Civil Aviation Development & Discussion

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 01 Aug 2008 07:33

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fo ... F%29&sid=1

sum · Post by **sum** » 01 Aug 2008 10:55

The State government has decided to set up a House Committee to look into the alleged violation of terms and conditions by the Bangalore International Airport Limited ( BIAL) during the construction of the Bengaluru International Airport.

Members in the Legislative Assembly, cutting across party affiliations, on Thursday alleged that the construction work of the new airport was “substandard”.

Minister for Infrastructure and Tourism Janardhana Reddy announced the setting up of the committee, bowing to the demand of the members.

D K Shivakumar of the Congress, who raised the issue, said the new airport was worse than a bus stand. “There is no seating arrangement, public toilets and VIP lounge. It is in total disarray.”

Though the government had allotted around 4,000 acres of valuable land, given tax exemptions to the tune of several hundred crores and free water and power supply, the quality of work is substandard. The Bangalore airport is nothing compared to the Hyderabad airport, he said.

“BIAL has purposely not put out enough chairs for visitors so that they would all go to the cafe. Thousands of air travellers are facing utmost inconvenience every day. It is high time the government intervenes and rectifies the lapses,” he said.

The government should cancel the agreement for further expansion, or renegotiate it. If not, this airport will stand as the biggest tragedy of the IT capital, he said.

Opposition leader Mallikharjuna Kharge said BIAL was becoming a sort of NICE company. BIAL is indulging in real estate business and has violated all conditions in the agreement signed with both the State and the Central governments, he said.

To the surprise of the Opposition members, Janardhana Reddy said he completely agreed with their views and seconded their demand for rectifying the lapses.

The House Committee will comprise members from both the ruling and Opposition parties.

Is all this true( have not visited BIAL yet)..?

Rishirishi · Post by **Rishirishi** » 01 Aug 2008 14:08

The airport is not that bad. It is efficient, and well managed. But the built quality is not "world class". I think the Bangalore politicians are complaining maily becuase the HYD airport is much better.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Aug 2008 14:54

well in arrival area after you buy 80/- ticket there is not one single chair apart from
cafe ccday. except for one small toilet and a couple stores there is nothing.
this 80/- is a total ripoff. atleast HAL ap had around 25 chairs.

no evidence of public toilets outside seen.

with so much of tax breaks, freebies and free land to exploit later - something much
better is expected.

vishwakarmaa · Post by **vishwakarmaa** » 02 Aug 2008 04:50

This is what happens where there is no regulation in free economy.

I propose a fine of 20% of total project cost on the developers. This will set a good precedent to those who assume Indian consumers can live with substandard quality infrastructure.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Aug 2008 07:45

they got a sweetheart crony capitalist panda style deal. the commercial value
of land rights they now own would be in 1000s of crores. there is a 5km long driveway
from the highway to terminal along with I presume they have been given land.

but atleast panda developers for public infra keep up a high std or they are swiftly sent
for re-education camp

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 02 Aug 2008 09:57

Singha, I was thinking the same thought about those homely mango groves on both sides of the access road to BIAL. That is some serious acreage.

BIAL suck in that they have umpteen overpriced coffee shops outside, but I could not find a toll-phone/PCO once I was out of the arrival area. Not even one wall mounted device

I agree that might not be required for Indian travellers, considering that a few million cell connections are sold monthly in India. But what if my phone did not work (as happened to me)? Finally paid 10Rs to a nice K-cop(he protested, but I told him it is justified this time

) to make a call to the chap who was waiting for me.

HIAL has some issues of cheap construction materials in its roofing too. The actual roof seems to be thin metallic sheets, which might not be the best one for Hyd summers. The HVAC plant will be running overtime. They have put up a paneled false ceiling to add to aesthetics, but the original truss+sheets are still visible if you look carefully. And the paneled ceiling does not add anything in the form of insulation, as they are the hanging type.

That said, I liked both airports. Quite fast and the KF girls and their hip mounted boarding pass apparatus does wonders for the day traveler's waiting time at ticketing counters. And it is easy to strike a conversation with the KF-ers than the Jet people

. Though on my return trips, the travel to both the airports shaved off a total of 3.5 hours from my life. Bangalore, because of water logging at that "magic box" nightmare contraption near CBI office and Hyd under one of the intersections of elevated access road.

Awesome scope for expansion at both places and quite functional without the panda/tiger/sheikhland airports' hooker school of airport construction and operation("come hither, I got stuff to sell"). To me, an airport should be like a railway station - use it if you really have to and forget about it till the next time. You dont sell Louis Vuitton or Tahiti pearls to a weary traveler, who can barely open one bloodshot eye to view the departure screens. Seriously, why do I spend 8 hours at these airports as layovers, other than to bid adieu to my meager plastic money?

To me, the best airport is the one I dont remember anything about. Dont remember much, but I think it is the shack at Lyon: last month, a genial Obelix like(must be making frequent bijiness trips to Bourgogne) French border cop shooed me away saying he doesn't want to see my passport/visa, for it is the job of some jerry at Frankfurt

No wonder New NKVD Kommissar, Shree Chertophjee is fuming across the pond about "Abduls streaming in from Euro". But India, Amirkhans and Euros has it right - airports are not a symbol of national pride as panda/sheikh thinks, rather of national suffering and penance. Keep it functional and clean (ok, here I am on thin ice wrt India, but it has improved tremendously in the past few years).

Dileep · Post by **Dileep** » 02 Aug 2008 10:12

HN, nice post. I totally agree.

But, if a 'vaTTan' want to buy Looy VaTTan boxes, let him be. I mean, if they want to make some money that way, I am not against it. As long as it is not at the cost of the bare necessities for the aam abdul who just want to go from point A to point B.

One good thing about the VaTTan type shops is that it is the ONLY way a poor guy like me get to see those stuff and how people burn their money on them. I wouldn't normally think of get into the high end places. But in an airport, wht the heck!!

