available for revenue service for airlines, leading to significant financial and scheduling opportunities for airlines.

In related airline news, Air New Zealand announced it will proceed with its bio-fuel test, along with Boeing, on December 30th, originally scheduled for December 3rd, but delayed due to the crash of its Airbus A320 off the coast of France.

As per the announcement

The two-hour test flight is scheduled to take off from Auckland airport on Tuesday morning 30 December, with the jatropha biofuel blend powering one of the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400's Rolls-Royce RB211 engines.

The pilot in command of the test flight is Air New Zealand 747 Fleet Manager Captain Keith Pattie. During the flight Captain Pattie and his crew will undertake a number of fuel tests confirming and measuring the performance of the engine and fuel systems at various altitudes and under a variety of operating conditions.

The test flight is a joint initiative between Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and UOP, with support from Terasol Energy, as part of commercial aviation's drive for more sustainable air travel for future generations.

Read more Bangalore Aviation articles on the 787, bio-fuel, Air New Zealand, Boeing.

Okay, now we know the festive season is upon us. Just as mother nature was letting up on the winter snow storm, "Shiner" the sea-lion decided to make Oakland airport home.

Marine Mammal Center workers rescued the animal by 1:30 p.m. PST.



Read the full story from San Jose Mercury News here.

British Airways is having a New Year sale starting from today, December 23.

Fares to New York for as low as £259 (saving £78). Boston, Philadelphia and Washington from £279 (saving £79, £69 and £69 respectively). Los Angeles and San Francisco are on sale from £339 (saving £63 each) and Chicago is available from £289 (saving £89).

New Delhi from £359 (saving £121) and Mumbai from £329 (saving £91). Its a pity Bangalore is missing.

The Middle East offers include Dubai starting from £299 (saving £56), Abu Dhabi from £329 (saving £43), Muscat from £339 (saving £36), Riyadh from £369 (saving £93) and Jeddah from £329 (saving £96).

Caribbean islands Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia start from £479 (saving £73, £66 and £64).

Singapore and Bangkok from £589 each (saving £105 and £102 respectively) and Sydney from £699 (saving £106).

Short-haul destinations include Dubrovnik from £59 one-way (saving £24), Thessaloniki from £65 one-way (saving £18) and Helsinki and Istanbul from £79 one-way (saving £29 each). Berlin and Rome are on offer from £55 one-way (saving £21 each).

Some of the fine print of the offer :

• The sale runs from December 23, 2008 to January 27, 2009 for selected travel dates between January and September 2009.
• All long-haul ticket prices are return fares and include all taxes and charges.
• All short-haul ticket prices are one-way fares and include all taxes and charges.
• Purchase needs to be made online at www.ba.com.
• All tickets purchased by phone will be subject to a £5 offline booking charge.
• All tickets are subject to availability.

Happy holidays!!

In the Rajya Sabha today, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel informed the Parliament today that airport developers both in public and private sectors are not getting their dues from the airlines on time which is causing them financial problems.

As per the minister's statement in the house

In respect of Airports Authority of India’s (AAI), the dues, in Rs. Crore (Rs. 5 Cr = $1 million) of defaulting airlines are :

NACIL-Air India - 739.50; Kingfisher Airlines / Kingfisher Red - 286.62; Jet Airways / Jetlite - 32.78; Spicejet - 15.76; Paramount Airways - 12.50; Interglobe Aviation - 6.00; Go Air - 8.81. Total dues are Rs. 1,101.87 Cr.

Mumbai International Airport’s dues are as follows: NACIL-Air India - 52.90; Kingfisher Airlines / Kingfisher Red - 14.11; Jet Airways / Jet Lite - 7.51; Go Airlines - 2.29; Air Indian Charters Ltd - 0.80; Lufthansa Airlines - 0.80; Malaysia Airlines - 0.63; Emirates - 0.61;
Indigo Airlines - 0.57; Spicejet Ltd - 0.55; Singapore Airlines - 0.42; British Airways - 0.30;
Kuwait Airways - 0.27; KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - 0.26; Airlines Allied Services - 0.25; Kenya Airways - 0.25; El-al Israel Airlines - 0.23; Qatar Airways - 0.21; Saudi Arabian Airlines - 0.20; Ethiopian Airlines - 0.20; Other airlines - 3.18. Total dues are Rs. 86.54 Cr.

