Politics is the last refuge of scoundrels, very true in India, especially those from the state of Bihar, and the pinnacle is the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The Press Trust of India reports Union Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh allegedly beat up the station manager of Kingfisher Airlines at Patna Airport on Monday after he was not allowed to board Patna-Kolkata flight as he reported late at the airport.

A Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson, in a statement, alleged that the Airport Manager was assaulted, abused and had to bear a barrage of foul language from Singh, without any provocation.

As per the statement, Singh, who is Minister of State for Food was scheduled to travel on flight IT 4580 from Patna to Kolkata. The flight was scheduled to depart at 08:30 pm and at 08:10 pm, the Kingfisher Airlines staff at Patna Airport were informed by Singh's travel agent that he would not be travelling on the flight.

At around 08:20 pm after all the guests were on board, Patna ATC gave start-up and push-back clearance to the commander of the aircraft.

The aircraft had just begun taxiing when Singh reportedly landed at the airport i.e. 10 minutes before the scheduled departure of the flight, the statement said.

"Under the circumstances, considering the fact that the aircraft had began taxiing, our Airport Manager told Singh the same and regretted that he could not join the flight as we were told that he was not coming," the statement said.

"That was when Singh assaulted and abused our Airport Manager in the VIP lounge in the presence of several witnesses," Kingfisher Airlines added.

I wish the police throw the book at this pathetic individual who obviously has been mistakenly assumed to be a man of some basic intelligence, good enough to be called a "leader" of this great nation of India.

According to a PTI report, British Airways' (BA) multi-million pound takeover plan of Low Cost Carrier (LCC) GoAir got derailed and the Europe's leading carrier may now negotiate for a marketing alliance instead.

The report, which quoted UK’s The Sunday Times, “British Airways planned an audacious, multi-million pound takeover of one of India's leading airlines - but the scheme was derailed by problems with industry-ownership laws.” However, the daily said that it is understood BA may negotiate a marketing alliance with GoAir instead, with the LCC using BA flight codes on its domestic network.

Quoting senior industry sources, The Sunday Times said, “BA wanted to take a controlling or significant minority share, and was ready to pay up to USD 600 million for the stake.” As the commercial aviation sector in India has tough rules preventing foreign nationals from owning or taking control of airlines, BA aimed to get round the restrictions by setting up an Indian intermediary company to hold its investment in GoAir, the newspaper said.

The current Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy of India does not allow foreign carriers to hold equity, directly or indirectly, in domestic airlines. BA's decision to pursue an Indian tie-up has piqued the interest of rival airline executives, who have been focused on the stuttering progress of its planned merger with Spain's flag carrier, Iberia, The Sunday Times said.

Quoting one rival airline executive, The Sunday Times said, “I think it indicates where they think the real future of the airline industry lies, and where their next deal might come from India or China.” BA has had franchise agreements with South African carrier Comair, Glasgow-based Logan Air, Scandinavia's Sun Air and Kenya-based Regional Air.

This raises an interesting question. The Indian airline industry is loosing over $2 billion per year. Like it or not, this requires deep pockets; pockets much deeper than Mr. Goyal or Dr. Mallya have. Also, integrating in to extensive global networks is not just a "must have", but it is vital to an airline's survival, again something neither Jet or Kingfisher have. Is it time for the FDI norms for the airline industry to be reviewed ? Will the review survive intensive lobbying by industry heavy-weights like Mr. Goyal or Dr. Mallya ?

Jet Airways, has just launched an In-flight Festival for Children called W.O.W (World of Wonders) with the onset of the festive season. WOW – is a tailor-made, two month long in-flight fiesta suitable for viewing by the entire family, while they fly Jet Airways.