One good thing about Changi is that you have lot of Abdul type shops.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 02 Aug 2008 10:27

actual BIA area is about 4000 acres. out of this, 300 acres between the access road and the proposed southern runway is what is set aside for airport city.

all 4000 acres to revert back to the city after the concession period.

immediately outside the airport the 'govt' is in possession of extra acreage which it has decided not to revert(to farmers from whom it acquired) but instead build some sort of a sez/industrial park. advanced approvals all done.

most players in current assembly old hacks. the day the location was announced i bet all of them had already acquired cow sheds in anticipation of all the milking that would be done.

rookies like the reddys couldn't care less. they are sitting on mines with which they can buy downtown bangalore many times over, forget devanhalli. infact paying up for BIAL itself wouldn't be a big deal for them. real money is out there. these guys are booking an year worth's assembly lines of trucks. what the fukk is BIAL.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 10 Aug 2008 14:34

If anyone expects the land to be 'handed back to state' they can wait for next millenium or until the humble farmers return their share of looted bribes and benami property to the state. The fact that someone has plundered billions using mines does not mean they will not stoop to plunder more from elsewhere. If being satisfied with what they have earned through sincere efforts has been their motto in life, they would not have looted using mines and purchasing entire parties, in the first place. Anyway no law can do anything about it, this is something that only Naxals can settle.

Last trip (few days back) I saw they have added a few chairs outside and some of them under the rain/sun are being added. But phones are still considered a needless luxury, perhaps because they are yet to find a mechanism to plunder something out of telecom revenue.

Taxi operators are already protesting that only 'recognised' (read as those that pass share of revenue) operators are allowed to pick up passengers and hence most others have to go back empty, increasing their costs and reducing choice to customers. I am yet to land in an airport where this sort of thing goes on. For instance KLIA has dedicated taxi services that are priced fairly (and not twice the market) and yet regular taxis are allowed to pick up passengers from separate queue.

BTW is the concession agreement public document? It should be an interesting read.

A friend just flew to Siam Reap airport in Cambodia and he feels it is a lot better. Shame on our looters.

Rishirishi · Post by **Rishirishi** » 10 Aug 2008 15:03

Suppiah wrote:If anyone expects the land to be 'handed back to state' they can wait for next millenium or until the humble farmers return their share of looted bribes and benami property to the state. The fact that someone has plundered billions using mines does not mean they will not stoop to plunder more from elsewhere. If being satisfied with what they have earned through sincere efforts has been their motto in life, they would not have looted using mines and purchasing entire parties, in the first place. Anyway no law can do anything about it, this is something that only Naxals can settle.

Last trip (few days back) I saw they have added a few chairs outside and some of them under the rain/sun are being added. But phones are still considered a needless luxury, perhaps because they are yet to find a mechanism to plunder something out of telecom revenue.

Taxi operators are already protesting that only 'recognised' (read as those that pass share of revenue) operators are allowed to pick up passengers and hence most others have to go back empty, increasing their costs and reducing choice to customers. I am yet to land in an airport where this sort of thing goes on. For instance KLIA has dedicated taxi services that are priced fairly (and not twice the market) and yet regular taxis are allowed to pick up passengers from separate queue.

BTW is the concession agreement public document? It should be an interesting read.

A friend just flew to Siam Reap airport in Cambodia and he feels it is a lot better. Shame on our looters.

I feel that the critism is a bit hard. Firstly the airport has just been opperational in just 3 months. Give them 1 year, to improve and optimise.

About the taxis and transport.
Firstly there is a good bus service available, which will bring you to several locations in the city. If you want to save money then take a bus and then catch a Auto to your house. The bus service is good clean and comfortable.Reaching the city will only cost you Rs 150.

I am also quite happy with the Taxi service. They are clean and nice, safe and efficient. If the private taxi opperators are allowed in then the prices will go down, customers will face hords of drivers trying to get a ride and the quality will not be maintained. We will be back to dirty, broken and smelly cabs, where the taxi owner focuses on lowest cost possible.

The construction quality of the airport is not up to standards. But it is reasonably nice, clean and well maintained. It is efficient and easy to find your way.

From a scale on 1 to 10 (where IGI is 2 and KL/singapore is 9), I would give Bangalore airport a 6 or even a 7.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 10 Aug 2008 17:51

Rishirishi wrote: I feel that the critism is a bit hard.

I agree there is a bit of exaggeration there but I presumed by now readers know my ishtyle and apply suitable filters.

Having said that, I think 7 is also quite high, unless you assume that 50 odd check-in counters squeezed in the space used for 10 such counters elsewhere (sometimes when the counter number is two digits, the labels are practically next to each other) and various others 'economisation' on space, no phones, about as many toilets in total as Changi has for a single gate, about twice the usage charge as SIN/HKG despite much higher costs there, the assumption that intl flights will never overlap with domestic hence space can be recycled perpetually, etc., etc., is perfectly acceptable, when you have been gifted 4,000 acres to profit from various activities other than aviation. Had I or anyone on this forum, or for that matter any patient in the Bangalore mental hopsital had been given that gift, we could have easily banked that project and built something much better.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 10 Aug 2008 18:34

agree. i felt dumb after writing that about the mines story. could not delete it. anyway....

about the handing back, i dont mean return to the farmer. i mean that rights will remain on the table and is not sold to BIAL. it will be back on state's table and the state will then lease it out to the next guy, not BIAL. that is what i mean.

in any case BIAL was selected on an open bid right?

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 11 Aug 2008 00:08

Suppiah wrote:
A friend just flew to Siam Reap airport in Cambodia and he feels it is a lot better. Shame on our looters.

Siam Reap over BIA? Your friend might have been giving himself the Mallya treatment? Anyways Las Vegas airport rules: buggers have slot-machines next to check-in counters... THAT is looting

Dileep, yeah, Louis Vuitton is a sick joke. After a trip or two, even a sturdy hardshell samsonite looks like it had a TRex doing the chicken dance atop it. In that situation, who wants to pack one's tattered tantex and co-optex towels in these LVuittons and get the overpriced biscuit tins thrown around by the brutal ground handlers? Again Changi's abdul shops make an abdul (rather the not-so-shy-with-card aysha) needy. Abdu no happy.

Rishirishi · Post by **Rishirishi** » 11 Aug 2008 02:56

Suppiah wrote:
Rishirishi wrote: I feel that the critism is a bit hard.
I agree there is a bit of exaggeration there but I presumed by now readers know my ishtyle and apply suitable filters.

