Privatization talks are going for the last few years and they just want to slide it before electionsmanish wrote:Agarwal was resisting the privatisation of six more airports, including Kolkata and Chennai. But the government is in a hurry and wants the process to be completed before going into elections. For this reason, Agarwal had to lose his post, sources said here.
Looks like some one is looking forward for a hefty cut before the elections...Reject for same reason as not getting behind the wheel after too many ZamZam Colas. No comparison with UB. Yes, vina, flying in UB-BOM-COK is fine, but returning is bad: long hangover in BOM, or extra high stress as in consequences of delay at COK. UB-BLR-COK and back was nice with MallyaJehaaj; I liked BLR arrival and departure facilities except paucity of pakistans and bus-station type crowd in departure area beyond security. Cricket on the TV screens made the lines bearable. Disappointed that COK despite fabulous geographic location (besides short drive) has not been able to get the major Bheshtern airlines except Emirates and Etihad. I guess the profits come with less pains with the Eastern ones. Everyone praises Etihad to high houristan. Got to try it. OTOH, close relatives came via that, and got the 4-hour hospitality at ORD, causing them to miss onward flights. No cause seen at all, passports had no stamps other than desh-Yoo-Ess a couple of times, names definitely not Abdul, surely did not use me as US reference, nooo idea.fly int NY/ORD/DFW
Anand K wrote:The Silk Air flight from SIN to TRV sucks!
I have been seeing the same "Just For Laughs" gag videos the past 3 years for one. The seats suck! The air-hostesses are quite a few millihelens short of the TFTA SIA ladies and are dressed in crayola green kitchen gowns. I am sure the "apple juice" they serve is diluted expired cough syrup. The food sucks. I have traveled Biz class also here and it's not much different from Economy - the chair is bigger and the cabin crew smile a bit more.
Whine whine whine
Silk Air is the epitome of Singapore Airlines' tightfisted attitude. Not much better than a KSRTC bus with wings on sides. Among other things they don't accrue miles on other Star Alliance carriers, only into Singapore's own frequent flyer program. The planes are in good shape, but service is mediocre. My approach is to eat and drink well in the city and then board the plan to COK and fall asleep right away. The return flight is always a writeoff because it's a red-eye anyway. 
for them, seeing the contrast. However, SQ do send good planes to other India ports like BOM and DEL, except for MAA, which still seems to have a 'reputation'. Maybe that's changed ? Jet Airways really forced them (and Cathay) to ramp up their India services. 
New Delhi: The aviation ministry has lifted a ban on jumbo jet Airbus A380, a move that will allow international airlines such as Singapore Airlines Ltd, Emirates and Deutsche Lufthansa AG to start its flights to India, aviation minister Ajit Singh said in a statement on Monday.
“Now, flights of A-380 to India will be allowed to airports which are equipped to handle them,” the ministry statement said. At present only four airports—Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore—have the required infrastructure for operations of A-380. The decision was taken after consulting with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the statement said.
Jan. 14--NEW DELHI -- India's two biggest airlines, state-run Air India Ltd and Jet Airways (India) Ltd, could be worse hit than previously thought and may lose their code-sharing privilege on US routes if the US aviation regulator downgrades India's air safety ranking over the coming fortnight.
The airlines will have to snap ties with American counterparts -- a move that may have an impact on Air India's entry into the prestigious Star Alliance and Jet Airways' plan to integrate its network with that of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways PJSC, which has bought a stake in it.
As known earlier, Air India and Jet Airways would be barred from increasing flights to the US if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgrades India's air safety ranking to so-called Category II. The FAA in December inspected the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to determine if it had taken action to correct 33 deficiencies that came to light in a September audit.
The two airlines' existing flights would also be subjected to additional checks at American airports.
Air India announced last year that it would be joining Star Alliance, the biggest club of world airlines. Jet, which sold a 24% stake to Etihad Airways for $379 million, plans to align its network with that of Etihad, especially for passenger traffic to the US and Europe.
While a downgrade, if at all it happens, does not reflect on the safety of India's airlines -- the rankings measure the ability of the Indian regulator to follow safety procedures and not that of the airlines -- India risks being perceived in a negative light.
A Category II safety rating means the civil aviation authority does not comply with International Civil Aviation Organization standards and is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel and record-keeping or inspection procedures, according to FAA.
New Delhi: India has warned the US to expect retaliation if the US aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), downgrades the country’s air safety rankings. Retaliatory action could include a year’s embargo on the delivery of Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft to Air India Ltd.
The FAA has decided to inspect India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in December again for compliance with corrective measures on 33 deficiencies that came to light in a September audit of the Indian regulator.