The total dues of airlines as on date owed to Hyderabad International Airport Limited (HIAL) is Rs. 48.75 Cr.

The total dues of airlines as on 15.12.2008 on Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is Rs. 84.50 Cr.

The total dues of airlines on Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) is Rs.41 Cr.

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) have also informed that there are some dues from airlines, but it appears no details are provided.

Government has given instructions to AAI to take all possible steps including legal action, if warranted against the defaulting airlines.

Just two airlines, Air India and Kingfisher owe 93% of total AAI dues, and 80.5% of MIAL dues. I suspect the trends at other airports will be similar.

Without political directive, it is career suicide for anybody at AAI, which is a government body, to even dream about, let alone execute, pursuing recovery operations against Air India, which is a government owned entity. In any case, Air India, just does not have the money. It is waiting for Sugar-Daddy a.k.a. Government of India to bail it out.

In case of Kingfisher, I am completely stupified. Dr. Mallya runs a global empire, he is astute and I am told, an extremely driven man. Aviation and Kingfisher, the airline, is his passion. What has gone wrong ? Have the liabilities of the Air Deccan merger finally caught up ?

Rs. 1,100+ Crores is not a trivial amount. This is money of the taxpayers of India, that should be put to better use, than left as overdues.

How seriously can we treat the minister's statement about instructing AAI to use all possible means to recover their dues ? It will be a simple step for AAI. All they have to do is stop the airlines from landing at their airfields, and seize the aircraft already parked. It will probably take, all of 2 seconds, before holy hell will break loose.

All the airport operators are suffering due to the economic crisis, and the subsequent reduction in overall aviation activity, be it flights, passengers or cargo.

AAI revenue has decreased by Rs. 228 Cr., April to September 2008, as compared to the corresponding period in 2007. MIAL's aeronautical revenue is down Rs. 79.83 Cr., April, 2008 to November, 2008. DIAL is down Rs. 50 Cr., and is already begging for financial assistance for its ambitious expansion plans, needed to meet the requirement of the Commonwealth Games 2010. HIAL has seen a total revenue decline by 15%. BIAL is down, but has not provided figures. The only other major airport operator, CIAL, has not been affected significantly, due to the constant middle east traffic, the one area of global aviation that is still escaping the global meltdown.

Overdues impose unneeded operational expenses on airport operators, and that ultimately comes back to passengers in the form of decreased services, delayed facilities, and higher fees. MIAL has been given permission for a 10% across the board rate hikes at Mumbai, Delhi can be expected to follow very soon.

Mr. Praful Patel is in difficult position of being the "boss" of both the defaulting airline and the airport operator owed the money. He has to make up his mind, and fast.

As we wind down the year, and gear up for the festive season, I thank all the readers of Bangalore Aviation for their support and patronage. I wish you and each of your near and dear ones, a most joyous holiday, and may 2009 be bountiful, profitable, and successful.

Some interesting stories that I came across today.

• Business Traveller has an aviation overview of the year 2008 here.
• The New York Times, on how passengers are coping with the airline bag fees here.
• Travel Biz Monitor on governments' revision of airport modernisation policy here.
• Joe Sharkey's tongue-in-cheek view on Emirates polar flights here.
• ABC's report on the impact of winter weather all over the US here.
• ISRO's response to Google Earth, Bhuvan, to be launch March 2009 here.
• IATA's report on premium air traffic diving down 6.9% here.
• Reuters' report on voluntary flight reduction efforts at La Guardia airport here.
  

I hope you enjoy reading. Please remember, comments and constructive feedback are always welcome.

Turkish Airlines (THY) will begin offering first class seats on the three Boeing 777-300ERs, recently leased from Jet Airways, by Dec. 29, THY General Manager Temel Kotil has said.

The first 2 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft scheduled to join the fleet on December 24th and 25th, 2008 are configured with 8 First Class suites, 30 Business in a herringbone layout, and 274 Economy, a total seat capacity of 312. The first class cabin offers complete privacy and suite comfort with its seats in 2.1m length reclining a full 180 degrees.