The festival will feature an exclusive Disney Channel compilation of hit shows like Hannah Montana featuring the teen sensation balancing her twin lives of a superstar and a regular schoolgirl. Another favourite, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, is a comedy about twins who are always finding themselves in the middle of funny situations. Continuing the sibling madness is Phineas & Ferb who make up extraordinary inventions in their ordinary world. Or even Wizards Of Waverly Palace, a fantasy joyride about a New York family where kids do real magic with some unreal consequences.

Jet Airways and Disney Channel also announced the "Camp Rock" contest based on the Disney Channel movie - Camp Rock, premiering on December 26, 2008 on Disney Channel and on Jet Screen, the in-flight entertainment systems of Jet Airways, soon thereafter.

Children can make the most of a fantastic opportunity to win wonderful prizes, including prizes for two children to travel to Hong Kong and visit Hong Kong Disneyland with a parent.

To enter the contest, young participants 5 to 16 years should log on to the Jet Airways website and fill in the online contest form. The music clip required for the contest is available online or can be collected from the in flight crew members. Winning by answering a simple question can bring about an opportunity to board another enjoyable Jet Airways flight to Hong Kong.

The contest also features consolation prizes where each such winner gets a Camp Rock music CD. The contest is open from November 1 to December 31, 2008.

Kevin Done in London and Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt of the Financial Times report that, Lufthansa is taking majority control of BMI British Midland, which will give it the second largest share of take-off and landing slots at London Heathrow airport, behind British Airways.

The deal marks an important step in the restructuring of the European airline industry with the German carrier gaining a leading role at Heathrow, the biggest airport in Europe measured by passenger numbers and the key European gateway for passengers from North America.

The takeover challenges British Airways at its Heathrow global hub. It could trigger an alliance or merger of operations between the German carrier and Virgin Atlantic, the London-based long-haul rival to BA, controlled by Sir Richard Branson.

It will consolidate the role of Star, the global airline alliance led by Lufthansa and United Airlines of the US, as the main challenger to Oneworld, the alliance led by BA and American Airlines, at Heathrow.

The German carrier is taking a leading role in the consolidation of European aviation as it takes advantage of its financial strength in the deepening financial crisis in the airline industry.

Earlier this year Lufthansa took over a 45 per cent stake in Brussels Airlines with an option to acquire 100 per cent in 2011. It is also in negotiations to buy strategic stakes in loss-making Austrian Airways and Alitalia, the latter in competition against Air France-KLM.

Lufthansa said Sir Michael Bishop, BMI chairman, had exercised his put option to sell the group his stake of 50 per cent plus one share.

Lufthansa already owns a stake of 30 per cent minus one share. The remaining 20 per cent is in the hands of SAS Scandinavian Airlines, which has previously indicated it also wishes to sell.

The option agreement was made by Sir Michael in November 1999.

Lufthansa said the option was not expected to become effective before January 12. The two groups were in discussions about the strategic development and future development of BMI

It was unclear last night whether Lufthansa would seek to challenge BA by building up long-haul operations at Heathrow, or through a link with Virgin, which is 49 per cent owned by Singapore Airlines..

The decision by Sir Michael to sell his controlling stake for about €400m (£317m) is a watershed in UK aviation. Sir Michael, 66, led the early drive to liberalise the UK and European industry and to break the dominance of BA. He has controlled BMI since 1978.

Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, which has made several attempts to merge with BMI, said: “We are about to enter the next phase of BMI’s future and a turning point in aviation,” said . “Everyone has speculated that it would make sense for Virgin Atlantic and BMI to combine their long-haul and short-haul networks.”

BMI, which includes a low cost subsidiary BMIbaby and a UK regional subsidiary, warned recently it expected to fall into loss this year.

From its Heathrow base it has been seeking to develop a medium-haul network to the Middle East, central Asia and Africa following its takeover last year of BMed, British Mediterranean Airways, a former franchise carrier for British Airways.

The future ownership of BMI has been followed very closely by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, the rival UK long-haul carrier controlled by Sir Richard Branson, which have both coveted BMI chiefly for its 11 per cent stake of all the take off and landing slots at Heathrow.