It could possibly downgrade India’s safety rankings to category II from category I after the audit. A category II safety rating means the civil aviation authority does not comply with International Civil Aviation Organization standards and is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel and record-keeping or inspection procedures, according to FAA.
Indian airlines won’t be able to increase flights to the US and additional checks will be imposed on existing flights of Air India and Jet Airways (India) Ltd if a downgrades takes place. It may also hurt airlines like Singapore Airlines Ltd and AirAsia Bhd that have proposed joint ventures with Tata Sons Ltd and may want to fly to the US.
The matter escalated between the two sides over the past one month. An Indian delegation led by aviation minister Ajit Singh, which was in Washington for the fourth India-US Aviation Summit in Washington on 30 October, was given indications during meetings with US officials that a downgrade can’t be ruled out, according to two government officials who declined to be named.
“There will be an equal and befitting response which will include a one-year ban on delivery of any new Boeing’s Dreamliners for Air India,” said one of the two officials.
A downgrade of India’s air safety rankings will mean that Boeing, General Electric Co., maker of the engines that power the Dreamliner, and Honeywell International Inc., which manufactures other components that go into the jet plane, and “others will all suffer,” this official said.
“It has been communicated to them informally,” the official said.
An email sent to Boeing on Sunday remained unanswered.
A spokeswoman for FAA declined to comment on whether it has communicated with India on a possible downgrade through diplomatic channels. On Thursday, the spokeswoman had said, “The only thing I can confirm is that the FAA is continuing consultations with the civil aviation authority of India.”
Boeing has a $6 billion order from Air India for 27 Dreamliners of which less than a dozen have been delivered to the state-owned airline.
Only 14 of the 27 aircraft have been cleared by the government to be inducted into Air India so far as part of a turnaround plan for the airline in which the government is infusing nearly $6 billion. A decision on the induction of the remaining 13 Dreamliners is expected to be taken in 2014 by the government.
To be sure, the threatened embargo on the delivery of the remaining planes may not come to pass.
Still, in a signal of the seriousness with which the situation is being viewed, the Prime Minister’s Office intervened in the matter last week. The Prime Minister’s principal secretary Pulok Chatterji, foreign secretary Sujatha Singh,aviation secretary K.N. Srivastava and other top civil servants held a review meeting to sort out the issue.
The threat of a downgrade of India’s air safety rankings is imminent, Mint first reported on 15 November, citing a government official who didn’t want to be named.
While a downgrade does not reflect on the safety of India’s airlines—the rankings measure the ability of the Indian regulator to follow safety processes and not that of the airlines—India risks being perceived in a negative light. It could also hurt business sentiment.
India is expected to be the third-largest aviation market by 2020, handling 336 million domestic and 85 million international passengers with projected investment to the tune of $120 billion by 2020, aviation minister Singh said at the Washington summit.
The problem lies in the current government trying to do a cosmetic job on DGCA deficiencies so that the status quo can remain until a new government takes office after general elections due by May next year, a person with knowledge of the matter said. He isn’t one of the two officials cited above.
“They have been told by FAA through diplomatic channels that this time they will not be able to hold back,” this person said, also on condition of anonymity.
The FAA downgraded the safety ranking of strong US allies like Mexico in 2010 and Israel in 2008.
The PMO meeting discussed steps to convince the FAA audit team when it arrives in the second week of December that India is serious about making changes, said the official cited in the first instance.
Among the many steps taken, said the first government official, was a decision to allow the DGCA to hire commanders (senior pilots) for airlines safety audits directly and pay them market salaries, which can be nearly as much as Rs.10 lakh per month.
DGCA has been so far bound to pay government-mandated salaries, which are way below industry average. The regulator has, therefore, been forced to take on flight operations inspectors from Air India and private airlines. And in contravention of its own rules, these inspectors also serve in management positions in their airlines.
Since the inspectors are those who audit airlines, they cannot be expected to be objective, analysts say. This conflict of interest is another major issue flagged by FAA, Mint reported on 15 November.
Another key flaw the FAA has pointed out in its report is that India does not have a trained examiner for the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, said the second government official.
India is likely to tell the US that there are no trained examiners for Dreamliners outside the US since it is a new aircraft. India will demand that Boeing station such examiners in India immediately.
“If not, they can keep the rest of the Dreamliners in Seattle (Boeing headquarters) itself. We don’t need any of them,” the second government official said. “If we can’t fly to US, then American airlines will also not be able to expand into India.”
Jet Airways’ former chief executive Steve Forte, who is based in New York, said both sides need to cool down the situation. “A win-win amicable solution would be much more desirable. How to achieve it? DGCA should show the willingness to work together with the FAA to resolve all issues and to accept their recommendations as long as they are factual and have a purpose,” he said. “It is important for the DGCA to negotiate a reasonable timetable to get the work done after this next audit and before the following. DGCA and FAA should cooperate together to publish a timeline with specific goals and dates to be met.”
