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| News |
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| GoAir |
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| April
30, 2006 |
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The
Asian Age, Agencies, Mumbai: GoAir
has announced that it is starting services
on new routes that will connect Mumbai, Delhi,
Srinagar, Jammu and Chennai. |
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| GoAir Aims to
Become Number One Low Cost Carrier |
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| April 30, 2006 |
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The
Free Press Journal, Bureau, Mumbai:
GoAir, the aviation firm of the Wadia Group,
aims to be the number one among low-cost carriers
in India. The airline launched in November
2005, covers 13 cities including Mumbai and
Delhi with 28 daily flights. It has a single
class 180-seat configuration on all its aircraft.
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| Kashmir Chinars
Bloom Again |
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| April 30, 2006 |
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The
Economic Times, Nandini Raghavendra &
Raja Awasthi, Mumbai: Winds
of change have been blowing once again. The
tourists are returning to fill the promenade
around Srinagar’s famed Dal Lake, even
as Gulmarg and Pahalgam record an encouraging
increase in visitors. “I must proudly
say the finally our efforts to promote Srinagar
have paid off,” says Rajji Rai, secretary-general,
Travel Agents’ Association of India
(TAAI) even as scores of his travel trade
colleagues join his effort to fill the Valley
with tourists once again. |
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Take
a look at these figures. The numbers of tourist
arrivals in the state have been going up steadily
from 28,000 in 2002 to 1.9 lakh in 2003, to
3.7 lakh in 2004 and exceeded 6 lakh in 2005.
The highest recorded arrivals so far have
been 7.22 lakh in 1989, making the 6 lakh
figure even more encouraging. If all goes
well, the J&K government expects about
12 lakh tourists to visit Kashmir this year
which will not only be double the figures
last year but will also surpass all previous
records. |
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In
fact, Deputy CM Muzzafar Hussain Beigh recently
said, “If we get less than 11 or 12
lakh tourists this year, I will be surprised
and that will not be a pleasant surprise,”
a number which will surpass all previous records.
In fact, Go Air has launched a direct flight
from Mumbai to Srinagar which has been very
well received. Similarly, religious tourism
has been increasing. Over 62 lakh pilgrims
visited Mata Vaishno Devi and 4 lakh paid
obeisance at Shri Amarnathji Holy Cave. |
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“Tourism
is on an upswing and the packages for Kashmir
are selling like hot cakes. In fact, even
the recent bomb explosions were not a deterrent
and it’s back to business as usual.
Even embassies of many countries have toned
down their advisories. The current tourist
season, which started in November, has been
the best so far. Be it a sports enthusiast,
a lover of nature or just a connoisseur of
good food, they all find something to appreciate
in this multifaceted paradise. One can safely
conclude that Kashmir ki kali is blooming
once again,” ends Rai. |
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| On
Board Shopping For Go Air Passengers |
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| April 30, 2006 |
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The
Free Press Journal, Bureau, Mumbai:
Passengers flying Go Air can now go shopping
on board with the airlines providing in-flight
shopping to its customers at a discounted
rate of upto 65 per cent. Passengers have
the option of making payment via credit card
or cash and also get a free home delivery
within 14 working days.
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| Singapore
Air Unit, Wadia May Form Venture |
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| April 29, 2006
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The
Financial Express, Bloomberg: India's
Wadia family, which owns GoAirlines (India)
Pvt, said it is in talks with the aircraft
maintenance arm of Singapore Airlines Ltd
to set up a facility for plane repairs in
the country. The facility will provide maintenance
and repair for Airbus SAS and Boeing Co planes
in India, Jeh Wadia, the managing director
of GoAirlines said in Mumbai on Friday. Details
of the venture with SIA Engineering Co will
be announced with-in a month, he said. |
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SIA
Engineering has been benefiting from the emergence
of discount carriers in the region including
Singapore-based Tiger Airways Pte and a venture
in India will enable it to tap a market that
emerged as the biggest buyer of new planes
from Airbus SAS and Boeing Co last year. Three
airlines have emerged in India in the past
two years and about a dozen more are awaiting
approval. "India is uniquely positioned
for such a facility", Mr Wadia said. |
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"There
are lots of airlines starting here, lots of
new airlines are coming to India and our land
price to do such a business is much cheaper
than Hong Kong and Singapore". The proposed
Indian facility will be able to service planes
of domestic and overseas airlines, Mr Wadia
said, adding work on the facility may start
in three months. Aircraft parts makers may
also become partners in the maintenance and
repair facility for air frames and engines,
he said. |
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The
Wadia family, which owns stakes in India's
biggest cookies maker Britannia Industries
Ltd and textile company Bombay Dyeing Ltd,
is also in discussions with Boeing, Airbus,
and Russian plane makers to buy or lease freighters
that can carry at least 30 tons, Mr Wadia
said, without naming the Russian companies.