Having said that, I think 7 is also quite high, unless you assume that 50 odd check-in counters squeezed in the space used for 10 such counters elsewhere (sometimes when the counter number is two digits, the labels are practically next to each other) and various others 'economisation' on space, no phones, about as many toilets in total as Changi has for a single gate, about twice the usage charge as SIN/HKG despite much higher costs there, the assumption that intl flights will never overlap with domestic hence space can be recycled perpetually, etc., etc., is perfectly acceptable, when you have been gifted 4,000 acres to profit from various activities other than aviation. Had I or anyone on this forum, or for that matter any patient in the Bangalore mental hopsital had been given that gift, we could have easily banked that project and built something much better.

I too have a few things that not satisfactory.

1 The toilets are of very poor quality and dirty. They have choosen some glossy bright tiles, where the dirt shows everywere. the whole thing is misrable.

2 In the international dutey free, they only give dollars in change. How stupid is that? What if you are not from dollar land?

As for the size of the airport, you cant really blame the company, as it had to be built acording to specifications. It is already running at almost max capacity. I feel that this should be used as an excuse to reopen HAL, for some limited domestic flights hubs (del, bom, hyd, and maa). But charge an extra Rs 2000 rupees as airport tax.

A lot of people here are unhappy about the 4000 acres of land that has been alotted. They have to run an airport. you do not want it to look like Mumbai airport (with a huge slum along the runways). The extra land means that the airport can expand and provide the needed facilities. Better 1000 acres in excess then less.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 11 Aug 2008 05:53

If all those 4000 acres are used for airport work, no one can complain. If they are used to profiteer from real estate speculation (just watch the space, it is bound to happen), then the question is was this worked into the deal in a transparent way (allowing others too to consider this profit before bidding) or was it a sweetener thrown away in exchange for kick backs. In either case, it is unusual to let an airport operator profit from such things unless it is state owned.

Many IT companies are getting land allotted cheap after throwing out farmers and using that for real estate speculation and land hoarding. This BIAL is no different.

FYI, in the most capitalistic of all societies, Singapore, when new MRT lines were built, many sites that benefit from the project (and hence appreciate much higher) were also acquired right in the beginning at then prevailing market rates, thereby transferring the benefit of appreciation to the state/project and not lucky few. Here in India it seems the other way around. Poor farmers are chased out and money bags made richer if they satisfy goonda netas.

IIRC those 'excess' acres were acquired for 8L an acre. They are going to be thrown away at far below market to select few. Just watch again.

Dileep · Post by **Dileep** » 11 Aug 2008 07:49

From experience, the best luggage is a VIP hardshell PP moulded one, with a military camo canvas cover and a nylon strap. Won't harm too much even if a tyre of a 747 runs over it.

Nayak · Post by **Nayak** » 12 Aug 2008 10:07

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Citi ... 354445.cms

Delhi: New runway trials from Aug 21
12 Aug 2008, 0802 hrs IST,TNN
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IGI airport's new runway is almost set for commercial operations. As reported earlier by Times of India, proving flights — flights without passengers meant for carrying out trials — will land on the runway on August 21, in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. Henceforth, commercial operations will start in another week, depending on air traffic control clearances.

The new runway, being looked forward to in the face of rising air traffic and growing congestion over Delhi, will enhance the flight handling capacity of the airport from the current about 35 flights per hour to about 55-65 flights. That's another thing that with rising aviation turbine fuel costs; several airlines have cut down on their total flights. However, congestion remains as bad as ever, with an average hovering time of 35-45 minutes during peak hours.

"We are much ahead of schedule and the runway will be operational a good eight months before its deadline," said I Prabhakar Rao, chief development officer, Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL). "CISF has earmarked places where it would like 11 towers. It will be taking over the security of the area very soon. Last Saturday, senior officials of the directorate general of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India came down for a surprise check and were satisfied with the preparations," he added.

The 4.4-km long new runway is probably one of the longest in Asia and capable of handling wide bodied aircrafts like A-380 s and Antonov An-225. Calibration work on navigational aids is almost over and according to sources, work on calibrating the instrument landing system for one side of the runway remains to be completed.

The only concern expressed by airlines and AAI officials was the huge amount of earth that has been piled up next to the runway. "While this may not have a direct impact on flights, we are expecting visibility to start decreasing on the runway by end-September when it would have stopped raining and pollution levels in the city would go up," said sources.

Airlines have also expressed apprehension over the taxiing time from the domestic apron to the new runway but DIAL officials said that a connecting taxiway would probably also be built towards the Vasant Kunj side in a later phase of development. "At present, a connecting taxiway between the main and new runways has been built towards the Dwarka side. Another one towards Vasant Kunj is being planned for later years," said DIAL officials.

DOING THE GROUND WORK

SPECIFICATIONS

Name: 11-29

Length: 4,430 mt

Breadth: 75 mt

Total length of taxiways: 15 km

Thickness: 2 mt with 7 layers of filling, concrete base and asphalt concrete

HIGHLIGHTS
• Longest runway in India Built according to code F standards to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft like A-380 and Antonov AN-225 To have CAT-III landing facilities at both ends, making Delhi the only airport in India to have twin runways with the facility at both ends Use of 2.3 million cubic meters of earthwork and embankment filling. Enough to fill a 210km-long freight train.
• 6.5 lakh tonnes of asphalt concrete used. Enough to build a 75km-long six-lane expressway.

EQUIPMENT USED
• 8 vibratory soil compactors from Germany for embankments of sub-grade of runway.
• 10 electronic sensor pavers from Germany for laying the surface. They can lay a surface of 250 mm thickness at 144 mt per hour.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Aug 2008 10:15

I like it. shock and awe. should have extended it by 1m > beijing to puncture
some echandee.

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 13 Aug 2008 03:16

Not the best sources of information I guess !

Spicejet offers concessional air fare for armed forces

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Aug 2008 08:42

Viable Project or White Elephant ? - Capt. Ranganathan

The Captain asks good questions as usual.

