Desicritics Category: BizTech: Aviation

Miracle on Hudson: All Survive US Plane Crash in New York

Aaman Lamba — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:57:03 EST

The new year, which has already given us much shock and awe, delivered a note of relief when all 155 passengers and 5 crew members were rescued from US Airways Flight 1549 which crashed minutes after take off from New York's La Guardia Airport, en route to Charlotte, NC.

The Airbus A320 plane had barely gained altitude from the relatively short runway at La Guardia when an engine appeared to blow and the pilot warned passengers to brace themselves. He was able to land the plane into the nearby Hudson river, albeit with a thud. The evacuation appears to have gone well, with all passengers exiting the craft quickly and safely. Nearby boats and ferries rushed to rescue the bedraggled passengers, on one of the coldest days of the year, with temperatures around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The investigation will reveal what may have gone wrong, but a FAA spokesperson indicated it could be due to various reasons, including a flock of birds being sucked into the engine, although such incidents were rare. The pilot reported a "double bird strike" and the plane had reached an altitude of 3200 feet before being forced to descend. Given low visibility and the shape of La Guardia's runway, the pilot would have had little time to respond to a flight of birds as he took off from the airport.

Passengers were being treated for hypothermia. Executives from Bank of America and Wells Fargo-Wachovia Bank were on board, as the banks are headquartered in Charlotte, the plane's destination.

Chandrayaan-I: Money Down the Drain or Time to Celebrate?

B Shantanu — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:56:56 EDT

A few hours ago, ISRO put “Chandrayaan-I” into transfer orbit around the earth, heralding its “Mission to Moon”.

This is a proud moment for the team at ISRO working tirelessly for the last several months, sometimes right through the night.

It is also be a proud moment for India’s indigenous space research programme and more broadly, India’s indigenous R&D efforts - the seeds of which were planted barely a few decades ago.

But questions are being asked…and doubts are being raised.

“Was this the best use of the country’s limited resources?”, “What will this mission really achieve?”, “Will it have any impact on the problems that we are facing today e.g. poverty, hunger, malnutrition?”

At a fundamental level, such questions assume that this is a zero-sum game and there is a constraint on funds for developmental projects. I do not agree with that…India’s main developmental challenge is inefficient (I would even go to the extreme of saying extremely inefficient) utilisation of resources rather than lack of funds.

Having said that, the answer to these questions is neither simple nor straightforward.

While the launch will cost money (although relatively speaking it will be a small amount: Rs 386 cr./~$80m), the benefits are more difficult to compute. How do you put a value on India’s credibility and prowess in R&D research? How do you put a value on the indirect gains that will accrue (in terms of geo-politics)?

How can you quantify the benefits and the advantages of being at the vanguard of space research and exploration? and how can you emphasize the importance of R&D and activities targeted at the next decade?

Many would remember that the same - and similar - questions were asked of ISRO’s focus on remote sensing satellites in the past two decades… The question - and the “answer” - was eloquently articulated in this article in the New Scientist:

But why is India, a country that still has so many development problems on the ground, aiming for the heavens? To Indian scientists, the question is not only patronizing of their scientific aspirations, it betrays an ignorance of the Indian space program’s greater purpose and successes against the odds….

Take, for example, India’s six remote-sensing satellites — the largest such constellation in the world. These monitor the country’s land and coastal waters so that scientists can advise rural communities on the location of aquifers and where to find watercourses, suggest to fishermen when to set sail for the best catch, and warn coastal communities of imminent storms. India’s seven communication satellites, the biggest civilian system in the Asia-Pacific region, now reach some of the remotest corners of the country, providing television coverage to 90% of the population. The system is also being used to extend remote health-care services and education to the rural poor.

In addition…

The “super-cyclone” that hit India’s eastern coast on Oct 29, 1999, could have killed thousands but for an INSAT satellite that tracked its course every half hour identifying areas that needed to be evacuated.

What does ISRO have to say about the benefits of the Mission to Moon? In their own words:

The Study Report of the Task Team was discussed in April 2003 by a peer group of about 100 eminent Indian scientists…After detailed discussions, it was unanimously recommended that India should undertake the Mission to Moon, particularly in view of the renowned international interest on moon with several exciting missions planned for the new millennium.

In addition, such a mission will provide the needed thrust to basic science and engineering research in the country including new challenges to ISRO to go beyond the geostationary orbit.

Further, such a project will also help bringing in young talents to the arena of fundamental research. The Academia, in particular, the university scientists would also find participation in such a project intellectually rewarding.