"The cargo opportunity in India is fantastic.
We are working out the economics to start
competing with trains and trucks for goods
transport", he said. GoAir is in talks
now with companies to fill the cargo space
in its passenger planes to start its cargo
business, he said. |
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| Separately,
the Wadia family will set up a venture for
ground handling of baggage at airports and
an engineering training institute, hesaid.
Singapore Airlines, the world's No. 2 carrier
by market value, owns 84.6% of SIA Engineerin. |
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| Flying
Close To Ground |
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| April 28, 2006 |
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Business
India, Mumbai: It
was actually Jehangir (Jeh) Wadia's social
work with the Deendayal Research Institute
that motivated him to launch his low-cost
airline GoAir. "We are working in 500
villages in Chitrakoot on the UP-MP border,"
says Wadia, who was chief guest at the annual
day of the Confederation of Indian Industry-promoted
Young Indians (Yi) in Pune last fortnight.
At first, he used to go by private jet. Then
institute founder Nanaji Deshmukh told him
he should take the train; and that in itself
was a voyage in discovery for the scion of
the family that owns Bombay Dyeing, Bombay
Burmah Trading Corporation and Britannia.
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"It
takes 27 hours from Mumbai and 16 hours from
Delhi!" he says. "I was spending
less time in the villages than on the train."
It was this 'huge issue of connectivity' that
led him to conceive of a way to 'commoditise'
air travel — and GoAir was born, targeting
people who travel in the air-conditioned sleeper
classes. |
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| Wadia,
who believes that his work in Chitrakoot is
part of his 'higher purpose' in life - "I
believe I am here to make a difference,"
he says -fits well into the "We Can,
We Will" motto of Yi, a nationwide group
of young and successful professionals, owner-managers,
entrepreneurs and achievers who too believe
that they can contribute to the community
through participative action towards a shared
vision for India.
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| Inflight
Shopping in GoAir |
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| April 28, 2006
April 28, 2006 |
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| Hindustan
Times, PTI, Mumbai: Go Air is launching
on board shopping in its flights to its customers
at a discounted rate of up to 65 per cent.
This facility, which is expected to generate
revenue of Rs 2 crore a month for the airline,
would be offered in all the 27 flights.
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| Wadias,
SA May Tie Up |
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| April 26, 2006
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Hindustan
Times, Sabarinath M, Mumbai:
India is emerging as one of the major global
hubs for aircraft maintenance, repair and
overhaul (MRO) operations. Close on the heels
of American aircraft manufacturer Boeing announcing
its decision to invest $100 million to set
up an MRO hub in Nagpur, the Wadias are in
the final stage of negotiations to form a
joint venture with Singapore Airlines (SA)
for starting an MRO facility. Go Engineering,
the Wadia group company, and Singapore Airlines
Engineering are expected to join hands for
investing $50-$80 million to set up the facility.
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Sources
said the Wadias are in the process of locating
the site for the proposed venture. The location
may be either in one of the metros like Mumbai,
Chennai or Calcutta or in places like Nagpur.
“We will finalise the location shortly,”
said a source familiar with the matter. The
proposed facility will cater to the requirements,
both national as well as global airlines.
Singapore Airlines may look at forming a JV
since the distance between India and Singapore
is not much. |
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India
also has a vast pool of engineering talent,
according to aviation industry sources. “Paucity
of land in Singapore could be another reason,”
said another source. Singapore Airlines Engineering,
Lufthansa and Air France-KLM alliance run
the world’s largest aircraft main tenance
operations. While India is being increasingly
viewed as a low-cost hub for engineering operations,
many ventures will take shape, depending on
the new aviation policy of the government. |
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| The
policy is expected to have favourable measures
for outsourcing. Though the laws for outsourcing
security and ground handling will be liberalised,
it is not clear whether the same will be extended
to engineering operations. Currently, government
laws allow a domestic airline to outsource
engineering work only after completing 500
hours of flying. “This could be a deterrent
in the way for foreign investments,”
said an aviation analyst. |
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| GoAir
Mulls Funding Options for Growth Plans |
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| April 25, 2006
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The
Hindu Business Line, Bureau, Mumbai: GoAir,
the low-cost air carrier from the Wadia group,
is actively considering a variety of funding
options to support its future growth initiatives.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday,
Mr Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, however,
did not elaborate further on the issue. He
only indicated that this could happen in a
few months from now. "We are not in real
need. We are not in a hurry (to seek funds),"
he said. |
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The
airline, which runs 28 flights connecting
13 cities with a fleet of four aircraft, has
a load factor of 78-82 per cent. It expects
to break even this financial year. |
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Acquisition
plans: The family-owned
airline has chalked out aplan for acquiring
20 Airbus aircraft. The $1.6-billion deal
was signed at the Singapore Airshow last month.