India has cleared a proposal for the formation of a new, more autonomous regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority. The decision has since been sent to a parliamentary committee for further review.
“The FAA has to understand the difficulties in the dealings and struggles within the Indian government that may be hampering the work of the DGCA (such as lack of a sufficient workforce), but in the final analysis the FAA cannot afford to be lax on rules that concern the safety of passengers, crews and aircraft,” Forte said. “Their assessment (and the DGCA’s) has to do with lives and equipment, and not politics.”
New Delhi: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded India's aviation safety ranking, which means Indian carriers cannot increase flights to the United States and face additional checks for existing flights, the Mint newspaper reported, citing the Indian aviation regulator.
The FAA has downgraded India to Category 2 from Category 1, Prabhat Kumar, India's director general of civil aviation, was quoted by the paper as saying. Jet Airways and state-run Air India operate flights from India to the United States. Kumar could not be reached for comment.
Typical procrastination.Mort Walker wrote:^^^Most of the issues have been resolved and the remaining will be resolved by March this year. However, will the safety rating be re-evaluated by March? Until then, what will happen safety rating from with the rest of Asia, EU and gulf countries? So far, the EU has not expressed concern after the US FAA downgrade to ICAO Category 2. What I fail to understand is that in Oct. 2013, India's CA ministry was warned about this and didn't take care of it in 3 months.
See this link about safety assessment: http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/iasa/
In all fairness. India needs to get its act together and start to implement better quality.putnanja wrote:Typical procrastination.Mort Walker wrote:^^^Most of the issues have been resolved and the remaining will be resolved by March this year. However, will the safety rating be re-evaluated by March? Until then, what will happen safety rating from with the rest of Asia, EU and gulf countries? So far, the EU has not expressed concern after the US FAA downgrade to ICAO Category 2. What I fail to understand is that in Oct. 2013, India's CA ministry was warned about this and didn't take care of it in 3 months.
See this link about safety assessment: http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/iasa/
x-posting my post from Indo-US thread...
The thing is, DGCA conducted an audit early last year, give a list of issues that they found. Some were mainly due to lack of inspectors, and appointing senior pilots in each airline to certify that things are fine in that airline etc. And then, they had a follow up visit in december. And now, just a day before the final communique was received, the GoI decides to open 75 positions in DGCA?? Were they sleeping all this time?
The issue is not just FAA. Last year, Japan had similarly asked for a safety audit, and India told them to go fly a kite. Now, all those countries will start again. See what happened with FDA and Ranbaxy (again Ranbaxy had plenty of warnings). After FDA blacklisted Ranbaxy, now EU and UK are also looking into FDA reports.
It will have a wider ramification than just increasing flights to US.
No.UlanBatori wrote:US airlines don't fly A-380s, do they?
I can think of a few reasons, although I am no expert. So with the disclaimer in place, let me proceed:Singha wrote:what is the reason for this unhappiness?
when it comes to cargo loads.
we had a terrible fight with jet while getting to our destination about 2 months ago. very bad handling of the whole affair from their side.Bade wrote:A couple of flights cancelled this morning out of Guwahati airport due to fog and the whole Jet Airways operations for those flights in disarray. Why cannot they handle such non-events more gracefully before dreaming big. The passengers behave like cattle class and so does also the airlines treat them as such. We had to run from security check back to ticketing to cancel the tix and re-issue another boarding pass at the check-in counter, when all of this could have been done in one swoop with better processes in place.
Embraer took a giant step toward boosting its modest presence in the South Asian market at the Singapore Airshow on Thursday with a firm order for 50 E-Jet E2s and purchase rights on another 50 from Indian regional carrier Air Costa. The order calls for delivery of a mix of 25 E190-E2s and 25 E195-E2s worth $2.94 billion at list prices. If Air Costa exercises its purchase rights for 25 more of each of the models, the value of the transaction will rise to $5.88 billion.
Now flying a pair of E170s to six cities, Air Costa has registered an average load factor of 74 percent since it launched operations in October. It expects to take delivery of two E190s leased from GECAS this month, then another Embraer E-Jet every quarter starting in July until it takes its first E190-E2 in the first half of 2018. Plans call for delivery of the first E195-E2 a year later.
Although it currently connects relatively major cities in the south of India such as Bangalore and Hyderabad, Air Costa’s ambitions lie mainly with providing underserved second- and third-tier markets with modern air transport options. Speaking at a Singapore show press conference, Air Costa chairman Ramesh Lingamaneni noted that some 70 percent of India’s population lives outside major metropolitan areas.