Jet Airways / Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300ER seat map. Click on map for larger image.

Jet Airways recently won a Business Traveller award for its First Class on these very same aircraft. This is the second instance, within this month, of a foreign carrier benefiting from the financial woes of an Indian carrier. Just two weeks ago, I wrote about, Arik Air of Nigeria using the Kingfisher A340-500 aircraft, complete with its luxurious interiors.

The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will initially furnish Istanbul services on Singapore, Hong Kong, London, New York, and Tokyo routes. The aircraft will also allow THY to augment its cargo capacity. Using the aircraft on New York route will increase the cargo capacity up to 18 tons per flight.

Turkish Airlines will expand its current 9 A340-500 and 5 A330-200 long haul fleet with 3 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Further additions will be 2 A330-200 aircraft, successively joining the fleet in February and April 2009, thus increasing the number of long haul aircraft to 19.

According to a report in today’s Economic Times (ET), low cost carrier (LCC) GoAir is expanding its fleet and operations. The airline has decided to scale up its fleet size to 35 by March 2011 from the existing strength of six aircraft.

The airline will add 20 aircraft by end of this year and later bring in another nine in the next two years. As per industry experts the company incurred ‘substantial losses’ last year.

Thanks to past experience, many fliers in India may not give much credibility to the ET report.

Along with the ET report, I recommend the article "Groping in the dark" by Ms. Anjuli Bhargava published in Business Standard on December 19, which provides an excellent history on GoAir. I reproduce her article below for your ready reference.

I don’t know if any one of you have been following these developments but Mumbai-based low-cost airline GoAir has suddenly taken a U-turn. From being a low-fare, low frills airline, it has out of the blue announced the launch of something called “GoComfort”.

GoComfort — by the airline’s own definition — is a fully flexible premium service providing all the key benefits that an Indian business passenger would need. “It is India’s only low-cost premium service offering business travelers a premium choice over any other low-fare airline”, whatever that means.

The airline says it is adding value by offering telecheck in and return check in, a wider selection of food and seat selection. GoComfort takers have been promised a seat (with increased pitch) in the first four rows of the aircraft (the times of squeezing in to a middle seat are over, according to the company’s official release). It goes on to promise that the middle seat will always be free (an easy enough promise to keep with load factors at an all-time low!).

In addition to the announcement of GoComfort, the airline has launched another series of schemes — GoYouth (targeted at persons below 21), GoSolution (targeted at corporate clients) and a buy 5, get one free offer. It has further announced that it will be increasing the total number of flights on offer to 9 destinations in this winter season from the 832 in October to 900. By March 2009, GoAir says, it is planning to add 18 aircraft to its fleet size (it has six A320s at present) and by March 2011 it has plans to increase its fleet size to 34.

All this appears to be part of its constant strategy — which can best be described as groping in the dark — to reinvent itself. GoAir’s endless announcements don’t convince me enough and I would advise flyers to take their promises with a largish dose of salt.

GoAir — when it was established in June 2004 — was envisaged as a low-fare airline that would commoditise air travel. On 9 June 2005, GoAir announced that it intended to launch operations in October 2005 with a fleet of 20 leased A320 aircraft. Initial flights would be in the southern and western areas of India with the first nine A320s, the remaining 11 aircraft being added in the second year. At that time the airline was in talks with both Airbus and Boeing on the purchase of between 20 and 40 new aircraft, with a contract to be in place by the end of 2005 and with deliveries to start by 2007. None of this ever happened. It did however launch in November 2005.

Then in July 2006, the airline again announced an order for 10 aircraft from the Airbus 320 family (with options for 10 more). This was followed by an announcement in mid-January 2007 that it plans to sell a large minority ownership position to assist it with funds for continued expansion. That investment never happened either.

In the few months that it had flown — and when the industry situation was reasonably rosy compared to what it is today — GoAir failed to establish itself as a credible low-cost option, unlike some of its competitors. IndiGo, for instance, launched later and managed to trounce most other low-cost carriers and established a pretty good reputation for itself, whereas SpiceJet managed to remain a serious contender. GoAir, in fact, was often compared with Air Deccan (which had by then bagged the reputation of being the worst in its category) and was considered just a tad behind Deccan in this regard.