Let us analyse the potential for Chennai airport. The airport expansion area is located at a lower level than the main runway and the proposed parallel runway. The main runway elevation is around 13 metres above sea level and the parallel runway will be at an elevation of 11 metres. The current secondary runway is sloped downward from the main runway and it has to cross the Adyar river which has an elevation of 2 metres.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation standards require the runway surface to be at a minimum height of 1 metre over the highest flood level across a water body.

If the secondary runway’s level is not raised sufficiently, it is going to be flooded in any heavy rain condition. It will also mean that aircraft will not be able to reach or use the parallel runway. People have forgotten what happened to Chennai airport during the deluge in 2005.

This becomes a Catch-22 situation. If the AAI does not raise the level of the secondary runway to meet ICAO standards, the secondary runway and the parallel runway will become unusable! If it does raise the level, the cost of the whole project is likely to multiply several times, which has not been budgeted for.

The Chembarambakkam lake overflow is through the Adyar river. If the flow area is restricted by the secondary runway or blocked to a large extent, the flooding on the west, south and south-east areas are going to be extensive.
Growth Projections

The whole programme is based on the inflated growth figures given out by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Unfortunately, the scene has changed completely, with the rise in oil prices. In an article in April, when crude was hovering around $100 a barrel,

I had pointed out that the airlines are not taking the cost of fuel into account and the projections are likely to crumble. Oil prices are not likely to drop below $100 a barrel in the next year or so.

The airline numbers in India are likely to fall below the 50 per cent mark and the traffic potential in Chennai could drop drastically.

All the airlines in India are in consolidation mode. Air Sahara and Air Deccan have been gobbled up. And it may just be a matter of time before the other smaller airlines are taken over by bigger players. The low-cost carrier concept in India is a misnomer.

Except for the snacks and food, there is no difference in operations costs. One has to pay all the charges — import duty, leasing cost, landing charges, etc.
Cost of Expansion

The AAI has stated that 80 per cent of the Chennai Airport expansion cost will be funded from its own kitty and it will borrow from the market the other 20 per cent. The latest monetary policy spelt out by the RBI is going to make this an expensive exercise.

The AAI has also lost a big chunk of its income source from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Even the private players that invested in these airports, based on the inflated traffic projections, are feeling the heat.

There is a question mark as to what will be the recovery period of the high investments. India does not even have a clear cut Civil Aviation policy. It keeps changing, day by day, at the whims and fancies of the Government in place.

Let us take the average aircraft movements in Chennai airport. The AAI pitches for the extension of the secondary runway and the building of the parallel runway, to increase the capacity to 50 movements an hour.

In January 2008, when traffic was at its peak, Chennai had a maximum of 28 movements an hour. This was during the peak hours and for just three hours in a day.

The rest of the day, the average hardly made double digits. It has been pointed out that a traffic capacity of 50 can be achieved with proper air traffic management and efficient ground structure design.

A former senior member of the Airports Authority has stated that Chennai airport, at the present location, is incapable of taking the additional passenger facility for 50 movements in an hour.

So, even if there are runways to cater to aircraft movement, there is not enough space to build the additional infrastructure required to handle all the passengers.

All airlines have cut the frequency of operations. Air travel between Chennai and nearby airports such as Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hyderabad has dropped drastically because of the costs and the time factor.

The door-to-door time taken to travel between Chennai and Bangalore by air takes almost five hours now. The cost has also escalated to almost Rs 6,000, including the taxi fare at both ends.

Train travel, without any hassles of security or baggage allowance, takes just an additional hour and the cost is just a tenth. One can travel very comfortably by the Shatabdi Express for just Rs 600!

Personal egos seem to override logic and reason in Indian aviation. Posterity will tell if the expansion programme of Chennai airport is a viable project or a white elephant.
(The author is an airline captain with 35 years flying experience.)

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 14 Aug 2008 17:06

Rs 1,942 cr Kolkota Airport modernisation plan approved

New Delhi | Thursday, Aug 14 2008 IST

The Government today approved the modernisation and expansion of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, at an estimated cost of Rs 1,942.51 crore.

The work, which is expected to be completed within 30 months, will result in an additional handling capacity of 20 million passengers per annum (mppa), a Civil Aviation Ministry release said. {commie union leaders should not be allowed to come near the construction work. else even after 30 years the project will not be completed}

The airport will be upgraded to international standards. The secondary runway will be extended and made suitable for operations of large commercial aircraft, the navigation facilities at the airport will also be upgraded, additional parking space and taxiways will be created to facilitate parking and movement of aircraft, and the road and rail connectivity of the airport with the city will be improved.

In the existing airport, the domestic terminal has a capacity to handle 4.06 mppa and the international terminal 0.88 mppa. Thus, both the terminal are saturated. The proposed new integrated building of 1.80,000 sq. meter area will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,617.51 crore and will be able to handle 20 mppa.

The existing domestic terminal building will continue to be used with appropriate modifications and faade treatment. The combined terminal building of 24.06 mppa capacity is expected to get saturated in 2015-16. The total project cost is estimated to be Rs 1,942.51 crores, including extension of the secondary runway to a total length of 3239 meters at an estimated cost of Rs 35 crore, construction of 11 additional parking base for aircraft as well as taxi at an estimated cost of Rs 65 crore, upgradation of CNS equipment at an estimated cost of Rs 185 crore, and construction of grade separator and connectivity to railway structure at an estimated cost of Rs 40 crore.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will fund 80 per cent of the project cost (Rs 1,554 crore) through internal resources and the balance 20 per cent (Rs 388.51 crore) through commercial borrowings. AAI had already spent Rs 32 crore in 2007-08 towards consultancy and other preparatory work for the Airport.

In April 2007, the Committee on Infrastructure headed by the Prime Minister had decided that the Kolkata Airport would be developed to international standards by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) with its own resources. In August 2007, the AAI submitted the proposal for the Public Investment Board (PIB) approval.

In October 2007, an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) cleared the proposal, and in December 2007, the Planning Commission accorded in-principle approval for the development of NSCBI Airport, Kolkata. The Ministry for Environment gave approval to the project in March, 2008.