The airport is highly congested and there are no free slots at most hours of the operating day.

Virgin Atlantic, which is 49 per cent owned by Singapore Airlines which is also a member of the Star alliance, put itself forward as a potential partner for Lufthansa at Heathrow to exploit the BMI assets.

Steve Ridgway, Virgin Atlantic chief executive, said: ”Now we are about to enter the next phase of BMI’s future and a turning point in aviation.

“Everyone has speculated that it would make sense for Virgin Atlantic and BMI to combine their long-haul and short-haul networks. There is now a major opportunity to do that and create a new, strongly viable competitor to BA.

“I am sure that Lufthansa realises the future opportunities and this could be a really good example of the right industry consolidation. It would be good for consumers and for UK plc.”

The future of BMI’s small regional subsidiary is also being watched by Flybe, which has emerged as the leading UK regional airline following its takeover last year of BA Connect, the former UK regional operation of British Airways, and is regarded as a potential buyer of BMI Regional.

BMI became the first airline earlier this year to capitalise its holding of take off and landing slots at Heathrow airport in its 2007 accounts, transforming the value of its balance sheet and breaking new ground in airline accounting.

Inclusion of the slots with what the airline called a “conservative” valuation of £770m helped to raise the value of the group’s net assets from £12m at the end of 2006 to £800m at the end of 2007.

BMI holds 11.4 per cent of the highly lucrative take off and landing slots at Heathrow, a position second only to the 41.5 per cent held by BA.

BMI pre-tax profits last year fell from £29.7m to £15.5m. Pre-tax profits on continuing operations and before exceptional items fell by 45.2 per cent from £17m to £9.3m.

Turnover rose by 12.9 per cent from £905m to £1bn largely as a result of the takeover of BMed. Passenger numbers increased by one per cent from 10.5m to 10.6m.

Its profitability this year has been hit by the ending of a co-operation deal with Lufthansa and SAS, agreed at the start of the decade, under which the two carriers have underwritten a large part of the losses on the BMI mainline operation in Europe.

The takeover of BMed was aimed at reducing BMI’s dependence on short-haul European services.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

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.

Thanks to the global reduction in crude oil prices, and reductions in Customs duty (in response to desperate pleas by airlines), Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices in India, have retreated back to earlier levels of 8 months ago.


Today, ATF is priced almost the same as in March 2008, but air fares show no sign of retreating. Airlines had almost doubled their fuel surcharges in June 2008, citing massive increases in ATF prices by the oil companies.

Yet, despite the prices reducing drastically, airlines are following a dangerously greedy business strategy, and refusing to reduce their fuel surcharges. Not only is this impacting the volume of passengers, but it increasingly alienating airlines' supporters, passengers and politicians', alike.

Instead of abating, the short-sighted approach by airlines, is on the increase. From November 1, 2008, all airlines removed the 5% commission they used to pay to travel agents, but have kept the savings, instead of passing it on to our customers. Naturally, the travel agents, are levying additional service charges on the tickets they sell to us. It is a perfectly acceptable situation till this point, but in addition to this indirect fare increase, Jet, Air-India, and Kingfisher are imposing a "transaction fee" on all ticket sales sold by THEM!!!!. In fact the transaction fee will be levied even on refunds or changes!!!

Across the globe, companies are going all out to retain their customers. Airlines in India, seem to be taking their customers and supporters for granted, adding new unreasonable fees, and hoarding their cost savings, instead of sharing it with their customers.

It is little wonder, why passengers continue to desert the skies and take to trains and buses.

A rollback in the fuel surcharges to March levels, and non-imposition of the ridiculous transaction fees, will bring the passengers back to the skies and improve load factors, which will increase the airlines' incomes. Keep the fares high and passenger numbers will just continue to dwindle, and that, my friends, is the download spiral to oblivion.

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
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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.