Effective March 29th, Gulf Air is withdrawing its flights from Bahrain to Bangalore and to Hyderabad. No explanation has been provided by the airline, but I suspect that they have been crowded out by the far more aggressive Emirates Airlines.

Gulf Air flies a small Airbus A320 to Bangalore daily and a slightly larger A321 to Hyderabad four times a week, while Emirates flies three Boeing 777s/A330s daily to both cities.

Having overtaken European and ASEAN carriers, this is the first case of a fellow middle east airline feeling the pressure of the relentless expansion by Emirates across the Indian skies.

On the same date, March 29th Jet Airways will launch its Mumbai Kuwait service which complements their existing Kochi (Cochin) Kuwait service.

Mumbai-Kuwait: 9W 572 Dep 1900 hrs. Arr 2030 hrs.
Kuwait-Mumbai: 9W 571 Dep 2130 hrs. Arr 0400 hrs.

Obviously there is more traffic between Kochi and Kuwait, since even the Mumbai Kuwait service will offer convenient connections to the Mumbai Kochi services of Jet.

At the start of Aero India in early February, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., announced it would make delivery of the first five of the Advanced Light Helicopters sold to the Ecuadorian Air Force using the behemoth Antonov An-124-100.


On the night of March 18th the giant transporter came to the HAL airport to load up. I managed to catch her departure yesterday and hope you enjoy the picture. She is BIG!!! Even with a small Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens she filled more than 60 per cent of the photo frame.


While at the airport I managed to also capture one of the four Indian Air Force owned Embraer ERJ135 derived Legacy 600 Executive Business Jet (IAF tail number K3601, actual registration VU-AVS) coming in to land. A fifth aircraft of this type is owned by the Border Security Force. These aircraft are used to transport VIP passengers. I wonder who came to Bangalore on it?

Also got buzzed by an Ilyushin IL 76 MD of the Indian Air Force. Called Gajraj (King of Elephants) by the Indian Air Force, (IAF tail number K2879, actual registration VU-FGH). The IL 76 MD is a strategic heavy lift transporter very aptly named; she is big and noisy.

Even with its large size, the IL 76 MD Gajraj was dwarfed by the Antonov An-124-100.

Sorry about the heat haze, even at 10:15 AM, it is peak summer at Bangalore.

To get a small appreciation of the An-124's abilities see this video about the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) trains which were transported from Bombardier's Germany facility to New Delhi by the giant transporter.

A huge hat tip to Airliners-India user Aseem for the video link.

Please note, these images are covered by a CC license who terms are at the bottom of this page.

As I sign off for the week, a light hearted story from British Airways with a serious intent.

There will be Red Noses on the ground and in the air at British Airways this week, in support of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day on 13 March.

(Picture by Nick Morrish/Seven Squared/BA News)

Staff will be encouraged to Do Something Funny for Money, by wearing Red Noses, and the airline has also painted Red Noses on a long haul Boeing 747, and two short haul Airbus aircraft.

The airline is asking all eagle-eyed photographers to send their uploaded pictures of the British Airways Red-Nose planes in flight to its Twitter page.

Comic Relief spends all the money raised through Red Nose Day to give extremely poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa a helping hand to turn their lives around. For more information on Red Nose Day, go to their website www.rednoseday.com.

In this spirit of giving, I seek your support of Bangalore Aviation. Advertising income is donated to the Rotary Club of Bangalore for education of under-privileged gifted children. It only takes a couple of seconds of your time.

The National Aeronautical Laboratories Saras, India's first Indian multi-purpose light civilian transport aircraft crashed at Bangalore today.

Photo credit : Photoyogi. Used with permission.

VT-XRM departed HAL airport at 14:55 (09:25Z) for an "engine off" test with a crew of three. HAL ATC lost contact with the aircraft at 15:30 (10:00Z) and reports the plane crashing were received at 15:40 (10:10Z).

The crash site is in a barren deserted area at 252 radial BBG VOR at 17nm DME, this is near Bidadi and the Wonder La theme park on Mysore Road.

As per eyewitnesses in the vicinity of the crash, the aircraft turned abruptly and started losing height. After a couple of somersaults in mid-air, it crashed.



Wing Commander K. Praveen (pilot), Wing Commander Dipesh K. Shah (co-pilot), Squadron Leader S. Ilyaraja (flight engineer), perished in the crash. The aircraft was completely destroyed.

Praveen (35) was a resident of Bangalore, Ilyaraja (33) was from Villupuram in Tamil Nadu and Shah (34) was a native of Mumbai. This is the same team, and the same aircraft (prototype 2) which performed at the recent Aero India 2009 show, from where the picture is taken.

Villagers from Seshagiri village near the crash site, were all praise for the pilots for their presence of mind.

“They averted a major disaster and saved several lives. The pilots sensed the danger and were searching for a vacant plot for safe landing. That’s why they took two rounds, but it came down crashing.”

“Hats off to the pilots for their presence of mind at the time of crisis. There are more than three petrol pumps and hundreds of houses in the vicinity. Imagine the magnitude of the tragedy had the aircraft crashed in the village."

Bangalore Aviation salutes the three brave souls. Tailwinds and blue skies!!!!!

Was present to photograph Iron Maiden's departure earlier this morning, after their smash hit concert in Bangalore.

A one on one interaction with pilot and Ed Force One Captain Bruce Dickinson during the bus ride to the airplane. Really nice guy. He said he absolutely enjoyed coming to Bangalore, the fans, and the city. Being an aviator, he really missed visiting the Aero India show, but did offer a suggestion for the Indian Air Force. Look hard at the F-16IN SuperViper, and the F/A-18 E/F SuperHornet. His friends who fly the Eurofighter Typhoon say it is just an F-16, 20 years later. Thanks Bruce and do come back in 2011.

Enjoy the photographs. These are my copyright. If you would like to use these pictures, I request you to please provide a link from your site to mine. If you would like high resolution originals for your website, please contact me via the "About" link in the main menu.

For the aviation fans. Captain Bruce Dickinson on the steps of Ed Force One.

and pictures of Ed Force One at Bengaluru International Airport, Boeing 757-23A, registration G-OJIB, Astreus Airlines, CN 24292, powered by RB211-535E4 engines, from taxi to air borne.