Rs 1,808 cr Chennai Airport modernisation plan cleared

New Delhi | Thursday, Aug 14 2008 IST

The Government today cleared the proposal for the modernisation and expansion of Chennai Airport, at an estimated cost of Rs 1,808 crore. The work, which is expected to be completed within 26 months, will result in an additional handling capacity of 14 million passengers per annum (mppa).

The airport will be upgraded to international standards-- the secondary runway will be extended and made suitable for operations of large commercial aircraft, and additional parking space and taxiways created to facilitate parking and movement of aircraft, a Civil Aviation Ministry release said. The Public Investment Board had approved the proposal of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) last month.

According to the proposal, the secondary runway will be extended by 832 metre, to make a total runway length of 2917 metre, across Adyar river into 130 acres of additional land provided by the State Government. The extension of the secondary runway and construction of culvert over the Adyar is expected to cost Rs 310 crore. A parallel taxiway is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore.

Other construction works such as 10 additional base and related development is expected to cost Rs 75 crore. The project involves an expenditure of Rs 535 crore on airside works. With the proposed expansion, the airside capacity is expected to increase to 50 movements per hour as against the present capacity of 25 movements per hour.

A domestic terminal building to handle 10 mppa is being constructed in addition to the existing domestic terminal to enable the airport to handle 16 mppa on the domestic side. The international terminal building is also proposed to be extended to cater to an additional four mppa.

The airport will thus be able to cater to seven mppa on the international side. A total of Rs 1,077.16 crore is estimated to be spent on the new domestic terminal, extension of the international terminal and facelift of the existing international and domestic terminals. The car park will also be extended to a multi-level car parking, in front of the respective terminals, at an estimated cost of Rs 195.84 crore.

The project envisages improved city-side connectivity of the airport in coordination with the State Government, Railways, NHAI and Chennai Metro. The extended international terminal building is expected to saturate in 2017-18 and the combined domestic terminal building will saturate in 2012-13.

The project completion period is estimated to be 20 months for airside works and 26 months from terminal building works, from the date of award of work.

The AAI will fund 80 per cent of the project cost -- Rs 1,446.4 crore -- through internal resources, and balance 20 per cent -- Rs 361.6 crore -- through commercial borrowings. The AAI has already spent Rs 20.35 crore towards consultancy and other preparatory work during 2007-08.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 15 Aug 2008 05:59

Answers to specific questions raised earlier regarding Chennai expansion

Asked how the modernisation programme will tackle the problem of the secondary runway in Chennai getting flooded during the rains, senior AAI officials said that the new runway being constructed will be above the flood water levels.

Besides, the modernisation programme also calls for construction of a culvert over the Adyar river to overcome the flooding problem.

The extension of the secondary runway by 832 metres and construction of the culvert alone are estimated to cost of Rs 310 crore, officials said.

Nayak · Post by **Nayak** » 17 Aug 2008 15:56

http://www.business-standard.com/india/ ... tono=44778

Air India curtails freebies as cost-cutting regime comes into effect
Press Trust Of India / Mumbai August 17, 2008, 15:18 IST

Air India staff will hereafter not be allowed go on foreign tours unless it is "absolutely essential" and that too only with the permission of its Chairman and Managing Director.

"Foreign tours should be undertaken only for absolutely essential purposes. All foreign tours henceforth should be scrutinised at the functional director level and recommended to the Chairman only in respect of critical cases," an Air India circular signed by its Chairman and Managing Director, Raghu Menon, said.

With its losses mounting to Rs 2,100-crore and with air turbine fuel prices on the rise, the national air-carrier has been forced to resort to cost-cutting measures to boost its sagging bottomline.

Air India is expected to implement a rigorous cost-cutting regime based on the recommendations of its Finance Department which was presented before its Board a couple of months ago.

The circular said that foreign travel should be restricted to the bare minimum number of persons who are operationally required to travel and that "accomodation at overseas stations should as far as possible be at crew hotels where facility of lower room-charges is available."

Airline staff has also been instructed to travel only by economy class which offer lower fares.

Shivani · Post by **Shivani** » 18 Aug 2008 09:22

Kingfisher to go international early September

Times of India wrote: 17 Aug 2008, 1052 hrs IST,PTI

MUMBAI: Vijay Mallya-spearheaded Kingfisher Airlines, plans to launch its first international flight on September 3 with a direct Bangalore-London flight.

"The countdown has begun. We are all set to fly to London from Bangalore on September 3," a Kingfisher Airlines official said.

The airline has already secured permission to fly to 13 overseas destinations.

A senior DGCA official confirmed the granting of permission to the airline to conduct overseas operations.

Kingfisher now plans to launch flights to the US, UK, UAE, Singapore, Thailand, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Hong Kong.

"We are fully geared up for our London flight scheduled for September 3," the Kingfisher official said, adding schedules for the other destinations are presently being fine-tuned.

Kingfisher plans to deploy an Airbus 330-200 on the Bangalore-London sector.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had last month granted permission to Deccan Aviation Limited to fly to 13 countries from August 26, the day the airline would be completing the mandatory five years of domestic operations to become eligible for overseas operations.

Kingfisher and Deccan Aviation, originally promoted by Captain Gopinath, have now merged.

Under normal circumstances, Kingfisher would have to wait for two more years to complete the five-year term mandatory to become eligible for overseas flying.

But now, following the merger with Deccan, the Government has allowed Kingfisher to fly overseas under both brands-Simplyfy Deccan and Kingfisher.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Aug 2008 05:40

Unsafe Indian Aviation

For the last two years, aviation in India has been misled by falsehood. The Minister of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have, time and again, stated that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) considered India to be among the top two nations in the world as far as flight safety is concerned.

This argument was used by the Ministry to overlook persons with exemplary track record in aviation safety in the department. The truth came out in the safety oversight audit conducted by the ICAO.

ICAO Safety Audit

The ICAO conducted a safety audit during October 10-20, 2006. When it submitted the report, the preamble had a very significant statement: “The audit results, including the findings and recommendations contained in this report, reflect the capabilities and limitations of the civil aviation system of India as assessed by the audit team. They are thus based on evidence gathered during interviews conducted by the audit team with India’s technical experts and background information provided by such personnel, review and analysis of civil aviation legislation, specific regulations, related documentation and file records.

