Kerala Air updates
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nothing going to happen even didn't realize, forget about the fleet.i am hearing this from 2005, Only political stunt, to keep expat vote and will disappear shortly when this crisis disappear. check on 2020.
regards.
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I heard that there could be an official news about this during the kerela investors meet, starting from sept 12th..
it seems they've registered the airline 4 years ago.. but haven't got the permission yet? then what's the point of registration? :/
and in india, can an airline go international after 5 years of registration or operation? :|
it seems they've registered the airline 4 years ago.. but haven't got the permission yet? then what's the point of registration? :/
and in india, can an airline go international after 5 years of registration or operation? :|
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Kerala air is not a new venture, the plans and the layout were incepted 4 years ago as you mentioned. the prime reason for the formation of the airline was to ferry keralites to and fro dubai, which is believed to be a major source of revenue for air india. but an airline can be assigned international routes after operating in the domestic sector for at least 5 years. the management along with the help of chief minister of Kerala trying hard to get an exempt from this rule. there are rumors of a meeting in September to decide the fate of the airline. hope it floats through, it'll be good for all of us
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@xyaine
No they didn't registered the airline, there was a talk long back to start up the airline, And the chief minister of Kerala that time say they will request to grand a permission to operate international(to gulf) straight they start,the all political parties supported and they form a committee for the meetings with The Prime minister and the Aviation minister as well, But never go ahead because they had to deal with all their internal political issues. Even one aviation minister was from Kerala they never talk about the start of this airlines or to get a permission to operate the airlines.
With a registration you are not allow to operate international flights after 5 years, you need to operate. And the request for a special permission grant to start international routes just after starting , create problems as all other states at least in south wants their own airline and permission to fly international.
Now this talks starts suddenly because of the hike in airfare.and one of the Board member of Air india Express who recently resigned because they cant keep up the word of operating a Low fare flight to the major gulf destination.
let see what happens in next month, there will not be a problem for the funds to start an airlines, but we have to see how long it takes, and to hear about the scams
Never going to be a easy task and to run the airline profitable even the state government exempt the tax for aviation fuel for the state run airline.
About the fleet long way to go........
regards.
No they didn't registered the airline, there was a talk long back to start up the airline, And the chief minister of Kerala that time say they will request to grand a permission to operate international(to gulf) straight they start,the all political parties supported and they form a committee for the meetings with The Prime minister and the Aviation minister as well, But never go ahead because they had to deal with all their internal political issues. Even one aviation minister was from Kerala they never talk about the start of this airlines or to get a permission to operate the airlines.
With a registration you are not allow to operate international flights after 5 years, you need to operate. And the request for a special permission grant to start international routes just after starting , create problems as all other states at least in south wants their own airline and permission to fly international.
Now this talks starts suddenly because of the hike in airfare.and one of the Board member of Air india Express who recently resigned because they cant keep up the word of operating a Low fare flight to the major gulf destination.
let see what happens in next month, there will not be a problem for the funds to start an airlines, but we have to see how long it takes, and to hear about the scams
Never going to be a easy task and to run the airline profitable even the state government exempt the tax for aviation fuel for the state run airline.
About the fleet long way to go........
regards.
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The project Kerala Air was dropped long back..., Just political gimmicks for the Global Investors Meet. Mr yousuf Ali the chairman of EMKE group is planning about starting an airline. He is planning to take over any NOC holding company rather than applying for an NOC. Guys its only on the planning stages and he has not taken any decision on go ahead.
Even Narendra Modi had a plan to revive Gujrat Airways & Central government rejected that proposal saying it will create bad effects on the Aviation Industry and more states will start applying causing a huge capacity vs Demand Ratio. Eventually everything will close down.
Government gave 12 companies NOC to operate Scheduled/Regional Airline In India in the last 4 years including Freedom Aviation, Star Aviation, Air Dravida, Emric Air , Kareena Airways out of which 9 have dropped their Projects after getting the NOC.
Good news is that Couple of Airlines will launch their commercial operations by the new year (2013) from south India including Air Costa.
Regards
Even Narendra Modi had a plan to revive Gujrat Airways & Central government rejected that proposal saying it will create bad effects on the Aviation Industry and more states will start applying causing a huge capacity vs Demand Ratio. Eventually everything will close down.