Of these, 10 were confirmed and the remaining
optional. Mr Wadia said the airline would
have eight aircraft by the year-end, 18 by
the end of December 2007 and 33 a year later.
He said the company would like to have the
Airbus-320 family as it gave them flexibility
in utilising its manpower. |
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Stating that there was a huge
potential for low-cost air carrier business,
he said the company targeted to commoditise
air travel by winning over train passengers.
Speaking on the company's plans, Mr Wadia
said it believed in consolidating its position
in its `bases' and routes before moving
on to the next base and route.
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Hyderabad
connectivity: The
airline plans to expand its services from
Hyderabad to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and a
few non-metros in the next couple of months.
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| GoAir
Plans to Launch MRO Facility |
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April 25, 2006
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The
Financial Express, Corporate Bureau, Mumbai:
Low-cost carrier Go
Air, promoted by the Wadias, is planning to
launch Go Engineering, to provide maintenance,
repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities soon. It
is talking to Singapore International Airlines
Engineering Company to set up the facility.
"The new company will be independent of
Go Air. It will be finalised in the next 30
to 45 days and we are looking at various locations
to house the facility," Jeh Wadia, managing
director SAID. |
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Initial funding will come from
the family, and later it will lookatother
options, Mr Wadia said. However, he declined
to give the quantum of investment in the
new venture. But industry analysts see the
cost of putting up an MRO between $75 million
and $100 million. Go Engineering plans to
offer MRO facilities not only to its own
aircraft but to other players as well. Further,
it will offer services to various aircraft
-Boeing, Airbus and Embraer.
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It may be recalled that Boeing
has recently announced that it will set
up a MRO facility in Nagpur. With the Indian
aviation sector changing fast with newplayers
coming in and more aircraft flying into
and out of India, there is a need and a
huge opportunity for MROs. In fact, according
to one estimate, there will be over 700
commercial aircraft in India by 2009-10.
At present there are a little over 200 commercial
aircraft in the country. Meanwhile, GoAir
is planning to strengthen its distribution
for ticketing by using the vast network
of exclusive Bombay Dyeing outlets. It is
also evaluating direct services from Hyderabad
to Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
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| GoAir to Tap
India’s ‘Vast Opportunity’
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| April 25, 2006 |
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The
Asian Age, Correspondent, Mumbai:
GoAir, a low-cost carrier,
has picked Singapore Technologies Aerospace
(ST Aerospace), to set up a maintenance, repair
and overhaul (MRO) joint venture company in
India to tap the “vast opportunity”
that exists with the domestic aviation sector,
Mr Jeh Wadia, managing director of the airline,
said on Monday. ST Aerospace is a major provider
of MRO services in the AsiaPacific. The company
has a client base of more than 80 international
carriers and aerospace equipment manufacturers. |
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The JV company,
christened Go Engineering for the time being,
will have a separate management and shareholding
structure and the Wadias will be the funding
partner, while ST Aerospace will provide technical
knowhow, Mr Wadia said. The market for MROs
in India, excluding state-owned Air India
and Indian, is estimated at over $100 million
per annum. Setting up an MRO facility that
offers the complete suite of technical ser
vices solutions such as line maintenance,
A-checks and C-checks, can cost anywhere between
Rs 750 crores and Rs 1,500 crores, aviation
analysts said. |
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The
latest to enter the MRO space in India is
the Boeing Co., which announced this month
its plans of setting up an MRO in Nagpur at
an investment of $100 million. This diversification
in business strategy comes from the Wadia
group, even as it is looking at adding more
aircraft to its existing fleet of four Airbus
A320s. By December this year, GoAir will have
a fleet of eight, which will be scaled up
to 33 by December 2008. Apart from this, GoAir
will also has plans to launch a cargo airline. |
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| On
the location for the MRO, Mr Wadia said, “We
are looking at prospective sites and have
zeroed in on Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad
and Chennai. The selection of the site depends
on the frequency of international flights
to a particular city.” Meanwhile, GoAir
will be inducting the 20 Airbus aircraft that
it ordered for $1.6 billion during the Singapore
Air Show from 2007. On the funding for GoAir’s
growth plans, Mr Wadia said, “We are
considering various options to raise funds.