A very special thanks to Photoyogi. At his request, I will not disclose for what though.

Some sneak pictures of the ongoing preparations and arrivals at Aero India 2009,which will start February 11th at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bangalore.

Thanks Karatecatman.

My post The world's most delayed and most punctual airports, seems to have ignited a media frenzy within India.

Times of India carried snippets from the article Sunday 11th January, which became a national story, and was picked up later that morning by the TV networks.

A lot of Bangalore Aviation readers have been asking me questions relating to the article.

Why are Mumbai and Delhi airports at the top of the list of delayed flight arrivals?

It is actually very simple. At both airports the number of flights arriving per hour exceeds the capacity of the runways. At Mumbai, there are two runways, but they cross each other in an X shape. There are also limitations of taxiways, but, I will not go into such a high level of detail.

Bottom line, the capacity of Mumbai airport is 30 landings per hour, but with a little juggling and using the crossing runway, the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) is able to push the number up to 36 per hour. But the demand is even higher.

It's a similar situation with Delhi airport, which inaugurated a new third runway, plagued with problems. Drainage, non-functional aeronautical aids, and to top it off, some faceless bureaucrat, probably encouraged by a narcissist politician, allowed a 40 feet (4 storey) tall statue of Lord Shiva along the path of the runway. Now the new runway cannot be used by the Airbus A380, the very aircraft it was specifically built for, till that statue is removed. And we all know, how very impossible that is, in a religiously charged India.

Add to this excess demand and weather. Fog in Delhi, and rains in Mumbai. The system is so over-capacity that it provides the ATC absolutely no room to manoeuvre during bad weather, and flights get even more delayed.

If Mumbai and Delhi are at the top of the list for delayed arrivals, why are they not at the top of the list for delayed departures?

The clock gets reset to the revised departure time, due to the late arrival of the incoming aircraft. The departure time is measured when the airplane doors are closed. Airlines get their passengers on board, close the doors, and then wait for taxi clearance. Due to the traffic jam in the skies, you will find that your aircraft will taxi, and then wait in line, for a long time, to take-off.

Why is Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) at rank 4 in the Top 5 list of most delayed arrivals? Is it not an efficient airport?

BIA is an efficient airport, no doubt. I suspect three reasons. One is thrust on to BIA, one is temporary, and one needs to be addressed.

One, and this is the biggest reason, as the airport spokesperson said, Bangalore's dependence on trunk routes. i.e. Bangalore-Mumbai, Bangalore-Delhi, and more especially after the increase in fares, which dropped the bottom out of regional flights. Flights from Mumbai and Delhi, may leave their gate/stand on time, but get delayed in take-off. So the blame lands up on Bangalore's door-step for the late arrival. It is unfair.

Two, last year, when the new airport opened, there was massive disruption for about a month. I suspect this brought down the overall performance of Bangalore. On the positive side, everyone at BIA have been working very hard, and the kinks have been solved. I suspect Bangalore will be off the list in 2009.

Third, and I have highlighted it in my original post, is weather. Bangalore suffers from fog, between 15th November to 15th February, typically between 3AM and 8:30AM. 6AM to 10AM is peak period, and the fog impacts the performance of arriving and departing aircraft. While fog is limited to a short period in the year, the disruptions are significant enough, to lower the overall annual performance.

The Instrument Landing System at BIA, has been installed incorrectly. Despite being CAT-II capable, which will permit operations in poorer visibility conditions, the equipment is forced to function at CAT-I level. (For a better understanding of CAT levels please read this Wikipedia article).

How, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is responsible for the equipment, and has installed over a hundred ILS systems, managed this blunder, is beyond me. Repairs of the installation were to have been carried out during the first six months of operations, i.e. by end November 2008, but given the delays this winter season, they obviously have not.

What is the solution?

We all want to fly during the peak hours of 6AM and 10AM and 5PM and 7PM.

While domestic traffic has declined, the demand during peak hours is sharper. Now that the economy is in the tank, we want to reduce our costs and try and complete all our work in a day trip, or at least not waste the working hours, flying.

Mumbai and Delhi are still way too overloaded, especially during the peak period.

With overall reduction in air traffic and shrinking incomes, there is pressure from the private airport operators MIAL and DIAL, on the ATC to accommodate more flights, as they scramble to earn more income. I cannot fault them. They are in business for profit, not charity, but this adds to the problem.

This economic connection, is the single path to solutions.

The first part of the solution lies with the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA). It is time they woke up from their slumber, audit the airports, and allocate the maximum number of flights per hour. Any airport scheduling more flights than capacity pays a hefty fine, and is open to punitive law suits from delayed passengers for permitting flights greater than capacity.

To help the airports demand the needed reductions from the airlines, the second part of the solution lies in changing the system of flight slot allocations. India follows a system of "historic rights", i.e. once an airline gets a slot, then they continue to get that slot, till such time they revoke it. Which no airline ever does. Move to system of performance based allocation :

• If a flight gets delayed, they loose their place in the queue. Similar to an appointment at the doctor, wait for the next appointment to open up, rather than delaying everyone in the queue behind you.
• Mr. Airline you want a premium landing or take-off slot, pay a premium for it. Hey, but that is unfair to the low cost airlines ? Sorry, but life is not fair.

The airlines can recover the premiums they pay for the slot, from the passengers as a higher fare. They used to charge Rs. 150 ~ Rs. 300 "congestion surcharge", in any case. We passengers who are flying during peak hours, are already paying for them benefit.

Third, and this is partly under way, optimise the air traffic control system. Implement Gagan and the GBAS systems fast. Encourage airlines to use Performance Based Navigation (PBN), and reward those who do.

In the mean time, force the air traffic controllers and pilots to perform efficiently. Right now, the system calls for a two minute separation or 5 nautical miles (10km). World over airports function with a 90 second separation, some even at 60 seconds. A 25 per cent reduction in separation from 120 seconds to 90 seconds at the major airports, will result in a 50 per cent increase in capacity from 30 movements to 45 movements.

Pilots don't react fast enough in the sky, SPIN 'EM. They can land nice and easy sometime before the day is out. Foreign pilots cannot speak English fluently, DE-CERTIFY 'EM. They can fly in less congestion countries. Controllers cannot cope, TRANSFER 'EM. Let them go to nice and easy Jabalpur, Guwahati, or one of the smaller airports in India.