Government gave 12 companies NOC to operate Scheduled/Regional Airline In India in the last 4 years including Freedom Aviation, Star Aviation, Air Dravida, Emric Air , Kareena Airways out of which 9 have dropped their Projects after getting the NOC.
Good news is that Couple of Airlines will launch their commercial operations by the new year (2013) from south India including Air Costa.
Regards
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Thanks guys, for responding to me.. while the start of a new airline does sound good, the supply-demand has to be maintained.. after all, demand is what runs our industry here.
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air costa is on a lookout for rated guys. the other airline that you mention could be air odisha and air mantra, and none of them are recruiting, at least not as of now. any hopes for cpl holders?
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Many challenges before Air Kerala project: Experts
Thiruvananthapuram: While Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is determined to see his pet Air Kerala project take off by April 14, 2013, aviation experts on Monday opined that unless prudence was shown, it would end up the way of numerous other state-owned enterprises. P.K. Devidas, an aviation professional with more than four-and-a-half decades of operational experience at the highest level with international airlines, said the simple rule that Chandy should adopt was to ensure that businessmen, bureaucrats and politicians were kept away from the proposed airline.
"Thorough professionals in the aviation industry should be recruited and they should be given full responsibility and made accountable. If those with no airline experience are recruited, it would end up as a miserable failure, as we have seen in our country in the aviation industry," said Devidas to IANS. The Kerala government will apply to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) next month with the preliminary capital of Rs 100 crore.
As of now, the rules state that an airline can fly on international routes only after operating in the domestic sector for five years. But Chandy is hoping that with a battery of central ministers from Kerala, pressure can be applied to get rules relaxed. Batting for Air Kerala is union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, who wanted the central government to give exemption on the condition that the proposed airline should operate on domestic routes for a stipulated period of time.
source :Many challenges before Oommen Chandy's Air Kerala project: Experts - IBN South - IBN Kerala - ibnlive
"Thorough professionals in the aviation industry should be recruited and they should be given full responsibility and made accountable. If those with no airline experience are recruited, it would end up as a miserable failure, as we have seen in our country in the aviation industry," said Devidas to IANS. The Kerala government will apply to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) next month with the preliminary capital of Rs 100 crore.
As of now, the rules state that an airline can fly on international routes only after operating in the domestic sector for five years. But Chandy is hoping that with a battery of central ministers from Kerala, pressure can be applied to get rules relaxed. Batting for Air Kerala is union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, who wanted the central government to give exemption on the condition that the proposed airline should operate on domestic routes for a stipulated period of time.
source :Many challenges before Oommen Chandy's Air Kerala project: Experts - IBN South - IBN Kerala - ibnlive
Last edited by blackbirdsr72; 15th Oct 2012 at 20:48.
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Air Kerala will take off on April 14: Oommen Chandy
Thiruvananthapuram: Air Kerala, the state government's airline, would be launched on April 14, 2013, to coincide with Vishu, new year's day in the Malayalam calendar, says Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. "It (Air Kerala) will be airborne on April 14. The only question is whether the first flight will be an international or domestic one," said Chandy.
He added, "Next month, we will be applying to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with the preliminary capital of Rs 100 crore, which we will raise by then," Chandy, who is convalescing after a leg injury, told IANS during an exclusive chat.
The chief minister explained that under the rules, an airline can only fly international routes after completing five years of domestic service; there is also a stipulation about the number of aircraft that an airline operating internationally should have.
"But Air India Express was given a relaxation in rules when it started international operations. They said it was because it was a subsidiary of Air India. So, when the state government put up the application, we also sought similar exemption. Moreover, at the moment, we are given to understand that one foreign airline is allowed to fly in here, without observing these stipulations," Chandy said.
Chandy first took up the project in 2004. After he stepped down in 2006, the project lay in cold storage, during the tenure of the Left government. On returning as chief minister last May, one of the first decisions Chandy took was to revive this project. He has received support from Malayali businessmen in the Middle East.
"We have, in principle, decided to float shares of Rs 10,000 each and we were surprised when our own Malayalee businessmen there (in the Middle East) who employ thousands of employees agreed to take shares in their employees' names. Each of them employ more than 20,000 employees, so the issue of raising money of Rs 500 crore is not at all a problem. We are confident our dream will soon take flight," Chandy said.