A final decision is expected in the next couple
of months.” |
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| GoAir |
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| April 20, 2006 |
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| Hindustan
Times, Agencies, Mumbai: GOAir, India’s
newest low-cost carrier, has selected CFM56-5B
engines to power its new fleet of 10 firm,
10 option Airbus A320 family aircraft.
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| GoAir |
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April 14, 2006
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| The
Asian Age, Agencies, Mumbai: Go Air has
selected CFM56-5B engines to power its new fleet
of 10 firms 10 option Airbus A320 family aircraft.
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| Mumbai To Srinagar,
Go Direct |
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| April 07, 2006 |
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Daily
News & Analysis, Ishfaq-ul-Hassan, Mumbai:
As Kashmir braces
to host 11 lakh tourists this year, GoAir
has become the first private airline to launch
direct Srinagar-Mumbai flights. The move makes
sense. Tourists from Maharashtra tot up to
30% of the total domestic arrivals in the
valley. “We will operate twice a week
in the initial stages. The frequency will
be ramped up after June,” said Jeh Wadia
(pictured), managing director of GoAir. Wadia
said most of the countrymen have never seen
slopes and snow. “Kashmir can match
world-class destinations and is very affordable.”
The aim is to leverage this opportunity. |
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Wadia said
by the year-end the airlines will start Delhi-Srinagar
operations as well to boost the tourist traffic.
GoAir would have additional five aircraft
in operation by the end of 2006. This number
would be racked up to 33 by the end of 2008.
GoAir announced it had placed an order for
20 Airbuses in Singapore last month. J&K
deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussian Beig,
who also holds the state tourism portfolio,
said the Srinagar airport is buzzing with
activity now and nine flights operate daily
from there. “We expect the number to
cross 12 flights a day,” he said. |
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Beig said
peace process has augured well for Kashmir
and it has helped in restoring the confidence
of tourists who intend to visit here. He
said the government is committed to building
infrastructure and in next two years two
more five-star hotels will come up. “In
addition some private parties are also setting
up hotels in the valley,” he said.
Beg, however, said the Jammu and Ladakh
regions, which have equally good tourism
potential, still sees poor connectivity
and airlines should leverage this too.
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| GoAir
Starts Mumbai-Srinagar Operations |
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| April 07, 2006
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| The
Free Press Journal, Agencies, Mumbai: Private
airline GoAir's Mumbai-Srinagar flight made
its maiden journey on Thursday with the company
announcing plans to launch a service between
Delhi and capital of Jammu and Kashmir. GoAir
chairman Jeh Wadia, who along with Jammu and
Kashmir deputy chief minister Muzaffar Baig,
travelled on the inaugural flight from Mumbai
to Srinagar, said that the service would cut
travel time between the two cities by nearly
three times. The airline, which would initially
operate two weekly flights between Mumbai
and Srinagar, would increase the frequency
depending on the demand, Wadia said
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| Were
These Ads Released, Or Did They Escape? |
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| April 05, 2006
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The
Economic Times, Preeti Vyass, Mumbai: It’s
ironic that during the awards season, when
we’re all supposed to be celebrating
creativity, one comes across a bunch of ads
like this. Some of them have halfway decent
ideas spoiled by indifferent execution; others
try to say too much and end up not saying
anything at all; and most of them chiefly
suffer from a lack of focus. It’s one
thing to lay the blame on creative’s
door, but what we also need to be asking is:
what were the servicing and planning people
doing presenting work like this? Someone please
send me a postcard from whichever planet these
briefs were written on. |
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GO
AIR: Here’s an interesting idea, but
one that simply hasn’t been executed
strongly enough. Every element in this communication
is so loud that nothing stands out, quite
frankly. Moreover, the fact that it doesn’t
tell you at a glance that it’s a promotional
offer is a major flaw. |
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| Jammu
& Kashmir On Radar |
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| April 03, 2006
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Hindustan
Times, Correspondent, Mumbai:
Low-cost airlines aree tapping the tourism
potential of Jammu & Kashmir and the piligrimmage
flow to that state. GoAir, promoted by the
Wadias, is set to begin Mumbai-Srinagar-Mumbai
direct flights to capitalise on the summer
holiday traffic. GoAir is the first airline
to start a direct flight to J&K and the
introductory fare for a Mumbai-Srinagar-Mumbai
GoAir return ticket would be Rs 10,999, during
the month of April. The airline has tied up
with the citybased Raja Rani Travels.
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“We
intend to connect Mumbai to Jammu. The route
will be Mumbai-Srinagar-Jammu-Srinagar-Mumbai.
