12. February 2007
Plane lands, luggage doesn't
Date: 12. Feb. 2007
It was a double blow for 171-odd passengers of an Air Deccan flight on Sunday.
First, a four-hour delay left them fuming at New Delhi airport, and when they landed in Kolkata in the dead of night they found their entire luggage missing.
This is reportedly the first time in recent times that the entire checked baggage of a flight has been misplaced. An FIR has been lodged against Air Deccan with the airport police. Some passengers are contemplating moving consumer court.
The Delhi-Kolkata DN-702 Air Deccan flight was supposed to land at NSC Bose International Airport at 10.30 pm on Saturday, but it was 2.30 am on Sunday by the time it touched down.
Said Ajay Agarwal, one of the stranded passengers: "We were virtually stranded at the airport for the whole night. I had even paid extra luggage charges, but on reaching Kolkata we were told that not a single suitcase had landed with us. No airline official had bothered to inform us that the luggage had not been loaded at Delhi airport."
Agarwal added that when they sought information, they did not find any senior Air Deccan official at Kolkata airport.
"The officials did not cooperate with us at all. Finally, at 5.30 am, we went to the police station to lodge a complaint. We did not expect such mismanagement from Air Deccan," he said.
"Many of us were supposed to catch connecting flights or trains to other cities and faced tremendous problems. We plan to move consumer court," Agarwal said.
Air Deccan officials conceded that the luggage was "somehow misplaced" in Delhi. "There were no other immediate flights from Delhi to bring in the luggage. It is now arriving in separate lots," said an airline official.
About 80 to 100 suitcases and bags had arrived in batches by Sunday evening.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Deccan Aviation clarifies on news item regarding demerger
Date: 12. Feb. 2007
With reference to the news item appearing in a leading financial daily titled "Deccan to spin off helicopter business", Deccan Aviation Ltd has clarified that, the proposal relating to the Helicopter Charter Services of the Company is yet under consideration of Board of Directors of the Company. Further, any such proposal is subject to the approval of the Shareholders of the Company and other approvals.
The News item, should be read as a statement of an emerging opportunity for the Company's Charter Services business and options available to it, in view of the growing demand for and interest in the Charter Services in India.
Deccan Aviation Ltd operates the Air Deccan - a low cost scheduled airline and it is the largest charter aviation company in the private sector that not only conceptualized the whole category of helicopter flying but also propelled it into vividly expressive areas of application. And one that is committed towards providing unparalleled services in the field of charter aviation. Deccan Aviation is the only helicopter operator to be awarded the Customer Service Facility (CSF) status in South Asia for repair, servicing and overhaul of various models of Bell helicopters.
Source: http://www.equitybulls.com
Air India to name new fleet after States
Date: 12. Feb. 2007
You may have flown Emperor Narsimha Varman to London or been on board the Periyar while flying to Singapore with Air India. Now get ready to fly with the airline on board Andhra Pradesh or Jharkhand when travelling non-stop between Mumbai and San Francisco or on the Delhi-New York sector.
After naming its aircraft after rivers and emperors, Air India is now planning to name its 68 mint fresh Boeing fleet after the country's States. The first aircraft, a Boeing 777 is to be inducted in April this year, and the airline plans to follow the alphabetical order for naming them as they join the fleet. Although airline officials are tight-lipped, the first aircraft could well be called Andhra Pradesh. "While technically, there is nothing wrong in naming an aircraft after a State, we have decided to approach the States to seek their clearance before christening them," a senior AI official told Business Line.
The airline has ordered 23 Boeing 777 including eight Boeing 777-200 long range and 15 Boeing 777-300 extended range aircraft apart from 27 Boeing 787 aircraft. In addition, Air India Express, the 100 per cent subsidiary of AI, ordered 18 Boeing 737-700 aircraft to make up a deal valued at more than Rs 30,000 crore.
A decision on what name should be given to the other aircraft joining the fleet will be taken at a later date, officials added. While AI is to induct 68 aircraft, India has only 28 States and seven Union Territories.
Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com