Chandy has drawn out a schedule, and fixed April 14 as the target date for launch of the new airline. And if Air Kerala is unable to fly international, it will at least take to domestic skies. With Air India having opened a brand new hangar facility in the Thiruvananthapuram airport, Air Kerala, on entering into a contract with Air India and paying the maintenance charges, can use the hangar here, the chief minister said. Air Kerala will also have access to the engineering department of Air India, so it will not need to recruit engineers, he added.
Air India was given the land for setting up the hangar free of cost by the Kerala government. What this means, though, is that Air Kerala can only lease B 737-800 aircraft; these are what the hangar here is equipped to service.
source :Air Kerala will take off on April 14: Oommen Chandy - IBN South - IBN Kerala - ibnlive
He added, "Next month, we will be applying to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with the preliminary capital of Rs 100 crore, which we will raise by then," Chandy, who is convalescing after a leg injury, told IANS during an exclusive chat.
The chief minister explained that under the rules, an airline can only fly international routes after completing five years of domestic service; there is also a stipulation about the number of aircraft that an airline operating internationally should have.
"But Air India Express was given a relaxation in rules when it started international operations. They said it was because it was a subsidiary of Air India. So, when the state government put up the application, we also sought similar exemption. Moreover, at the moment, we are given to understand that one foreign airline is allowed to fly in here, without observing these stipulations," Chandy said.
Chandy first took up the project in 2004. After he stepped down in 2006, the project lay in cold storage, during the tenure of the Left government. On returning as chief minister last May, one of the first decisions Chandy took was to revive this project. He has received support from Malayali businessmen in the Middle East.
"We have, in principle, decided to float shares of Rs 10,000 each and we were surprised when our own Malayalee businessmen there (in the Middle East) who employ thousands of employees agreed to take shares in their employees' names. Each of them employ more than 20,000 employees, so the issue of raising money of Rs 500 crore is not at all a problem. We are confident our dream will soon take flight," Chandy said.
Chandy has drawn out a schedule, and fixed April 14 as the target date for launch of the new airline. And if Air Kerala is unable to fly international, it will at least take to domestic skies. With Air India having opened a brand new hangar facility in the Thiruvananthapuram airport, Air Kerala, on entering into a contract with Air India and paying the maintenance charges, can use the hangar here, the chief minister said. Air Kerala will also have access to the engineering department of Air India, so it will not need to recruit engineers, he added.
Air India was given the land for setting up the hangar free of cost by the Kerala government. What this means, though, is that Air Kerala can only lease B 737-800 aircraft; these are what the hangar here is equipped to service.
source :Air Kerala will take off on April 14: Oommen Chandy - IBN South - IBN Kerala - ibnlive
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Air Kerala may fly overseas on FDI
Foreign carriers have evinced interest in Air Kerala, a state-promoted airline project, expected to fly between the Arabian Gulf countries and the southern Indian state. A tie-up with a foreign airline may help the start-up to fly overseas overcoming regulations which insist five years of domestic operations and a minimum fleet size, said people familiar with the process.
Currently, Air Kerala, with an initial equity base of Rs 200 crore, will be 26% stateowned with non-resident Keralites and business groups holding the remaining shares valued at Rs 10,000 per share. Ernst & Young is helping the Kerala government with a feasibility report on the airline project, which could dent Air India's business on the profitable Gulf sector routes.
Last month, India allowed foreign airlines to buy 49% ownership in domestic carriers opening up possibilities for Air Kerala, which is being floated to offer competitive fares to the state's diaspora of more than 2.5 million in the oil-rich Gulf. Incidentally, the Arab airlines have dominated prevailing talks of foreign interest in India's crisis-hit aviation sector.
"We have received interest from certain foreign parties and we might explore a possible alliance if this helps Air Kerala to overcome regulatory hurdles," Kerala industries minister P K Kunhalikutty told TOI. He said the state was currently impressing upon the Centre about the proposed airline with rights to fly to the Gulf, notwithstanding regulatory hurdles. The minister said high airfares between Kerala and the Gulf was snowballing into a "social problem" with many workers unable to visit homes even once in two years. "We have already conveyed our sentiments to the Prime Minister," he added.
Middle East industrialists of Kerala origin — like Ravi Pillai , M A Yousuf Ali and others —were backing the airline venture . The business conglomerates of Pillai and Ali alone employ about 65,000 people from Kerala who would be eager subscribers to the shares of the airline company. "There's overwhelming response from non-resident Keralites. I can promise that we will close the equity funding in just one day," Kunhalikutty said.