We risk a future similar to La Guardia airport, where the US Department of Transportation is forcing slot reductions, since the system cannot cope any more.

It is time for some radical solutions to this creaking system.

In its Summer 2009 time-table, effective March 29, Singapore Airlines will revert back to servicing Bangalore Singapore with the Boeing 777-300, an upgrade from the existing Boeing 777-200.

The slowdown in the global economy caused significant impact in the Information Technology sector, which constitutes a bulk of Bangalore's international traffic. In response Singapore Airlines had downgraded services from a daily Boeing 777-300 to a Boeing 777-200, and suspended its 3 times a week morning flights.

It appears, the airline is re-testing the waters progressively, by first re-introducing the higher capacity aircraft on a daily night service and may consider re-introducing the morning flight if market conditions significantly improve.

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300 seat map
Unfortunately, these aircraft will not be the 777-300ERs featuring Singapore Airline's super spacious new Business class nor the upgraded First class, in the 1-2-1 configuration, and will not feature the lie-flat seats in either of the premium classes. The Business Class is in a 2-3-2 configuration and the First is in a 2-2-2.

The Bangalore Singapore flight is identical to the classic "red-eye" west coast flights in the US. Leaving Bangalore close to midnight and arriving at daybreak in Singapore. Since it is just under four hours in duration, sleep is at a premium. Most premium class passengers put their seats back and try grab some sleep as soon as the flight is airborne.

The regular seating on these 777-300s is geared for day flights, and just does not provide for desperately needed sleep. I hope some of Singapore Airline's senior management read this post and decide to put in aircraft with lie-flat seats.

It will be a hit, especially considering that Malaysia Airlines will be downgrading the Bangalore-Kuala Lumpur service to a Boeing 737-800 by June, and Thai Airways will continue with its old Airbus A300-600.

Update 1 - January 22
As per the latest update Singapore Airlines will revert back to a Boeing 777-200 from May 18th. What a pity.

Singapore Airlines is reducing operations from Singapore to Mumbai and New Delhi, while Dragonair is cutting back on its Hong Kong Bangalore route.

Singapore - Mumbai
SQ422/SQ423, service is reduced from a daily to five a week (Daily except Tuesday and Thrursday) from February 9, 2009. Service operates with a Boeing 777-200.

Overall frequency to Mumbai reduced to 12 weekly from 14 weekly.

Singapore - Delhi
SQ406/SQ407, service reduced from a daily to six a week, operating Daily except Tuesday from February 6, 2009 to March 2, 2009. From March 3, 2009, service will operate Daily except Wednesday. Service operates with a Boeing 777-200

Overall frequency reduced to 13 weekly

Dragonair is reducing its Hong Kong - Bangalore service is reducing from a daily to five a week, operating daily except Thursday and Sunday, between February 9, 2009 and March 7, 2009. Service operates with an Airbus A330-300.

Update - January 6. It never struck me, when posting the original article, but based on the timings, Kingfisher can offer passengers, connection between Singapore and London via Mumbai. Further, if Kingfisher can streamline its current Bangalore London operations with better slots at Heathrow, it need only one Airbus A330 instead of the current two. It can deploy that aircraft on a Mumbai-Singapore-Sydney route, since Qantas is reportedly withdrawing its Mumbai - Sydney service. An added benefit for Kingfisher will be to offer a complete Kangaroo route.

Original Article - January 4.
Kingfisher Airlines will launch a slew of international services to London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Colombo, through the month of January, starting tomorrow.

Mumbai, India - London Heathrow, United Kingdom
On 5th January, Kingfisher will commence its second international flight, on the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - London Heathrow sector. Kingfisher's only existing international service is also to London Heathrow, from Bangalore, launched in September 2008.

Kingfisher will deploy its new VT-VJx series Airbus A330-200 aircraft on this route, in a two class configuration. The Kingfisher First features full flat seats with massage, touch-screen controls, full size pillows and merino wool blankets. Both classes features an in-flight entertainment system.

IT7 will depart Mumbai 13:50 and arrive London Heathrow Terminal 4 at 17:55.
IT8 will depart London Heathrow 20:30 and arrive Mumbai at 11:00 the next day.

Mumbai, India - Hong Kong, SAR
Kingfisher has scheduled operations, on the Mumbai - Hong Kong sector, to commence from January 12, 2009, using the Airbus A330-200 VT-VJx series.

IT31 will depart Mumbai 00:15 and arrive Hong Kong at 08:45.
IT32 will depart Hong Kong at 14:00 and arrive Mumbai at 17:30.

Mumbai, India - Singapore
Kingfisher has scheduled operations, on the Mumbai - Singapore sector, to commence from January 16, 2009, using the same Airbus A330-200 VT-VJx series.

IT21 will depart Mumbai 23:40 and arrive Singapore at 07:40 the next day.
IT22 will depart Singapore 09:20 and arrive Mumbai at 12:10.

Bangalore and Chennai, India - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Kingfisher has scheduled operations, on the Bangalore - Colombo and Chennai - Colombo sectors, to commence from January 19, 2009, using the narrow body Airbus A320 aircraft.

IT61 will depart Chennai 07:15 and arrive Colombo at 08:15.
IT62 will depart Colombo 17:30 and arrive Chennai at 18:30.

IT63 will depart Bangalore 15:00 and arrive Colombo at 16:20.
IT64 will depart Colombo 09:15 and arrive Bangalore at 10:30.

With the exception of the Singapore flights, I am concerned at the amount of time, the aircraft are spending at the destinations. Airplanes on the ground, only cost, not earn, money,

For more details visit the Kingfisher Airlines' website. Click here to download the schedules in Excel format.

Congrats to Kingfisher for finally ramping up the international show.

There are many road warriors who visit Bangalore Aviation regularly. We road warriors have a list of items we will never leave home, for a trip, without. This is my "crucial items list". Please share your list via a comment.