We also plan to tap the Vaishnodevi-Amarnath
pilgrim traffic,” Ashish Kapadia, vice
president, business development, GoAir told
Hindustan Times. Currently, all other domestic
carriers including Indian Airlines flights
to Srinagar from Mumbai have a stopover at
Delhi ranging anywhere from an hour to four
hours. Also, on the way back, there is another
stopover of around five to six hours. |
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“GoAir’s
direct Mumbai-Srinagar flights will help travellers
save both cost as time,” said Bharat
Patil, director operations, Raja Rani Travels.
There is a lot of traffic on the Mumbai-Srinagar-Mumbai
route and this includes foreign tourists.
We would also like to increase tourist traffic
from Mumbai and Maharashtra. GoAir’s
flights may encourage this process, said Javid
Amin, J&K government’s resident
commissioner in Mumbai, who also oversees
tourism. |
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There
are around 500 shops owned by Kashmiris in
Mumbai sellingcarpets, shawls and other handicrafts
in the areas adjoining Taj Mahal Hotel at
Colaba. Direct flights would be beneficial
for Kashmir’s handicraft as well as
horticultural sectors. |
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| GoAir
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April 01, 2006
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The
Asian Age, Agencies, Mumbai: GoAir
may place some equity with select investors
in the near future, but has no plans of coming
out with an IPO, a senior airline official
said. |
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| GoAir
May Opt For lPO |
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| April 01, 2006
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The
Financial Express, Bureau, Mumbai: Wadias-owned
low-cost carrier GoAir is looking at various
options including coming out with an initial
public offer or private equity to finance
its aircraft. The company recently placed
orders for 20 A-320s for a value of $1.6 billion.
According to GoAir managing director JehWadia,
the company has not firmed up its plans of
raising funds in the future but may look at
options like private equity, IPO or just debt.
A decision to wards this is likely to be taken
towards the end of the year, he said. Mr Wadia
also announced launch of daily direct flights
between Delhi and Mumbai.
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| GoAir
Takes Tariff War To New Plane |
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| April 01, 2006
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The
Asian Age, PTI, Mumbai: Taking
the tariff war in the Indian aviation sector
to a different level, budget carrier GoAir
on Friday announced it would offer concessions
on its tickets to customers, who succeed in
getting a ticket from a rival airline that
is cheaper than its own on the same sector.
The airline, owned by the Wadia Group, would
also reimburse the cost of immediate cancellation
of its competitor’s tickets. Announcing
the competitive move to ‘commoditise’
air travel, GoAir managing director Jeh Wadia
told reporters: |
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“If
the price paid for the ticket bought on a
competing airline is lower than the price
paid for the GoAir ticket, then GoAir will
adjust double the difference between its fare
and the fare of the competing carrier as credit,”
which can be used to pur chase GoAir tickets.
“GoAir will also reimburse the cost
of cancellation done immediately of the other
airline’s ticket as credit, which can
be used to purchase GoAir tickets,”
he said, adding that this “challenge
will give the customer value for money which
no other airline offers.” |
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He
said the tickets of the airline at present
ranged from Rs 999 to Rs 2,999 and announced
that the Delhi-Mumbai flight would range between
Rs 999 and Rs 4,999 asking the passengers
to book early to get the concessional fares.
The airline also announced the addition of
its latest Airbus A-320 to its fleet. Announcing
its expansion plan, he said GoAir, which now
has three aircraft in its fleet, would add
five more by the year-end.
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| GoAir
To Connect More Cities |
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| April 01, 2006
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The
Hindu Business Line, Bureau, Mumbai: GoAir,
the low-cost airline, announced on Friday
that it would offer daily flights from Delhi
to Chennai and Mumbai from April 3 this year.
Addressing a press conference the airline's
Managing Director, Mr Jeh Wadia, said the
airline would also start a flight on the Mumbai-Srinagar-Jammu
sector. The airline has also launched a new
campaign `The GoAir challenge' which offers
passengers double the difference in airfare
if they are able to get a fare lower than
what is being offered by the airline on the
routes that it operates. |
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The
airline currently has a fleet of three Airbus
A-320 aircraft and plans to increase the fleet
strength to 33 aircraft in three years.
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| Airline
Tariff war On New Plane |
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April 01, 2006
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| The
Free Press Journal, Bureau, Mumbai: Taking
the tariff war in the Indian aviation sector
to a different plane, budget carrier GoAir
announced on Friday it would offer concessions
on its tickets to customers, who succeed in
getting a ticket from a rival air- . line
that is cheaper than its own on the same sector.
The airline will also reimburse the cost of
immediate cancellation of its competitor's
tickets. |
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