CM advocates states' right to run airline
Kerala CM Oommen Chandy has advanced the case of a federal government's right to start an airline with privileges similar to the national carrier Air India, setting off a debate on aviation sector regulations. "I expect strong opposition from Air India to our plans, but we think state governments too have rights to start airlines just like the national carrier," Chandy said in an interview. He pointed out that regulatory hurdles were waived when Air India Express, a subsidiary of the national airline, started international operations citing the interests of the government-owned company. Chandy said Air India's "callous attitude" towards Kerala-origin labourers in the Arabian Gulf was the key motivation behind plans to launch a new airline. "Very often, airfares from Kochi to Europe are cheaper than what Air India charges on the Gulf sector. Flights on these routes are the first casualty whenever Air India is bogged down with its internal problems," he added. TNN
source:Air Kerala may fly overseas on FDI - The Economic Times
Currently, Air Kerala, with an initial equity base of Rs 200 crore, will be 26% stateowned with non-resident Keralites and business groups holding the remaining shares valued at Rs 10,000 per share. Ernst & Young is helping the Kerala government with a feasibility report on the airline project, which could dent Air India's business on the profitable Gulf sector routes.
Last month, India allowed foreign airlines to buy 49% ownership in domestic carriers opening up possibilities for Air Kerala, which is being floated to offer competitive fares to the state's diaspora of more than 2.5 million in the oil-rich Gulf. Incidentally, the Arab airlines have dominated prevailing talks of foreign interest in India's crisis-hit aviation sector.
"We have received interest from certain foreign parties and we might explore a possible alliance if this helps Air Kerala to overcome regulatory hurdles," Kerala industries minister P K Kunhalikutty told TOI. He said the state was currently impressing upon the Centre about the proposed airline with rights to fly to the Gulf, notwithstanding regulatory hurdles. The minister said high airfares between Kerala and the Gulf was snowballing into a "social problem" with many workers unable to visit homes even once in two years. "We have already conveyed our sentiments to the Prime Minister," he added.
Middle East industrialists of Kerala origin — like Ravi Pillai , M A Yousuf Ali and others —were backing the airline venture . The business conglomerates of Pillai and Ali alone employ about 65,000 people from Kerala who would be eager subscribers to the shares of the airline company. "There's overwhelming response from non-resident Keralites. I can promise that we will close the equity funding in just one day," Kunhalikutty said.
CM advocates states' right to run airline
Kerala CM Oommen Chandy has advanced the case of a federal government's right to start an airline with privileges similar to the national carrier Air India, setting off a debate on aviation sector regulations. "I expect strong opposition from Air India to our plans, but we think state governments too have rights to start airlines just like the national carrier," Chandy said in an interview. He pointed out that regulatory hurdles were waived when Air India Express, a subsidiary of the national airline, started international operations citing the interests of the government-owned company. Chandy said Air India's "callous attitude" towards Kerala-origin labourers in the Arabian Gulf was the key motivation behind plans to launch a new airline. "Very often, airfares from Kochi to Europe are cheaper than what Air India charges on the Gulf sector. Flights on these routes are the first casualty whenever Air India is bogged down with its internal problems," he added. TNN
source:Air Kerala may fly overseas on FDI - The Economic Times
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Shouldnt the state government be more interested in doing its job which is running the state, rather than trying to start a business for which they have no expertise.... just sayin seems strange
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KOCHI: Chief Minister Oomman Chandy on Monday disclosed that the state government was revisiting its plans to launch an airline of its own, though it was yet to abandon the project altogether.
"The Air Kerala project has hit a roadblock. If we were to submit an application to the Centre for the project, we have to have a capital base of Rs 100 crore, as per the present Civil Aviation rules in the country. But it will be a severe embarrassment if we mobilize that much funds as shares and we are unable to get the sanction," Chandy told TOI here.
He said under the present laws an airline can launch international flights only if it had operated domestic flights for five years. "But if the prevailing conditions in the travel industry are indicative we might end up facing a loss of Rs 300 crore to Rs 500 crore by five years. We cannot afford such a massive loss," said the chief minister.
"We have spoken to most of the influential people at the Centre, requesting for a waiver on this condition of five years of domestic flying experience, in the case of Air Kerala. There has not been any response so far from the Centre. Probably they are all waiting for us to put a formal application. But we have to be careful in this case, as we can submit the application only after mobilizing Rs 100 crore. Now we have to look for alternatives," Chandy said.