1. Blackberry
Love this GSM device from RIM. It is the device for the road warrior. The Nokia E series, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Treo, I have used them all, and dumped them; in favour of my Blackberry Curve 8310. I use it for my messaging (e-mail and SMS), basic internet, GPS, music, videos, and much more. Even do my blog with it. Works all over the world, with the exception of Japan and Korea, but then, I don't visit either country too much.

2. Cellular modem and my laptop
As incredulous as it sounds, I find public internet connectivity more difficult to find in India, than most countries I visit. Sure there are tons of Cyber-cafes, but very little connectivity for my laptop. For full featured internet on my laptop, I always pack my Tata Indicom CDMA based "data card" cellular modem. Any day better data throughput in India when compared to GSM, and no roaming charges. At the end of a hard day, in a foreign land with minimal English programming on TV, I crank up my laptop, and play one of my favourite movies. After going through enough brands, even today, I swear by the IBM er Lenovo ThinkPad. Toshiba and HP Pavilion are two brands I swear at.

3. Bose QuietComfort Headphones and eye-shades
These "anti noise" headphones are amazing. Again a TABF (tried all but failed) situation with Senhieser, Sharper Image, and others, I have forgotten. Expensive, but worth every penny. I use the "over the ear" QC2. Cover your ears with it, and flick the switch and it is blissful silence on-board even the nosiest aircraft. I lost one piece on a Lufthansa flight, and was in panic till I bought a replacement. The perfect companion to the headphones -- eye-shades. Cut out the light and catch up on some much needed sleep, whether catnaps on short flights, or extended snoozes on long ones.

4. Books, novels, and magazines
At least for little while, get away from those e-mails, spreadsheets and presentations. I never open my laptop on board a flight. I find reading a great way to educate and entertain myself. Friends often ask me, how come, I know so much about so many subjects. Now you know my secret. I learn from the masters, Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman, Tom Clancy, Nandan Nilekani, Jack Mingo, Harvard Business Review, Siddharth Basu, and a whole lot of others.

5. Business cards and holder
Globally, business cards are a must. In Asia, business card etiquette is an art by itself. Adequate quantity of cards, proper storage in a business card holder, proper presentation, holding the card with both hands, face up, facing the presentee(s), and presenting the card stating your name, in hierarchical senior to junior order. Your business card, don't leave home without it.

6. American Express card
I know this will sound like the ad cliché, but I do not leave for a trip without it. The Platinum Card has no spending limit, offers insurance on car rentals saving me money, Membership Rewards, the Concierge service, and once when I lost my card in the middle of nowhere, customer service came to the rescue.

7. Empty water bottle
Now that we are not allowed to carry water through security, and with diminishing service levels in the air, I make sure I carry a 500ml (20 fl. oz) water bottle on board, even if it is empty. Just before the flight doors close, I request the cabin crew to fill it up. This is the one time in the flight the crew is relatively relaxed and will gladly help. They also know, you will disturb them less during the flight, asking for water. As all of us road warriors know, airplane flights are very dehydrating and water is the best drink to have on board.

Share with us the things that you cannot, or will not, travel without ?

The recently announced results by The International Air Transport Association (IATA), is nothing short of shocking.

International air cargo is down by a whopping 13.5 per cent in November when compared to November 2007, and passenger growth is down by 4.6 per cent.

Graph legend
RPK - Revenue Passenger Kilometres (sales)
ASK - Available Seat Kilometres (capacity)
FTK - Freight Ton Kilometres (sales)
ATK - Available Ton Kilometres (capacity)


Even for year to date comparisons January to November between 2008 and 2007, global air cargo is down 2.2 per cent


Globally air cargo transports about 35 per cent to 40 per cent of global trade, by value. The negative growth in air cargo clearly shows the rapid fall in global trade, and the broadening impact of the deepening economic slowdown.

Even the middle east, the region showing consistent growth, slipped in to negative territory at -1.6 per cent. The largest air freight zone, Asia Pacific, which contributes 44.6 per cent to global air freight, contracted by the largest -16.90 per cent. Capacity cuts of 1 per cent in passenger and 3.7 per cent in cargo, could not keep up with the rapid declines.

India
As per data from the Airports Authority of India, available till October 2008; India year-to-date passenger performance is significantly worse than the rest of Asia Pacific and global performance. Passenger growth is down to -3.4 per cent vs. -0.8 per cent (Asia Pacific) and +2.2 per cent global.

However on the freight front, India has a Y-T-D growth of 4.2 per cent based on actual tonnage, compared to -4.7 per cent in Asia Pacific and -2.2 per cent globally.


Bangalore
For some unexplainable reason, Bangalore's performance is way below the national standard, at -14.8 per cent and -5.3 per cent for monthly passenger and freight performance, and -8 per cent and -7 per cent for year to date passenger and freight performance.

Highlights of the IATA report :

International Passenger Traffic

• The November passenger decline of 4.6% is a considerable worsening from both the 1.3% demand contraction in October and the 2.9% fall in September.
• Asia-Pacific carriers face the most difficult operating environment with a 9.7% decline in November, following a 6.1% contraction in October. The region also had the most aggressive capacity cuts at -5.1%. While Chinese domestic traffic rebounded after the Olympics, travel to and from international markets continues to decline, reflecting the weakness in both global trade and consumer confidence.
• North American carriers saw international traffic decline by 4.8% - the second largest drop among the regions. Until August, the region’s carriers had been shifting capacity to international markets. With the near collapse of the investment banking sector and consequent reductions in business travel, North Atlantic travel slumped. Carriers have started to cut international capacity with a 0.8% drop in November (following 0.4% growth in October)
• European carriers saw international traffic drop by 3.4% as all the region’s major markets (intra-Europe, North Atlantic, and Asia) slumped.
• Smaller emerging markets fared better. African carriers saw traffic decline by 1.6%. This is a considerable improvement from the 12.9% drop in October, resulting from stronger intra-African traffic. Middle Eastern carriers saw traffic increase by 5.6%. This is up from 3.5% growth in October, but represents a step-change from the double-digit expansion that characterized growth prior to the current financial crisis. Latin American carriers saw a slight decline in growth to 3.3% (compared to 4.5% growth in October), buoyed by the region’s positive, albeit slower, economic growth.