“Regional air services have enormous potential in India,” said Lingamaneni. “The E2s will give us right-sized seat capacity for us to cater to the future target markets and unit costs that are competitive with larger-re-engined single-aisle aircraft.”
Air Costa is a division of the privately held LEPL Group, which holds interests in property and infrastructure development in the commercial, residential, education, power and health services.
Same experience I had last year with Jet while flying to Singapore. The seat was loose and the video remote didn't work. The upholstery was crap.mahadevbhu wrote:we had a terrible fight with jet while getting to our destination about 2 months ago. very bad handling of the whole affair from their side.
It is how things are handled which matters. Procedures may look similar what happens elsewhere, but there are still differences. How you communicate, how streamline the cancellation and re-booking etc can all be done in a transparent manner. I had once missed a flight connection at Doha due to late arrival of the flight. They booked me with no effort required on my part in a later Jet Airways flight to Cochin. Similar things can be done even for domestic connections when flights are cancelled due to weather events. I was whining about the experience considering Jet is considered to be a premier airline from India.rgsrini wrote:^^
Bade,
I don't really understand what the airlines did wrong in your story above. As far as I know almost everywhere, you need to get the ticket reissued. Even in the good old first world USA, this is the process. If you had not cleared security, you have to go back to the check in counter (or call a number). But I generally prefer the check in counter, because I can look for other options that may be available more easily.
If you have already cleared the security, you can choose one of the customer service counters inside. But retrieving the baggage would be a night mare, in either case, if you had already checked in.
Aah didn't know that! I used to prefer Indigo since there is more legroom compared to the 737s of Jet, Spicejet, etc. Now with an additional row (I don't think more than one is possible) I'll have to rethink.Singha wrote:indigo has recently fitted more rows of seats. it is no longer comfortable for a 6' person.
This reminded me of what I noticed on the Jet Airways BOM-LHR flight recently. They have a 10-abreast seating config in cattle class on their 777s, unlike all other 777s I have flown on, which had nine-abreast seating. This of course means that their seats are narrower than everybody else's. Apart from that though, their service (and food) was pretty good and the aircraft seemed spanking new.Singha wrote:indigo has recently fitted more rows of seats. it is no longer comfortable for a 6' person.
The vibrations increased further during the takeoff run of course and by the time the aircraft was in the air, I was praying to all 33 crore gods to get me safely home.nachiket wrote:This reminded me of what I noticed on the Jet Airways BOM-LHR flight recently. They have a 10-abreast seating config in cattle class on their 777s, unlike all other 777s I have flown on, which had nine-abreast seating. This of course means that their seats are narrower than everybody else's. Apart from that though, their service (and food) was pretty good and the aircraft seemed spanking new.Singha wrote:indigo has recently fitted more rows of seats. it is no longer comfortable for a 6' person.
...
Ah, the A330-200s that AI flies are nearly 15 years old, no wonder they are in a bad shape.nachiket wrote:I had the misfortune of traveling on one of Air Parasite's A330's, from SIN to BOM after I missed my Singapore Airlines flight. That is one experience I do not wish to have again.Singha wrote:indigo has recently fitted more rows of seats. it is no longer comfortable for a 6' person.
Single-engine taxi is not that uncommon, and it's pretty safe.Theo_Fidel wrote:None of the Turbo prop planes are comfortable for a 6’+ or a 200lb person.
BTW both times with a turboprop, as soon as the aircraft landed and still on the airstrip, the pilot cut one of the Engines!! Even during taxi, one engine was cut on one flight. Definitely KB instructions.
In no way is this a safe practice. Sooner or later some one is going to come to grief due to this.
I've flown in old planes before. This was a whole different level though. What I was really thinking about was that if the maintenance standards were this bad inside the cabin, what about the more important stuff - engines, avionics, hydraulics, etc.?manish wrote:Ah, the A330-200s that AI flies are nearly 15 years old, no wonder they are in a bad shape.nachiket wrote: I had the misfortune of traveling on one of Air Parasite's A330's, from SIN to BOM after I missed my Singapore Airlines flight. That is one experience I do not wish to have again.
No arguments there saar, AI's neglect of their planes often borders on the criminal. Strangely enough, I do sometimes hear people claiming that AI's engineering side is somehow pretty competent and decent. Chetak saar might have some facts and anecdotes here.nachiket wrote:I've flown in old planes before. This was a whole different level though. What I was really thinking about was that if the maintenance standards were this bad inside the cabin, what about the more important stuff - engines, avionics, hydraulics, etc.?manish wrote: Ah, the A330-200s that AI flies are nearly 15 years old, no wonder they are in a bad shape.