“Considering the time that was available to conduct the audit and the fact that the safety oversight audit team members could only review and analyse information and documentation made available by the State, it is possible that some safety concerns may not have been identified during the audit.”

In the accompanying chart (http:// www.icao.int/fsix/auditRep3_CSA.cfm?s=India&i=80 ), which does not provide the complete picture of the contents in the report, there is enough cause for alarm for those involved with aviation.

Below world ‘average’

In two of the most important profiles, India has been found to be well below the world ‘average’. On a scale of 10, India has scored a mere two (just a number above ‘Not Implemented’) for Technical Personnel Qualification and Training and just four for Civil Aviation System and Safety oversight. It is unfortunate that a country whose aviation sector is among the fastest growing should be so backward as far as safety is concerned.

When the findings of the audit team were submitted to the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, a compliance report was submitted by the Government with a definite timeframe. The ICAO accepted, in good faith, the commitment given by our aviation brass. Unfortunately, this “trust’ has been undermined.

One of the significant findings of the audit team was the minimum number of Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) that the DGCA required, for carrying out the operational safety audit and oversight of all the airlines in India.

Based on the number of airlines, aircraft, crew, etc., the audit team had spelt out that India needed 14 FOIs; at the time of the audit, the DGCA had just one inspector!

In its compliance report, the DGCA had confirmed that the required number of FOIs will be appointed by March 10, 2007.

But as on August 1, 2008, there are just three inspectors for fixed wing aircraft and one for helicopters.

Without the required number of Operations Inspectors to carry out the safety audit, it would be unsafe to take to the skies.

Another significant point that the audit team made was with regard to ICAO’s requirement of licensing of foreign pilots. Here again, the DGCA had given a compliance note confirming that all the ICAO rules will by complied with by March 10, 2007.

The US regularised the age of 60 for pilots only on December 12, 2007, when the President, Mr George W. Bush, signed the order. Until then, FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) licence-holders above the age of 60 were not allowed to fly as airline pilots carrying passengers; they were only authorised to fly cargo and general aviation flights. This was repeatedly pointed out to the DGCA. Yet, these warnings have been ignored and, more importantly, the DGCA allowed those pilots to fly Indian registered passenger aircraft.

The audit team’s assessment on the ‘qualification and training’ standards should make all those connected with aviation hang their heads in shame. The audit team is particularly critical of the personnel in the Air Traffic Management System.

A recent DGCA report reveals that between April 2007 and March 2008 there were 14 accidents, of which eight were serious ones, and 979 aircraft-safety-related incidents that included 26 dangerous airplane proximity incidents while in the air and 201 bird strikes.

Safety for all

Safety standards must be ensured not for VIPs alone but for all passengers. In this context, one is reminded of Murphy’s law, which states: “In nature, nothing is ever right. Therefore, if everything is going right...something is wrong.”

The reason why the safety culture in the US and the western world is so strong is because the judiciary comes down hard on infringements. The fear of lawsuits and heavy penalties keep the system and the airlines on their toes.

If the Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA want to be transparent, let them publish the ICAO audit report in full. People can judge for themselves if “truth and trust” were honoured.

To quote Gandhiji again: “An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.”

(The author is an airline captain with 35 years of flying experience.)

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 21 Aug 2008 17:55

IGI to get third terminal by 2010 with Rs 9,000 cr capex

New Delhi, Aug 21 (UNI) With the Commonwealth Games drawing closer, the Indira Gandhi International Airport will get a third terminal with the government announcing a capex of Rs 9,000 crore for it.

''The third terminal will be ready by 2010. We would like optimal usage of the terminal. We will discuss the matter with the ATC and decide whether the terminal would be used for domestic or international traffic,'' Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said while inaugurating the third runway at the Delhi Airport.

All the civil work, airfield lighting and marking has been done and calibration work by the Airports Authority of India will be over soon.

The new terminal would be able to handle 37 million passengers per year.

The city is already getting a new domestic terminal, which will be completed by the year-end.

Delhi International Airport Ltd, a GMR Group led joint venture consortium, has invested Rs 500 crore for the development of the terminal,'' GMR Group Business Chairman (Airports) Kiran Kumar Grandhi said.

Sam CS · Post by **Sam CS** » 22 Aug 2008 04:44

SSridhar wrote:Viable Project or White Elephant ? - Capt. Ranganathan

The Captain asks good questions as usual.

Somehow, even before clicking on the link, I had a hunch that the article was from "The Chinese"... err "The Hindu"

The good captain raises good questions about the flooding and other technical parameters. Why the Commie drivel about people building bigger airports than needed? He could have gone easy on cursing the 50 movements per hour statistic and urged better terminals and parking to accommodate the additional crowd.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Aug 2008 08:37

ETA Star is planning to setup a regional south-india airline this year.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 23 Aug 2008 02:39

A commercially oriented machine, without heart or soul Business sense

A commercially oriented machine, without heart or soul Business sense

‘Small thinking has sunk in in the infrastructure at BIA’

Chairs in the international departure area are uncomfortable

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

BAD PLANNING: A view of departure lounge at Bengaluru International Airport.

Reading, day in, day out of the challenges facing Bangalore’s spanking new international airport, one begins to wonder whether proximity to a few hundred information technology companies might not have rubbed off on the airport as well, afflicting it with this high tech disease: instant obsolescence.

In normal circumstances, it would seem to be a fairly bizarre situation, when a new facility like an airport which is presumably planned by experts reaches the limit of its rated capacity on the very day it opens — or so we are told by the many committees that are bending their minds to the question: How do you solve a problem like BIA? Clearly it cannot be solved so smoothly as the problem like Maria, that enthralled us in our younger days in The Sound of Music.

Having passed through the airport a day after it was opened — and about half a dozen times since then, I emboldened to share with readers, my theory of why people continue to grumble and curse when talking about what should be the pride of India’s Silicon City. The issue is not a few overflowing trash cans, or leaky toilets or aerobridges with teething problems. All that can be changed. But attitude cannot.