International Freight Traffic

• Asia-Pacific carriers (representing 44.6% of global freight) saw freight traffic fall by 16.9% in November - the largest decline of any region. As freight accounts for a larger percentage of revenues for the Asia-Pacific carriers, fourth quarter profits for the region’s carriers will be disproportionately (and negatively) impacted by the downturn in the global air freight market.
• Double-digit freight declines were also experienced by Latin American carriers (-15.7%), North American carriers (-14.4%) and European carriers (-11.0%). Freight traffic for Middle Eastern carriers turned negative (-1.6%), following 1.0% growth in October. African carriers, while being the only region posting freight growth (2.2%), saw a decline from the 3.0% growth posted in October. Plummeting business confidence and the continuing turmoil in financial markets indicates that the worsening trend will be continued in December.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO said

“The industry is now shrinking by all measures. The 1.0% capacity cut in international passenger markets in November could not keep pace with the 4.6% fall in passenger demand. We can expect deep losses in the fourth quarter,”

“With no end in sight for the worsening global economy, the 2008 gloom will carry over into the new year. Relief in the oil price has been outstripped by the falls in demand and capacity cuts are not keeping pace. The industry is back in intensive care. Improving efficiency everywhere will be theme for 2009,”

While the end to the global economic slowdown is still much further away than expected, the freight performance in India, shows us, the Indian economy is still performing well. We have to defeat the FUD Factor (Fear Uncertainty Doubt) that is in our minds.

The Times of India reports that passengers were put to hardship at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) and Bangalore city on Tuesday, as luxury cabs went on strike at the airport in protest against the suicide of a cab driver owing to alleged harassment by owners.

All the close to 400 cabs, of Meru Cab and Easy Cab, were off services to and from the airport, demanding that working conditions for the cab drivers be eased by owners. The drivers said they would continue their protest as long as the owners did not offer them a better alternative.

Owing to the strike, many travellers took other cabs to the city and even the famed Vayu Vajra Volvo buses, which have been a hit among passengers from day one.

Drivers of Meru and Easy Cab told The Times of India: "We will be on strike until the owners of the company improve things for us." While Easy Cab drivers were the first to protest, Meru cab drivers also joined them later and expressed solidarity by calling off their services.

The luxury cab drivers were protesting as Easy Cab driver, Prakash of Madhugiri, Tumkur district, consumed poison on November 30 and died on Friday following financial pressure and alleged harassment by owners. The drivers alleged that the company collected Rs 25,000 as advance before handing over the car, but failed to fulfil promises made on maintenance and repairs. The drivers also alleged that the owners sought very high daily rentals when the driver could not afford to pay them.

"When there is recession and not many are taking our cabs, how do we make money and from where do we pay the owners almost Rs 900 a day? It used to be Rs 600 only. When there is no business, it is not possible to pay. Naturally, when you have to pay daily, pressure builds. Let them relax the conditions," a driver said.

A potentially explosive report in today's Deccan Chronicle

The state government has illegally helped the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to develop commercial real estate on some 200 acres of forest land. BIAL is developing a star hotel, restaurants and office space on this land — all in violation of the Union government’s rules, regulations and Acts. Documents available with the Deccan Chronicle reveal that the State government, which acquired 1,394 acres from the Forest department on a perpetual lease after taking approval from the Union ministry of environment and forests, has sub-leased the land to Bial. Bial is now aggravating the violation by developing real estate on 200 acres of this land for purely private profit, in violation of provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

The state government, which was advised by the Ramanathan Committee to set up the airport at Devanahalli in the mid-90s, sought permission from the Union ministry to acquire the forest land for the infrastructure project. The Union ministry accorded the permission, but with a string of riders in its letter dated August 27, 2002, prominent among which is the condition that the status of the forest land should never be altered.

On December 17, 2002, the state Forest department transferred 1,394.2 acres to the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (KSIIDC), which became the lessee. The forest area around Yarthiganahalli, Bettekote, Gangamuthanahalli bearing survey numbers 7, 8, 46, 55P, 23, 35, 88 and 12 were handed over to the KSIIDC, which was the nodal agency for the airport.

Following this, there was a lull in airport development activities for the next two years as the Bial and the State government got into a slugfest with each other over a mutually acceptable concession agreement. Then, in a move to honour its commitment to hand over 4,000-plus acres to Bial, the state altered the government order without taking the requisite permission from the Union ministry using the expedient of inserting text into the original order.

The state government simply issued a corrigendum on March 4, 2004, which reads: “In the sixth line of the order portion, after the word ‘KSIIDC’ and before the word ‘subject’ the following words shall be inserted — and to sub-lease the same by KSIIDC to Bangalore International Airport Limited.” The insertion was made to transfer the land from the KSIIDC to the Bial. The original land transfer order specifically mentions that the forest land will be in the custody of the KSIIDC.

The sub-lease was made in violation of the conditions set by the Union ministry, which had clearly stated in its 2002 approval order that in case of deviations or alterations a fresh reference had to be made to the ministry and clearance obtained. What followed the corrigendum was worse. The KSIIDC entered into a sub-lease agreement with the Bial on August 12, 2004 which allowed the private body to use the forest land for airport, airport-related activities and non-aeronautical activities as well.

By doing this, the state government, which first acquired the land on perpetual lease thereby becoming the lessee, now had sub-leased the land to Bial and become the lessor and allowed real estate development on forest land in violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003, which state that the use of forest land may be allowed for roads, bridges, running high-tension lines and such other infrastructure-related projects only. Even certain other infrastructure projects such as putting up power plants, ports and bus stations on forest land could be taken up only after obtaining permission from the Union ministries which they would give after studying the impact on the environment of such projects.

Even if the Bial were to be given a clean chit in this whole episode, since the consortium is simply going ahead with a masterplan that has the government’s stamp of approval on it, the fact remains that a five-star hotel and commercial office space are being constructed on forest land. Bial has also borrowed money against airport land, which includes the 1,394 acres of forest land in question, from the lead bank financing the project.

What should be the remedial steps taken ? Taking back the land is out of the question. It will hurt the airport operator BIAL beyond repair. At the same time protection of forests is vital. What will be the potential ramifications of this report on the Joint House Committee investigations, or the banking consortium ? As usual, comments are invited.

December 2008 update.

For updated and detailed BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo airport bus and taxi information, click on the BIA Bus & taxi link on the top menu.