In its defence, those who managed to fly the airline didn’t really have much to complain about (the aircraft was clean, the flight hassle-free, the brand identity chic and staff decent). The maximum noise came from those who had booked with the airline and would, more often than not, find the flight cancelled for some reason or the other, leaving them stranded. Although the airline claimed that its model was based on ‘punctuality, affordability and convenience’, this never translated into customer experience. The ease with which flights were simply cancelled made many believe that it appeared geared more to the convenience of the airline rather than the passengers. As one senior ministry official told me back then: “It may be a smart choice to fly GoAir but it’s a smarter one not to fly GoAir (the airline’s tag line is Fly Smart)”.

However as the industry situation worsened (since mid-2006, things have been grim for the Indian aviation industry), GoAir became more unreliable by the day. This was also partly due to its “flexible fleet management policy”, which its promoter Jeh Wadia said was its way of moderating capacity based on demand. To flyers, it just meant you never know which flight may get cancelled when.

Even today, I find GoAir’s various claims and schemes hard to swallow. To cite one example, the buy 5, get 1 free offer for this winter season is available — for some inexplicable reason — only to those registered on its website (attempts by me to register just to find out the price for this through the website failed as it asks for a PNR number which is hard to provide before one has booked). On further enquiries — from its newly-hired public relations agency — it turned out that the offer gives you one free ticket after you have flown with the carrier five times! Since I am yet to meet or hear of a GoAir frequent flyer, it makes one wonder how many people will be in a position to avail of this one.

In June 2005, when Wadia met me in his Lower Parel office in Mumbai just prior to the launch of his airline — and told me how his airline would change the way Indians travel (it has a 2.3 per cent market share today) — he said: “Every Indian should fly. We are one billion people and only 0.05 per cent of the country flies. Is that a joke or is that a joke?” It is a joke but not — as he may now have realised — a particularly funny one.

Nathan Hurst at The Detroit News has written a good article on how Detroit Metropolitan Airport is fast loosing ground as the United States' gateway to Asia.

The airport is facing a slew of delayed introductions, reduction in frequencies, and in some cases outright cancellations of flights to a variety of Asian cities.

Detroit is the home of the automotive industry, one of the most depressed sectors globally, thanks to a slowing economy. Northwest's acquisition by Delta is only adding to the gloom.

Read the article.

British Airways has placed firm orders on Embraer for eleven fuel efficient E-Jets, comprised of six Embraer 170 and five Embraer 190SR jets, with options for an additional three 190SR jets. The Embraer 170s will be powered by General Electric CF34-8C5 engines and the 190SRs will be powered by CF34-10E5 engines.

The airline's wholly owned subsidiary BA CityFlyer, which operates from London City airport, is expected to take delivery of the first of its new aircraft, in September 2009.

The contract value of the E-Jets firm orders is US$ 376.5 million, at list price, and could reach US$ 489 million, if all options are confirmed.

The E-Jets will replace the current fleet of 10 Avro RJ100 and two RJ85 aircraft operated by BA CityFlyer. The fuel efficiency of the new E-Jets over the the current RJ fleet appears to have been a key consideration, with the Embraer 170 being 56% more fuel efficient and the 190SR being 28% more efficient.

The Embraer 190SRs and Embraer 170s will operate on routes from London City Airport to Scotland, Ireland and Europe.

The 170 will be configured with 76 seats, and the 190SR with 98 seats. Both will have a single-class layout with 4 abreast seating, benefiting from the 'double-bubble' fuselage design which offers more personal space for passengers, and affords BA CityFlyer, the marketing pitch of not having a middle seat.

Due to its very short runway and the high levels of noise restrictions, London City, is considered a very demanding airport, by aircraft manufacturers.

The 170 obtained steep approach certification to operate at London City Airport in June 2007. The 190SR is currently undergoing a series of engineering evaluation tests and expects to receive its steep approach certification by the end of 2009.

For more information on Embraer E-Jets click here. For more information on British Airways click here.

