Delhi airport battles fog

Extreme weather like fog and rain often play spoilsport with flight schedules
especially at Delhi and Mumbai, the country's busiest airports. In such conditions most passengers are lucky if they make it on time. But most end up with delays, or worse, cancelled flights.

But for Air Traffic Controllers responsible for guiding planes across the sky, adverse weather can be one of the biggest challenges.

"Every morning the ATC looks up at the sky and makes up his mind if it is going to be a tough day ahead," said D K Behra, General Secretary, ATC Guild of India.

Most aircraft require a minimum of 800 meters of visibility to make a safe landing. That would mean shutting down Delhi airport for several hours during foggy days when visibility falls below that.

But recently, the Capital got the advanced CAT3b landing system that allows planes to land even when visibility is just 50 meters.

Till recently, only Air India, Kingfisher and Indigo had the Cat 3b system and plilots were trained to use it. Recently, Jet airways also equipped some of its planes. But most planes flying in and out of the Capital still cannot use the system, which means a scramble when the weather clears.

"Well, sometimes some pilots harass the ATC. Also, they keep talking and don't give time to the ATC to calculate, because remember that the ATC is flying 15-20 aircrafts. But the pilot is only responsible for one," said Sunil Mehta, commerical pilot.

While technology makes it possible for planes to land in foggy conditions, it costs a lot to train the pilots. With the current economic downturn most airlines say that they just don't have the money for the upgrade.
Source:ndtv

Cathay Pacific Airways to focus on online and corporate sector

Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Airways, which operates 35 flights a week from India is charting out its plan of action for next year. Currently, the airline is planning to focus on the online sector by enhancing the B2B interface of its portal for both travel agents and corporates. Talking about the future plans of the airline for the Indian market, Tom Wright, General Manager – Middle East, India & Africa, Cathay Pacific Airways said, “Due to various hurdles faced by the global aviation sector this year, the coming year is obscure. The only thing we can focus upon is technology. We are looking at strengthening our online gateway to receive higher sales margins through direct sales. We are also going to enhance the online space for our corporate clients and travel agents.”

Apart from focusing on the online gateway there are no plans for expanding the route network or increasing the frequencies between India and Hong Kong. Elaborating further Wright stated, “We increased our frequencies from eight flights a week to 35 flights a week this year. So, the bilateral rights signed between India and Hong Kong is saturated. We cannot expand our route network in India any more.” Currently the airline operates a total of 28 flights a week, while the remaining flights are operated by Dragonair (affiliate airline of Cathay Group) from Bangalore to Hong Kong.

The airline is also planning to work closely with Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to promote the nation in India for tourism and business. “We are looking at attracting segments like honeymooners and families in the leisure market and the MICE segment. We are planning on having joint promotions and packages for the Indian market starting next year,” added Wright. The airline is confident that the joint promotions will definitely give a boost to the tourist arrivals and passenger load factor for both the tourism board and the airline respectively.

Source:travelbizmonitor

Jet Airways implements several measures for Winter season

Jet Airways has put (12-Dec-08) in place a number of measures to minimise passenger inconvenience arising out of flight disruptions and cancellations due to fog in the approaching Winter season.



In case of anticipated flight delays/cancellations, passengers are requested to check the status of their respective flights before leaving for the airport by calling Jet Airways' call centre, the airline’s toll-free number or via the airline's Jet Mobile facility wherein passengers can check flight status by sending an SMS.

In case of flight disruptions due to fog, the airline will deploy additional aircraft for relief/additional flights, where possible.

In case of flight diversions, operations out of alternate airports have been planned in advance.

Affected passengers with tickets booked on certain fare levels, not issued from the station of departure, will be entitled to hotel accommodation, if available, in case of flight disruptions. Those travelling with tickets booked on certain fare levels issued from the station of departure will be provided with conveyance expenses to the place of residence/hotel, up to a maximum of INR 1500.

The airline will also provide the electronic media with regular flight updates throughout the day to ensure that passengers are constantly updated on the latest flight situations.

Source:indiaaviation.aero

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