The consultancy, appointed to prepare the DPR for Air Kerala project has also reportedly made it clear that it would not be economically feasible to operate domestic service alone for five years as stipulated by the current civil aviation laws of the country.
Meanwhile, sources at the Cochin International Airports Limited (CIAL), the parent company of Air Kerala, said as per the reports domestic flights alone might not be viable for a new airline, even at very high occupancy rate as fuel costs account for the lion's share of flight operating cost. There are also fears that NoRKs will not be keen to invest in an airline project if it has to operate domestic flights alone for five years."We are confident that Air Kerala can break even quickly with low cost flights in the international sector. But this may not happen if it has to operate in the domestic sector alone for five years," said Chandy.
The CIAL board meeting held couple of days back had also supported the view that Air Kerala project must be pursued more cautiously, CIAL sources said.
Kerala revisiting Air Kerala project - The Times of India
"The Air Kerala project has hit a roadblock. If we were to submit an application to the Centre for the project, we have to have a capital base of Rs 100 crore, as per the present Civil Aviation rules in the country. But it will be a severe embarrassment if we mobilize that much funds as shares and we are unable to get the sanction," Chandy told TOI here.
He said under the present laws an airline can launch international flights only if it had operated domestic flights for five years. "But if the prevailing conditions in the travel industry are indicative we might end up facing a loss of Rs 300 crore to Rs 500 crore by five years. We cannot afford such a massive loss," said the chief minister.
"We have spoken to most of the influential people at the Centre, requesting for a waiver on this condition of five years of domestic flying experience, in the case of Air Kerala. There has not been any response so far from the Centre. Probably they are all waiting for us to put a formal application. But we have to be careful in this case, as we can submit the application only after mobilizing Rs 100 crore. Now we have to look for alternatives," Chandy said.
The consultancy, appointed to prepare the DPR for Air Kerala project has also reportedly made it clear that it would not be economically feasible to operate domestic service alone for five years as stipulated by the current civil aviation laws of the country.
Meanwhile, sources at the Cochin International Airports Limited (CIAL), the parent company of Air Kerala, said as per the reports domestic flights alone might not be viable for a new airline, even at very high occupancy rate as fuel costs account for the lion's share of flight operating cost. There are also fears that NoRKs will not be keen to invest in an airline project if it has to operate domestic flights alone for five years."We are confident that Air Kerala can break even quickly with low cost flights in the international sector. But this may not happen if it has to operate in the domestic sector alone for five years," said Chandy.
The CIAL board meeting held couple of days back had also supported the view that Air Kerala project must be pursued more cautiously, CIAL sources said.
Kerala revisiting Air Kerala project - The Times of India
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There was rumour that Tony was joining hands with capt Gopi... But he says that he has never thought about it. Capt Gopi says he will choose from a handful of Investors including Toni......
The good news is An aurangabad based company has finalised deals with shyson Thomas (Air Pegasus) for a Take over... God knows whether the new company may start Regional services or Not.
The good news is An aurangabad based company has finalised deals with shyson Thomas (Air Pegasus) for a Take over... God knows whether the new company may start Regional services or Not.
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Yet another stupid idea that investors will line up in droves to burn money with.
Nobody in India can consistently make money in aviation. There is already plenty of service to and from Kerala and the surrounding states, both frills and non-frills, from Indian National carriers are foreign carriers.
Yet I'm sure someone thinks just because they paint "Kerala Air" on the side of the plane and come up with some sort of marketing gimmick that this will differentiate the product. I have no sympathy for investors and stakeholders who lose money is these types of projects.
Until India gets it's aviation house in order (read a government that wakes up and plays ball with the free market) this will be a venture that is doomed to fail. And it will be next to impossible to get financing for new aircraft thanks to VJM's pathetic display of business acumen.
Nobody in India can consistently make money in aviation. There is already plenty of service to and from Kerala and the surrounding states, both frills and non-frills, from Indian National carriers are foreign carriers.
Yet I'm sure someone thinks just because they paint "Kerala Air" on the side of the plane and come up with some sort of marketing gimmick that this will differentiate the product. I have no sympathy for investors and stakeholders who lose money is these types of projects.
Until India gets it's aviation house in order (read a government that wakes up and plays ball with the free market) this will be a venture that is doomed to fail. And it will be next to impossible to get financing for new aircraft thanks to VJM's pathetic display of business acumen.