Reuters is reporting that Australia's competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, sued the cargo unit of Singapore Airlines on allegations they were involved in international price-fixing. The commission has already taken action against Qantas Airways and British Airways, who paid fines totaling $17.1 million.

The commission accused Singapore Airlines Cargo, of entering into arrangements with other carriers to fix the price of a fuel surcharge and a security surcharge between 2001 and 2005. The penalties and costs, are still unspecified.

SIA Cargo spokesperson informed that the airline will defend the allegations, and re-iterated their commitment to competing fairly and within constraints of the law.

Since February 2006, regulators worldwide, have been probing more than 30 airlines over the issue of cartelisation, after U.S. and European officials raided airlines as part of investigations into the imposition of fuel surcharges in international air cargo.

Heavy fog today hit air and train traffic at New Delhi, with about 20 flights from Indira Gandhi International Airport here being delayed and two cancelled while over 25 Delhi-bound trains running late by upto 11 hours.

Dense fog enveloped the airport around 11.30 am with runway visibility dropping to 600 metres which forced the airport authorities to implement the low visibility procedures.

The runway visibility continued to deteriorate and drop to 75 metres forcing some airlines to divert their flights to Jaipur and Mumbai.

While most airlines press relations claimed "near normal operations", on the ground, however, passengers had a different story to tell.

Real time flight arrival and departure information can be found here. Airport and airline call centre numbers and other details can be found in articles on New Delhi airport.

In a second incident involving a commercial jet mishap at a major airport in just about twelve hours, as per Reuters, a Continental Airlines Boeing 737 plane went off the runway and caught fire at Denver International Airport at 18:18 December 20, (01:18 GMT December 21).

Less than 12 hours earlier, at 13:51 GMT, December 20, a Gulf Air Airbus 321 plane caught fire at Mumbai airport.

None of the injuries at Denver were life-threatening, but the injured passengers were taken to area hospitals, as per DIA spokesperson, Kim Day at a news conference, but CBS Denver is reporting one critical injury.

As in Mumbai, Denver airport reported significant flight delays after the crash, as some runways were shut down.

There were 112 passengers and crew on flight CO 1404, which was taking off Denver International Airport for Houston.

It wasn't immediately known why the plane crashed, but the right side of the plane caught fire after it landed in a ravine between two runways on the west side of the airfield. Denver assistant fire chief Steve Garrod said the plane "crashed, caught fire" and flames extended into the cabin. He said the right wing was cracked, as was the fuselage.

Despite freezing temperatures, officials felt "ice was not a factor".

The two luxury hotels at the hub of the recent Mumbai terror attacks, the Trident Hotel, and the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, re-open in Mumbai today.

Ratan Tata, chief executive of the Tata Group which owns the Taj, has vowed to restore the building to its former glory after it was ravaged by fire, bullets and grenades.

The whole nation has responded with pride and praise at the indomitable spirit of both hotels, and the effort required, for the speed with which both hotels have been readied for business again.

I can think of no better way to respond the terrorists and their masters at Pakistan's ISI agency.

Guests will check in at the Trident hotel from Sunday morning, with about 100 of the 550 rooms booked and all four restaurants serving diners. At the Taj, more than 1,000 key clients and guests have been invited for a private reception before an evening reopening of 268 rooms and seven eateries in the modern Tower wing.

The domed Palace part of the hotel has been heavily damaged and requires extensive repairs.

Raymond Bickson, chief executive and managing director of the Indian Hotels Co. Ltd, which runs the Taj, has said the re-opening is an "affirmation of the values of courage, resilience and dignity".

"To re-open the Taj with such speed but with no loss of attention to details, shows our resolve to commemorate all the innocent and brave people who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks,".

"In their honour, the Taj will shine again in all its brilliance."

Trident Hotels president Rattan Keswani said he felt "deep pride" for his staff's work both during and after last month's attacks.

"Yes, there is grief, there is definitely a huge amount of sadness in everybody's mind because of colleagues and guests that we lost," he told a news conference.

"But since those days and the days after that, they have been committed 100 percent to whatever the needs are and they are desirous that the hotel bounces back as quickly as possible."

Kudos to all of you.