08. March 2007


Date: 08. Mar. 2007
Air Deccan on Wednesday said that it was not affected by the change made by the recent Budget to the effect that all small aircraft — not only ATRs — up to a maximum weight of 40,000 kg would be eligible for a concessional central sales tax duty of 4 per cent, (instead of 30 per cent otherwise).
Thirty of Air Deccan's fleet of 53 aircraft are ATRs. The only other airline that has a non-ATR with a maximum weight of 40,000 kg is Paramount Airways, which has five Embraer jets.
Answering a question at a press conference here on Wednesday as to whether the change the Budget had brought about would not lower Air Deccan's competitive advantage, Mr Warwick Brady, Chief Operating Officer, Air Deccan, said that the airline would still remain competitive.
He said that ATRs were cheaper and easier to maintain and the cost per passenger km worked out cheaper than a jet.
Mr Samyukth Sridharan, Principal Sales and Marketing Officer, Air Deccan, noted that only ATRs could land at several small airports, which had short runways. Even small jet planes would not be able to land there, he observed.
He pointed out that Air Deccan had many 'monopoly routes' such as Chennai-Tuticorin, Chennai-Rajahmundry and Chennai-Vijayawada, and only ATRs could land at these airports.
In fact, Air Deccan's fleet expansion programme includes acquisition of eight more ATRs, he said. (The airline intends to acquire four Airbus aircraft, in addition to the one that it recently got.)
When pointed out that there were destinations where jets could land and where currently Air Deccan was flying ATRs (such as Chennai-Madurai), Mr Brady said that the airline would gradually replace the ATRs on those segments with Airbus.
Because an Airbus' carrying capacity was more (180 seats on A-320), the cost per seat would come down drastically, Mr Sridharan said. He, however, agreed that the availability of load was a key factor in this calculation.
Simulators soon Mr Brady told Business Line that Air Deccan would soon get the two Airbus simulators at its Bangalore training centre. These would be full flight simulator — capable of simulating an aircraft in motion — and would cost about $15 million (Rs 67 crore) apiece, he said. Air Deccan has just installed a fixed base ATR simulator, costing about $3 million (Rs 15 crore). These simulators are needed to train the airline's growing number of pilots.
Source: http://news.moneycontrol.com


Date: 08. Mar. 2007
American Airlines, a founding member of the Oneworld Alliance, has announced the shifting of its Asia-Pacific call center operations to India, from Australia.
The airline has appointed Bird Information Systems (BIS), a technology provider of automated aviation and travel-related software solutions, to provide call centre services for travel-related queries of its customers not only in India, but the entire Asia-Pacific region.
This agreement follows an earlier City Ticket Office (CTO) agreement, which American Airlines had signed with the Bird Group last year. American Airlines currently operates a daily Delhi-Chicago non-stop service with connections to more than 125 cities in the United States from Chicago.
As part of the long-term agreement signed between the two companies, Bird will provide American Airlines call centre services round the clock to handle all customer requests relating to travel bookings, reservation, fares, ticketing (including e-tickets) and other general information related to the airline. While the outsourced City Ticket Office operations run in four major cities namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, the outsourced call center operations from its office in Connaught Place, Delhi.
“At American Airlines, our entire focus is on providing a seamless and unique flying experience to our customers. India is a strategic market for us and we are pleased with the excellent response received for our Delhi-Chicago nonstop service. Carrying forward our relationship with India, we are pleased to announce our Asia-Pacific call center operations being shifted to India, in partnership with the Bird Group. Bird is a leader in travel technology and services industry and this partnership will ensure that qualified and experienced people in the airline industry will serve our customers’ needs,” said American Airlines regional manager Nisha Maharaj.
Elaborating on the partnership, Bird Group executive director Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group said, “This partnership is yet another step towards strengthening our commitment to the travel and aviation industry as we facilitate easy information accessibility for travellers choosing to travel with American Airlines. This is particularly relevant in the context of the changing market dynamics today with increasing competition, lowering margins and booming operational costs, all of which can be managed better by successfully outsourcing non-core processes to an expert in travel vertical like the Bird Group.”
Customers calling to find out about the bookings, reservations, availability or any aspect of a flight are directed to the airline’s call center. BIS assists customers with booking holiday packages, insurance and other travel related services in a timely and cost effective manner. BIS employees have work experience in the airline industry, or with travel agencies, or an IATA/UFTAA certification; and they are fluent in foreign languages as well.
Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com


Date: 08. Mar. 2007
American School Aviation (ASA) on Thursday said it plans to train 1,000 Indian students to become commercial pilots in the next 12 months.
Students will be provided preliminary training at ASA India's Gurgaon centre, followed by academic and flight training at the California facility of ASA, Vice-President of ASA USA, Reny Kozman, told reporters here.
She said 45 graduates of ASA, which began operations in April 2002, are already employed by airlines in India. Kozman said ASA has a strategic arrangement with Kingfisher Airlines to recruit young pilots.
"We are in advanced talks with Jet Airways and initial stage of discussions with FedEx India," Kozman said.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com