Turning down Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's plea for a fare cut, full service carrier Kingfisher Airlines on Monday said that at present there was no case for reducing air fare.Other airlines like SpiceJet and IndiGo also said that after the recent round of cuts in fuel surcharge, customers should not expect further benefits in the short term, though there would be some advance purchase packages in January.
India's ailing aviation sector can finally hope to get some relief. The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Praful Patel has announced that a Group of Ministers (GoM) has been formed to look into the issues faced by the aviation sector.
The Union Cabinet is likely to take up the airline industry's concerns over high taxes on jet fuel and airport charges at its next meeting and a Group of Ministers (GoM) may be set up to focus on ATF pricing.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has directed promoters of the Mumbai International Airport Limited to keep in mind local sensibilities while undertaking the upgrade and modernisation of Mumbai airport. The ministry denied allegations that the government had given permission for the change of the name of the airport and location of the Shivaji statue.
The Airports Authority of India, would be turned into a company by amending laws to enable the body raise funds from market for carrying out modernisation of a large number of major airports across the country, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Tuesday.
Kingfisher Red topped the list of loss-makers with Rs 79,8.34 crore (Rs 7.98 billion).
The government will blacklist contractors who are responsible for delay in ongoing projects of airport modernisation."Tenders for capital work are not being issued to the contract agencies responsible for delay in projects," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told the Lok Sabha. Patel said the terminal building projects at Jaipur, Udaipur, Srinagar, Vizag and Agatti have been delayed.
All India Football Federation (AIFF) chief Praful Patel is hopeful of establishing fruitful relations with new FIFA president Gianni Infantino and work towards the development of the game in the country.
Replying to questions on losses to Air India, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said the rally in international crude oil prices that touched $147 a barrel in July 2008, hit Indian carriers by Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) in jet fuel bill. Air India loses are a result of high jet fuel prices and fall in air traffic following global economic slowdown, he said. "There are (also) systematic issues which need to be corrected."
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Bengal Aerotropolis Projects, a special purpose vehicle, which is developing India's first airport city, or aerotropolis, in the Asansol-Durgapur region, today entered into a technical services arrangement with Singapore-based Changi Airports International.
Private airport developers in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, say landing and parking fees account for a significant proportion of revenues, so offering these services free would be unviable.
Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar today reiterated the stand taken by his party colleague Praful Patel that there was no need for debate once courts had ruled on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's role during the riots.
More flights will be added from India to Saudi Arabia this year.
The high tax regime makes aircraft service above 50 per cent more expensive than international rates and might spell trouble for over a dozen MRO projects -- several of them involving foreign direct investment that have been announced so far.
The government's support is there for Air India, (but) it comes with a condition, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said.
In a statement criticising the levy, the IATA said on Thursday that the ADF came at a time when the industry was badly in need of a stimulus package to boost demand.
The Nationalist Congress Party said on Thursday it will fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat with the Congress and talks on seat sharing has already started and it is expected to be finalised in next couple of days.
Highly placed sources said Oil Minister Murli Deora took exception to Menon's proposals during a meeting of the Federation of Indian Airlines and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to resolve the crisis arising out of mounting fuel bill arrears. "There should not be any layoffs. Why are you raising it now," sources quoted Deora as telling Menon.
The directorate general of civil aviation has shot off a letter to all airlines seeking details of the sudden and steep fare hikes announced on Wednesday. The move came close on the heels of civil aviation minister Praful Patel's remark that the ministry was against cartelisation, widely believed to be behind the latest fare hikes.
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Divestment in major state-run firms is set to perk up the IPO space, with about six PSUs including Air India, BSNL, Oil India and NHPC, gearing up to sell equity sale in the primary market.
International flights from the Srinagar airport would operate from February 14, when it would be formally inaugurated as an international airport. The first international flight will take off for the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, according to a statement issued by the Union Water Resources Minister, Saif-ud-Din Soz.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Indian airlines had suffered major losses in the past two years over the unprecedented rise in prices of aviation turbine fuel.
Praful Patel, India's reformist civil aviation minister, has helped drive the privatisation of Mumbai and 's moribund airports, overcoming initial protests by employees.
Mumbai got a major boost with star players Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan joining the squad for the Ranji Trophy semi-final match against West Zone rivals Saurashtra to be played in Chennai from January 4 to 7. Tendulkar and Zaheer have replaced Praful Waghela and Rahil Shaikh in the squad that beat Himachal Pradesh by nine wickets at Ahmedabad in the quarter-final tie which ended on Monday.
The minister said airlines must reciprocate the government's gesture to help the aviation industry, which has been been going through rough weather this year. State-run oil companies on Monday slashed jet fuel prices by over 11 per cent. ATF in Delhi was cut by Rs 4,208.37 to Rs 32,691.28 per kilolitre.
The government on Wednesday asked promoters of the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) to keep in mind local sensibilities during its modernisation amid claims of change of name of the airport.The Civil Aviation Ministry has strongly refuted allegations that the present name of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is being altered and the location of the statue of the warrior king is being replaced.
Announcing this in New Delhi, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said trial runs on the new third runway of IGI Airport would begin in ten days from now. Once operational, it would go a long way to ease the air traffic congestion over the Delhi airspace. The two airports, as per the recommendations of the respective state governments, would be developed by the state-owned AAI and not privatised.
Aviation experts say the existing airports cannot be viable.
Jet, Kingfisher rebuff Praful Patel, budget carriers reduce fares. As of now, though, the two private airlines remain steadfast in their refusal to cut fares even as Patel's pleas acquire a hint of aggression.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar tried to convince Lalit Modi to return to India and "face the law" during a meeting in London in May.
Aviation industry experts expect the ATF prices to fall by 16 per cent in November, compared with the current month. This, they say, translates into bridging of nearly half the gap between the airlines' operational costs and total revenues.
Jet Airways, Kingfisher and NACIL, which operates Air India, owe over Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) to the oil PSUs in unpaid fuel bills, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.
A senior civil aviation ministry official said this was one of the key issues discussed during Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to ask for a relief on ATF. Top airline executives like Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya also met the PM to highlight the issue.
Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Kingfisher and other airlines have told the government that they would curtail services frequency and air routes to cut losses after oil companies raised the prices of aviation fuel.
The Centre asked state governments on Friday to review and rationalise their taxation policy on jet fuel and land acquisition practices to encourage the expansion of civil aviation sector so that they could themselves reap the benefits of its unprecedented growth.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Tuesday lashed out at the Planning Commission, holding it responsible for the delay in the modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports.
The move will help mop up not more than Rs 10 billion, which is only a fifth of the capital requirement of the industry, led by Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, say experts. The expected investment has been calculated on the basis of a 100 per cent premium on the current valuations of Jet Airways and Kingfisher -- two of the country's largest carriers by market share -- which require over Rs 50 billion.
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