For real time flight arrivals and flight departures information use the respective links on the top menu bar or the Real time Flightstats widget at the bottom of the "Recommended Articles" section on the right column.

The travel time to BIA has been reduced to about 1~1.5 hours from city centre, depending on traffic. The main bottlenecks are till Yelahanka junction, after which it is about 20 minutes to the airport.



Comments and feedback on the Bangalore Aviation site and your airport experience are welcome, as usual.
------------

The much awaited, BIAL promoted, Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will open on the night of 22-May / early morning of 23-May.

Time taken to reach the airport.
I drove to BIA today, and from Koramangala to M.G. Road, via Raj Bhavan to Mekhri Circle to BIA took a total of 1:45. This was a 2:00pm reaching BIA at 3:45. 30 minutes from Koramangala to M.G. Road, and another 1:15 from there to BIA. Bulk of this time was spent getting to Hebbal flyover. The roads and "magic boxes" are still under construction. This is not during peak hour, but it was through the centre of town. I will advise travellers to budget about 1.5 to 2.0 hours to get to the airport depending on where you are originating.

I am detailing the parking and transport facilities at the new airport.

Parking Facilities
The Bengaluru International Airport’s car park can accommodate 2000 cars. The system used for the parking management is fully automated, efficient and transparent and is provided by SKIDATA™, a leading global provider of car park systems at airports. Central Parking Solutions, India’s largest car park operator, will manage parking at the new airport.

The passengers and visitors using the parking facility at the new airport will find it cheaper and more flexible when compared to the existing airport. A 10 minute free drop off facility has been created in front of the terminal building to facilitate the passengers. For parking, various zones have been created, these include long term parking, short term parking & two wheelers, general parking and taxis.

Car parking fees have been priced at Rs.40/- for two hours and Rs.20/- for every additional hour in the general parking area. For overnight parking, Rs. 300 will be charged for the first 24 hours and Rs. 200 for every additional day. An airport parking map has been developed to help passengers use the facilities depending on their requirement.

BIAL will also provide valet parking, a dedicated zone for tour operator buses and premium pick up areas. Travellers can be assured that parking, getting picked up or dropped off at the new airport will be convenient and well organised.

A map is below for further information on the parking layout, porter service, valet service and airport taxi service.

In addition to this, BIAL has a staff parking lot that can accommodate 700 cars.

Parking Map (Click for larger image). Source BIAL Parking Fees (Click for larger image). December 2008 update : BIAL has not yet implemented a shuttle bus. BMTC runs a shuttle bus from the trumpet interchange to the main bus stop in the passenger terminal building parking area.

Facilities for differently abled passengers at the parking lot
At the new airport, careful thought has gone into planning of facilities to ensure convenience of differently-abled passengers as well. Vehicles with differently-abled passengers have access to the valet lane which is the closest access point to the terminal building on the curb side. Each parking zone has upto twelve parking spaces reserved for differently abled passengers. In addition, the walkways from the parking area to the passenger terminal building have gently sloping ramps throughout and are wide enough to accommodate a large electric powered wheelchair. The public convenience buildings located in the car park area have toilets designed for differently abled passengers and visitors to the airport.

Airport Bus - BMTC's Vayu Vajra and Suvarna
BMTC has procured 40 air-conditioned Volvo buses for dedicated Shuttle Services between the Airport and seven destinations across the City. Named Vayu Vajra, these buses will ply on nine routes, every 15 minutes. The cost of the bus fare would range from Rs. 80 to Rs. 200 depending on the distance. In addition, BMTC has also procured 116 Ashok Leyland Non AC buses to connect the airport to the City. Named Suvarna, these buses will ply during peak hours of the morning and evening. The cost for each trip in these buses will range between Rs.20 to Rs.90 per trip, depending on the distance travelled.

A map detailing the routes of these buses is attached for your reference.

Vayu Vajra Route Map, Frequency and Fare. (Click for larger image). Source BIAL

Vayu Vajra Fees and Routes. (Click for larger image)

Jeevan Bima Nagar:
Five buses. Indiranagar, Halasoor, M G Road (Taj Residency, Hotel Oberoi), Indian Express, J C Nagar, Mekhri Circle, Hebbal and Yelahanka

HAL Airport:
Five buses. HAL, Suranjandas Road, Indiranagar, Old Madras Road, MEG Centre, Coles Park, St John’s Road, J C Nagar, Mekhri Circle, Hebbal and Yelahanka

Koramangala:
Five buses. Diary Circle, Shanthi Nagar Bus Station, Richmond Circle (Hotel Chancery Pavillion, Ramanashree, Woodlands, Bowring Club, Bangalore Club), J C Nagar, R T Nagar, CBI Office, Hebbal and Yelahanka

MCTC on Mysore Road:
Five buses. Vijayanagar, Rajajinagar 1st Block, Yeshwantpur Bus Station, Malleshwaram Bus Station, Sadashivanagar Circle, Hebbal and Yelahanka

J P Nagar 6th Phase:
Five buses. Jayanagar 4th Block, Lalbagh, Corporation, Cauvery Bhavan, Vidhana Soudha, High Grounds (Le Meridian, Windsor Manor Sheraton, Hotel Grand Ashoka), Guttahalli, Mekhri Circle, Hebbal and Yelahanka

Electronic City:
Seven buses. Bommanahalli, Silk Board, Agara, Maratahali, K R Puram Railway Station, Hebbal, Yelahanka (Outer Ring Road)

Whitefield:
Five buses. ITPL, Mahadevapura, K R Pura Railway Station, B Channasandra, Kalyan Nagar, Hebbal and Yelahanka

Taxi and Limousine service:
The taxi services to and from the airport have been designed to suit everyone’s requirements and budget.

Post-paid taxi facilities
BIAL is committed to providing reliable, affordable and safe taxi facilities at the airport. BIAL has selected (by open tender) MERU & EASYCAB to provide basic taxi services. The taxi operators will have basic AC cars, all equipped with tracking devices to ensure safety and transparency. Both operators have professional call centres. Hence, passengers coming to the airport can call the cab call centres and a cab will pick them up and drop them at the airport. For passengers arriving at the airport, there is a dedicated taxi holding area where the passenger can get a cab. The post paid taxi facility will be available on meter charges @ Rs.15/- per km (subject to Govt regulation).