I am coming round to the belief that the airport was conceived and executed by small minds, who either lacked the vision of what the mature, internationally savvy passengers who patronise the airlines serving Bangalore came to expect — or just decided that the interests of their shareholders would be best served by getting away with the narrowest definition of contractual responsibilities… and cutting every corner in sight.

Here are some examples: The pre-boarding waiting areas is where passengers, especially on international flights, tend to spend most of their time in airports — up to 2 hours is common. So world over, designers provide the most comfortable seating they can. The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow has invested in a number of corners with literally “sink in” sofas in which one can cacoon oneself in comfort. Incheon, Korea; Changi Singapore, the new Hong Kong airport on Lantau island, are all examples of thoughtful seating. But at BIA, they have standardised on a particularly hard and unyielding upright chair that will have you squirming within a few minutes. There are, in my experience, only two international airports worse in this respect — Bangkok’s Suvarnabhoomi, where they have gone all metal, and Frankfurt, that has created a unique torture instrument: a rounded metal bar on which one is expected to balance one’s posterior. Is this a German thing? BIA after all is part owned by Zurich Airport and that reputed name Siemens — both bywords for efficiency and quality. BIA is a poor showcase for your brand, mein damen und herrn.

Elsewhere, small thinking has sunk in — literally — into the infrastructure. You will be hard pressed to find smaller display boards for flight information, anywhere in the world. They have made do, with standard home theatre sized LCD TV screens, which cannot be read (at least by me) without spectacles. And at that size, they are unable to display enough lines and cannot show a departure that is just an hour away. This is a disgrace by any international standards. After a hue and cry about lack of public phones, they have stuck a few portable coin operated phones among the departure gates — the type your corner grocery store keeps on the counter.

This is the IT capital of India: It would have sent a splendid signal to the world, if arriving passengers found a few computer terminals with free Internet to check their mails. You can see them in Hong Kong, and in some 20 locations in Changi, Singapore — with two at every departure gate.

One could go on and on… Bangalore has waited for over a decade for a decent airport that measured up to the splendid image that its IT industry has created for India. What it has got is a cold, commercially oriented machine, without heart or soul. It may work — just — but it will never thrill. We deserved better.

ANAND PARTHASARATHY

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 23 Aug 2008 02:41

AAI says BIA is saturated

AAI says BIA is saturated

Staff Reporter

Runway to reach that stage by 2011

There are 42 bays for aircraft and the demand is for 41

A top-level AAI team submitted a status report

BANGALORE: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has said that the peak hour traffic at international wing (terminal) of the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) at Devanahalli near here will be saturated by 2009 while it has already reached saturation point in case of domestic wing.

It says the terminal has reached saturation point as BIA has an integrated terminal comprising domestic and international departure/arrival wings.

This finding has been given by the AAI in its “Report on Capacity Assessment and Study of BIAL”.

A team of AAI officials from its Directorate of Corporate Planning and Management Sciences (CP and MS) comprising D.P. Singh (General Manager-CP and MS), D.P. Singh (GM), Ms. Madhu Batre, Jt. GM, V. Krishnan (senior manager) and A. Pai (senior manager) had undertaken the study of BIA between June 16 and June 18.
Car parking

AAI says the car parking facility is adequate for the next five years. The commercial car parking lot has 2,000 parking slots for cars and 75 stands for coaches.

In addition, there are stands for parking 1,200 cars belonging to the staff.

The peak hour runway capacity is 32 movements (of aircraft) against the current projected demand of 25 movements per hour. The runway is likely to reach saturation point by 2011.

There are now 42 aircraft parking bays as against the current demand for 41 bays. The report says 30 more bays are under construction and once they are completed, the bays are sufficient to meet the demand for the next five years.

Import cargo section is near saturation while export and domestic cargo bays have adequate capacities. Import cargo wing should have been allocated higher area in preference to dwell time. The report says import cargo capacity is 65,300 tonnes a year, domestic 56,548, export 2,28,000 and domestic 51,507 tonnes a year.

During 2007-08, BIA handled 10.12 million passengers, of which 1.55 million were international passengers and 8.57 million domestic travellers.

The report says BIA is the fourth busiest airport in India.

It says during the last five years, Bangalore air traffic has recorded a compound annual growth rate of 33.4 per cent for international travel and 29 per cent for domestic travel.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 23 Aug 2008 20:53

RaviBg wrote:A commercially oriented machine, without heart or soul Business sense

Exact same points I had raised in this forum -uncomfortable chairs, small LCD screen for display, camouflaged phones etc. Glad to see someone raising it up and calling the spade in clear terms.

jkarthik · Post by **jkarthik** » 24 Aug 2008 16:06

Flew back and forth between Bangalore and Hyderabad.

One hypothesis is that Bangalore spent most of its Rs. 1800 crore on European equipment (The aerobridges, for example, were from ThyssenKrupp, most of the instrumentation would naturally be from Siemens), and in building a civil structure that is durable but complex (the slatted concrete roof to let in natural light, for example, against the light roofing material used in Hyd) and hence had to cut corners on a whole bunch of stuff.

Given that entry and exit are in the same floor level (dont know if it was to optimise natural light, or to save on the ramp and other infra), space utilization seems to be poorer than Hyd, and that too in an already smaller feeling building.

The check in area was baffling in its utilization of space, with a straight line of counters facing the entrance, rather than perpendicular to the entrance (as is in Hyd and most global airports).

Post security, the Bangalore airport is very tight in space, made tighter by multiple separations. However, the shopping area is much more lively and appears nicely laid out as against Hyd, which is sprawling, but lifeless. Could be the railway station syndrome, though.

Hyd clearly wins round one, though Bangalore ain't a write off.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 25 Aug 2008 07:01

Jet plans 2nd hub in Europe

Nayak · Post by **Nayak** » 27 Aug 2008 05:23

I am posting this from changi airport onroute to desh. Indian airlines suck bigtime.

They have delayed the flight by 3 hours, and instead of flying directly to bangalore they are going via chennai.

I was shocked to learn about the change when I presented my passport at the counter.

I hope early death/disability hits the airline. Next time even if it costs me extra money I will not take any IA flights.

To add to the misery I got stuck in the check-in line behind an overweight sweaty couple with umpteen shopping bags, they held up the line for 20 minutes arguing/pleading with the lady to allow they shopping bags as carry-on luggage.

Luckily I dont have to change flights at Chennai, still the stupid flight will be held up for an hour in the godawful place.

Phucking air parasite. Atleast they gave me a free coupon for a stale sandwich and bitter glass of orange juice

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 27 Aug 2008 07:24

Nayak, sympathies. Once these Indian Airlines buggers made me miss my connection from Sing. Unfortunately there were no seats in the planes for my onward trip for three days from Sing. So I would have been stranded. But fortunately I was still in Chennai, waiting to board when I heard the "delay due to technical reasons for x hours". where x > layover time at Sing. I decided to abort the whole trip and had to sit with the poor immigration chaps to find out my stamped outbound immigration form, so that I can cancel it. All at 1:00 AM

I heard a sad story behind these flight delays, as told by this rather senior Indian Airlines official based in Trivandrum airport. He says the IA pilots are acting all uppity nowadays due to the hot airline pilot's job market and is way too arrogant because of excellent job opportunities. Some of them apparently yell at him if the five-star hotel room he books for them does not face the sea in Kovalam etc. On top of that he has to deal with those BRF favorites, the lower level employee unions and politicians. But his grouse is mainly with the heavy duty politicians, who treat IA like a personal taxi service. Says a handful of the flight changes are the machinations of these politicians and not malfunction etc as is announced to the fuming public. A certain lefty politico of Kerala wants this said official to schedule the newer "A321(not sure of the model?) for Nayyi Dilli route onlee", because he likes those "teeeeeny TVs behind seats" when he goes to attend Parliament sessions. To top it all, there is pilferage, bad ground handling equipment that damages sensitive cargo etc. He agrees that privatisation is the only way out for improving general quality of equipment and personnel. Had heavy praise for BIAL and HIAL btw. He has high praise for CISF. Dint say much, but that they are as professional and unrelenting as they come.

BTW, this said gent is a rarity of IA, a sincere person who has eschewed working in middle-east and singapore, despite good job offers. I have observed personally that he helps everyone with a smile (an oddity for a govt employee), not just the ministers or well-heeled. In my above incident at Chennai airport, I observed the same nice behavior from a senior IA lady, who helped me out when I canceled my flight for the day. Accompanied me to the immigration desk and helped cancel the immigration process etc. Of course they wont have the plastic smiles of the officialdom in the west, but they helped the best they can. However the lower level staffers are a different matter. Downright arrogant and high sense of entitlement.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 27 Aug 2008 14:13

For god's sake can someone please explain why they are taking AirParasite to Sing. when there is Tiger Airways flying there now, and there is Dragon taking you to US/Far East conveniently through HK?

I suffered Air Parasite when there was no choice (other than paying almost 10k more for the SQ chicks) but stopped it when Jetstar started, when they folded up, I resumed and now when Tiger is flying, stopped flying parasites again. Sometimes take SQ if there are offers. Watch the deal space carefully before booking.

Having traveled that sector dozens of times, I can safely say hardly one flight or two were on time (+/- 20min). What I used to hate is you pay 50% taxi premium for early morning, wake up at odd hours only to find the flight is late. They never announce in advance. Even the plane landing there is no guarantee of timely take off.

But then that is Air Parasite. Once it got delayed by 5 hrs and then they added another 2 hrs because the usual flight route was not permitted for whatever reason.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 27 Aug 2008 14:25

Hnair, a small minority of the parasite employees are waking up and smelling the s..t. Either that or they can see the pink slip in the horizon. I pity their officials because they got idiots at the top controlling them and uncontrollable maharajahs at the bottom deciding how much work gets done and when.

They force themselves to smile or at least take the perpetual scowl away from their faces. Another good sign is every time you fly AI/IA you had to waste a day at their office 'revalidating' the coupons without which it gets canceled. Now they stopped this obnoxious practice. Even changes to date can be done on phone, without them insisting on you visiting their office to 'stamp' it. And by the way, at least in Singapore, the phone gets picked up these days, though after considerable effort.

But it is too little too late. Their purchase of new planes comes at the time of travel slump and airline downturn. I think they have one leg in the coffin already unless they armtwist the spineless babus at MOCA and get a bailout.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 27 Aug 2008 14:34

BTW the folks at the Changi sandwich/tea counter (2nd floor) treat you like beggars every time you stand in front of them with the IA coupon. Either IA does not pay them on time or these guys know they have a captive customer in IA each morning.

Also this begging for extra baggage is a disease that is peculiar to flights to India. Once the girl at the counter was almost in tears because all kinds of tricks are being used - begging, pleading, arguing etc. After all that they usually smuggle in another suitcase as 'hand-baggage' creating problem at the boarding gate.

They also get extra strict with these flights and also become irritable, adding to the problem. Makes you ashamed of our fellow countrymen.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 27 Aug 2008 16:04

Suppiah wrote:After all that they usually smuggle in another suitcase as 'hand-baggage' creating problem at the boarding gate.

More stories which makes us embarassed and ashamed of our fellow country men...
1. I was standing in the ticketing counter, with another 10-15 people behind. Out comes a middle aged (govt. servant type) person and his wife. They just barge in right behind me and tries to get the boarding pass. The foreigner lady behind me first mistakes them to be part of my family. But then she realises the mistakes and insist that these two folks get at the back of the line. Only then the lady doing the ticketing asked them to get back.

2. In a SA flight from Singapore Changi to Chennai, witnessed a good argument between an air-hostess and an Indian family. They were trying to bring in a huge baggage, which they claimed was part of their son's hand baggage (the son was a 5-7 year old kid). The air-hostess finally said that any luggage which that passenger (the kid) can physically lift would be the cabin baggage for him. Rest all goes to checked in luggage.

3. A repeat of #2 happened at Frankfurt too. This time it was an old lady, who tried the same trick. Again the funda of "what you can lift and carry becomes the cabin baggage" was used. The old lady lost out.

My observation is that most of these "cutting the queue" type tricks are done by middle ranking govt. servants (retd. or still in service). But may be it is a generalisation...