Pre-paid Limousine and Car Rental facilities
Hertz and Akbar Travels will provide pre paid Limousine and car rental facilities. Hertz will launch a fleet of Mercedes - C & E class cars and will expand the fleet depending on the demand and business objectives. Limousine services will be available at the limo service counters at the terminal building arrival and based on special tariffs applicable for BIAL.

Self Drive
Cars will also be available on self drive basis. There will be three ranges of self drive cars- the compact category (Suzuki Swift), the intermediate range – (Ford Fiesta), the standard category- (Toyota corolla), Multi Utility Vehicles (Toyota Innova) and Sports Utility Vehicles (Ford Endeavour). These cars will be given to the passenger with a full fuel tank and the car has to be returned with full fuel tank. A flexible pick up and drop off facility in town and at the airport will be offered. To elaborate, the passenger can pick up the car at the airport and then drop it off anywhere in the city or in Hyderabad or Chennai. Similarly, he can pick up the car at any of these cities and drop it off at the airport. The conditions are that the customer has to be over 21 yrs of age and possess a valid Indian license.

For those who are driving and may be unfamiliar with the airport, please use Landmarks map below.

Landmarks Map (Click for larger image). Source BIAL
Easy Guide
The friendly folks over at BIAL have put together this handy Easy Guide which summarises much of the information below. Click on the picture for a larger image.


Many thanks to the Communications team at BIAL for their quick help and cooperation, and Praja.in for their inputs.

I was shocked by Jet Airways' sudden withdrawal of its recently launched Bangalore Brussels flight. Read related article.

It is a well known in the industry, that any international flight route, takes up to three years to stabilise. On the four flights a week, Jet is averaging about 150 passengers on the two weekend flights, and 60~70 passengers on the two weekday flights. Very respectable figures, especially considering, Jet commenced the flights only three weeks ago, and, is competing against global goliaths like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, and Emirates.

Yet, Jet Airways announced withdrawal of the Bangalore Brussels route within 3 weeks of commencement!!!!

Surely, Bangalore cannot be the reason, and we need to look elsewhere for indicators.

Historically, Bangalore, has never been on the strategic radar screen of Jet Airways for international flights, which owes its corporate loyalty to Mumbai and New Delhi. Even during the super high growth period of 2005-2008, Jet Airways chose to build its international routes from Hyderabad and Chennai, instead of Bangalore, a market begging for flights. Even today, while the poor international route performance of these stations is tolerated in the name of "corporate prestige and brand building", Bangalore appears to receive step-child treatment from the Jet corporate office.

Jet Airways is facing terrible cost reduction pressures. They do not have the deep pockets, required to establish and sustain an international route. The first station to get the axe is Bangalore.

In a bid to earn income from its excess fleet capacity, Jet Airways is leasing 6 of its 10 Boeing 777-300ERs to Turkish Airlines. The existing fleet of Airbus 330-200 will be used in replacement. There are not enough A330s to go around, so the A330 on BLR-BRU route is needed elsewhere.

Jet Airways flights from Mumbai to Newark via Brussels are facing low loads on the Brussels Newark sector. So downgrading the B777-300ER with a less fuel consuming A330-200 will lessen the losses. Again, Bangalore is the looser.

The recent alliance between Jet and Kingfisher could also be a reason. The Bangalore London Heathrow flight of Kingfisher is performing miserably; On average the flight is reported to carry only about 20~30 passengers daily. Jet could be withdrawing to leave the market to Kingfisher. However, this is a move that will not help Kingfisher. The Kingfisher flight timing slots along with their lack of alliances with any other airlines, do not allow for any onward connections; and there is just not enough traffic, between London and Bangalore. Also, as per a first hand report by my brother, an lifetime Executive Platinum on OneWorld, who flew Kingfisher recently, at my recommendation, the onboard service leaves much to be desired.

A better solution will be for Jet to lease the spare A330s of its partner, Kingfisher, lying parked at HAL airport, and continue to operate the Bangalore Brussels flight. It will help Jet establish its international operations from Bangalore, and give some revenue to Kingfisher also.

Having started the flight, I exhort Jet -- stick with Bangalore, and Bangaloreans will reward you in times to come. Credibility is a crucial corporate asset, very tough to obtain, and once lost, next to impossible to regain.

Jet Airways, will reintroduce daily service on the Bengaluru – Mangalore sector, effective December 01, 2008, using an ATR-72 aircraft.

Jet is trying to target business passenger with a same day return facility. 9W 3561 will depart daily from Bengaluru at 0855 hrs in the morning, and arrive at Mangalore at 0955 hrs. On the return leg, 9W 3562 will leave Mangalore at 1025 hrs and arrive back at Bengaluru at 1125 hrs.

In the evening, 9W 3563 will depart Bengaluru at 1730 hrs and arrive in Mangalore at 1830 hrs. 9W 3564 will leave Mangalore at 1900 hrs and arrive back into Bengaluru at 2000 hrs.

Also effective 1st December'08, Jet Airways will further enhance its services to and from India’s the IT hubs Pune and Bengaluru. 9W 3559 will depart Pune daily at 0620 hrs and arrive in Bengaluru at 0820 hrs. 9W 3560 will then depart Bengaluru 2030 hrs and arrive in Pune at 2250 hrs. This is in addition to Jet Airways’ existing services operated by 9W 445/9W 446 using a Boeing 737 on this sector.

Image courtesy Jet Airways

My sincere thanks to all the visitors of Bangalore Aviation.

Over the last two weeks you will observe that I have implemented changes in the site. I seek your feedback and comments on these changes. Good, great, bad or ugly.

Snap Shots

I installed a tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

DISQUS Comments

The commenting system has been vastly improved with the addition of DISQUS. Hierarchical commenting now available, as well as a re-blog facility. If you would like to do a "You Tube", there is even a facility for recording your comments via video.

A multi-tab widget with recent comments, prolific people, and most popular articles has been added.

RSS Feeds and E-Mail subscriptions.

As previous, you can subscribe to the RSS feeds or subscribe via e-mail using the icons at the top of the page.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Devesh

At one time, Singapore Airlines SQ was the most dominant international airline in Bangalore, operating 12 flights a week. A daily night flight and a morning flight 5 days a week.

No more. The new title holder is Emirates operating as many as 3 flights a day.

Citing diminishing demand, from October 26, 2008 onwards, SQ has discontinued the 5 a week morning flights, and will offer only a daily night flight.

Similar reductions in service have been made for Chennai. Singapore Airlines will stop its services to Amritsar from February 4, 2009.

These are just some of the reductions Singapore airlines is making at a global level. Flights from Singapore to Penang, Ho Chi Minh City, Osaka, Seoul, Cape Town are also facing reductions. Flights to the Middle East are being increased. For more information read their press release.

International flights are more valuable for BIAL the operators of Bengaluru International Airport. Each international flight brings in revenue greater than 5 domestic flights, not to mention revenues to the duty free shops and other retail outlets at the airport. With the loss of domestic flights, BIAL can ill afford to loose international flights as well.

I have been a dog-lover since childhood. I grew up with Silky, a Lhasa Apso, Snooty and Growler, two Spitzes. In the US, Keesha, a Keeshound kept me company. Today our family includes two Champions, Brandy, an Irish Setter, and Isis, the only female Giant Schnauzer in India.

I flew with Isis from the USA to Bangalore HAL airport, without any problems, and read the below story in the Bangalore Mirror with considerable sadness.

Even today, I will unconditionally recommend Lufthansa for anyone carrying pets internationally. Lufthansa has a fully functional and caring pet transit centre at Frankfurt airport. Vets to check your pet, and caring staff feed your pets, walk them, and let them relieve themselves.

The lack of a quarantine station is not just impacting pet lovers, but also the food, restaurant, and tourism industry in Bangalore, since food cannot be imported to Bangalore. Similarly, the lack of an office of the drug controller, forces the entire bio-tech industry in Karnataka, to use Chennai.

This is despite the cargo operators at BIAL, Menzies Bobba, and Air India - Singapore Airport Terminal Services (AI-SATS), having some of the best cold room and freezer facilities in the nation.

One of the reasons given for a lack of the quarantine station, is a measly 10 acres not being allotted by BIAL. I find it hard to believe that BIAL management cannot find 10 acres out of the 4,000 allotted to them.

The quarantine station is run by the Department of Animal Husbandry under the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Drug Controller comes under the Ministry of Health. Both ministries are run by parochial ministers, Sharad Pawar and Ramadoss, who will do anything to favour their own state. I am sure you have figured out by now why Bangalore is being denied.

I invite your action. Post your comments on this article, write to the respective Ministers and insist Bangalore be given its due.

- Devesh Agarwal
---------------------
A recent customs circular, banning the transit of animals through Bengaluru International Airport, has got pet owners and importers in a flap. The only option now is to bring their pets to or from Chennai airport, which has a quarantine facility

By Aditi Soni & Praveen Kumar

Have a pet and want to take it along when you fly to or from Bangalore via the new Devanahalli airport? Briefly put, you can’t.

Reason: The customs department has issued a diktat to all airlines operating from BIA not to allow the transportation of pets; else, they could face legal action.

Customs officials have told airlines not to book pets aboard inward or outward flights till the Devanahalli airport gets a quarantine facility. According to the department, such a facility requires a minimum of 10 acres of land.

It should be run under the supervision of the animal husbandry department, and vets and other staff should be posted there.

Once an animal is booked to fly, it should be quarantined till departure. A pet entering the city should be quarantined till its owner comes to claim it.

“BIAL is finding it difficult to allocate 10 acres of land for a quarantine facility. They say there is a shortage of land to set up a second runway and other airport-related infrastructure,” said a senior customs official. Interestingly, the Devanahalli airport is spread across a humongous 4,000 acres!

But pet owners are not convinced with this explanation. “Customs officials allowed transportation of pets through the HAL airport, which did not have a quarantine facility. After the opening of BIA, they have come out with this rule. It is a partisan attitude,” said one pet owner. “Earlier, at the HAL airport, we got a cage of our pet’s size made and booked it through an airline by paying the required charges. Why can’t they do the same at BIA?” he queried.

In the circumstances, those wanting to fly with their pets have to resort to the costly and time-consuming alternative of taking the animal by road to the Chennai international airport, which has a quarantine facility. There, airline companies accept the booking and fly the pet to the destination of the owner’s choice. Similarly, owners bringing their pets to Bangalore have to get them quarantined at the Chennai airport first and then take the road route to Bangalore.

The customs’ no-no to pets at BIA has not only added to the hassles of individual pet owners, it has also imposed a huge burden on those in the business of importing animals. Faced with the prospect of taking the road route to or from cities like Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi which have airport quarantine facilities, some have decided to give up the business altogether.

“I seriously wonder why BIA, despite being an international airport, is deficient in this regard,” said one dog importer who has been in the business for 50 years. Recalling how easy it was to import dogs earlier, he said, “First of all, air travel was not at all expensive. One could easily travel to Bangkok for just Rs 12,000, and doing your shopping and bringing a pet along were the added incentives.” Particularly galling to him was the extra taxi expense he has to incur from Chennai to Bangalore.

Another importer said, “We were adhering to all the rules. We used to take a licence from the customs as well. But still the transit of animals has been banned in Bangalore, which is nothing but stupidity on their part. If the Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi airports can allow pets to travel, there is no good reason for Bangalore not to do so too.”

Even as some pet shop owners have given up on selling imported breeds because of the trouble involved, others remain unaware of the customs’ ban on animal transit through BIA.”I know birds are not allowed to be exported or imported. But it comes as a surprise to me that pet dogs too are not allowed in,” said Shariff from Pet Planet.

However, there will always be those who will brave all obstacles to acquire the pets of their choice. Noting the current craze for small dog breeds, one importer said, “Terriers of different kinds are what everyone wants to have. You can’t even think of getting them in India. That’s why even if I have to come via Chennai, I do it for the sake of my business.”

And what does the BIAL management have to say about the ruckus caused by the customs’ circular? “It’s not the airport but the airlines who have to take a decision. Most of the time, it’s the airlines who don’t agree to carry pets,” was a BIAL official’s bland response.