Needless to say, “If you want to do space exploration, the Moon is where you have to start.”

Asked about the relevance of the Mission to Moon for a “poor nation” like India, G Madhavan Nair had this to say in a recent interview:

How do you handle criticism from a section of the people that a poor nation like India shouldn’t be wasting money on projects like Chandrayaan?

We have faced this question in the early phase of the programme. We are convinced that we are doing more service to the society than the money spent on the programme. But to doubly assure ourselves, we asked a school of economics in Chennai a couple of years back to make an assessment. The report they submitted was really mind-boggling. They found that what we have given back to the society in terms of products and services is something like one and half times more than the cumulative investment made on the entire space programme. Leave alone the infrastructure, the technology, the human resources and the various laboratories we have developed, if we add all that it is certainly more than five times spent on the programme.

Plus there are clear commercial gains.ISRO already has a subsidiary called Antrix (from “Antariksha” = space) which provides services for commercial launch of satellites and payloads into orbit. These services leverage ISRO’s “frugal engineering” to provide a compelling cost advantage in the market for satellite launch services. Last year’s Antrix’s turnover was shy of $240m on which it made a profit of ~ $35m. Chandrayaan itself is carrying 6 payloads for other agencies which would explore the lunar surface over the next two years.

A successful launch will help further commercialisation of these services and add to our credibility. It will increase our launch and space mission capabilities and help us play a prominent role in international negotiations and strategic discussions on space related matters. It would also help ISRO recruit talented engineers and scientists.

There may also be spin-off benefits in related areas of defence research (e.g in development of ICBM capabilities). Besides the cost of the Mission (of ~$80m) is only a fraction of ISRO’s annual budget, is spread over mutliple years and some of the investment is in facilities that will be re-used for other services and launches (e.g. the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu, near Bangalore, established at a cost of $20m - which will also serve future satellites). And all this is done within an annual budget that is less than a tenth of NASA’s (according to this report, in 2006, ISRO’s annual budget was less than 3% of NASA!).

All in all, the Mission to Moon gives great bang-for-the buck.

Yes, it would not directly put food in hungry mouths…yes, it would not directly put any money in the pockets of the impoverished…but the gains that accrue have a huge geo-strategic significance and will help India’s ascendancy on the world stage – not to mention providing a booster shot to indigenous R&D efforts.

We would do well to cheer it.

From the Rig Veda:

“O Moon! We should be able to know you through our intellect. You enlighten us through the right path.” Today, Chandrayaan has set out on this right path.

त्वम सोम पर चिकितॊ मनीषा, त्वम रजिष्ठमनु नॆषि पन्थाम ॥

Tvam Soma para chikito manisha. Tvam rajishtamanu neshi panthaam. Rig Veda (Hymn 91)

For the more curious amongst you, here is the link to the home page of the Mission, link to FAQs and an informative booklet [~700k pdf file]. There is even a YouTube video on the Mission (I don’t think it is by ISRO though)!

To close, here is an uplifting extract from Newsweek on how India’s vision might just show the way for mankind’s next giant leap:

India’s investment in Earth observation satellites over the years comes to only about $500 million per satellite, about a tenth of the cost of its Western counterparts. After introducing a satellite service to locate potential fish zones and broadcasting the sites over All India Radio, ISRO helped coastal fishermen double the size of their catch. For the government’s Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, begun in 1986, satellites have improved the success rate of government well-drilling projects by 50 to 80 percent, saving $100 million to $175 million. Meteorological satellites have improved the government’s ability to predict the all-important Indian monsoon, which can influence India’s gross domestic product by 2 to 5 percent.

Next, ISRO plans to roll out satellite-enabled services to hundreds of millions of farmers in India’s remote villages. In partnership with NGOs and government bodies, it has helped to set up about 400 Village Resource Centers so far. Each provides connections to dozens of villages for Internet-based services such as access to commodities pricing information, agricultural advice from crop experts and land records. ISRO’s remote-sensing data will also help village councils develop watersheds and irrigation projects, establish accurate land records and plan new roads connecting their villages with civilization as cheaply and efficiently as possible. One ISRO partner—the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation—has used satellites to conduct 78,000 training programs for more than 300,000 farmers in 550 villages, teaching them about farming practices like drip-and-sprinkle irrigation, health-care awareness programs for diseases like malaria and tuberculosis, and information about how to access government services. Using satellites to guide reclamation of 2 million hectares of saline and alkaline wastelands is expected to generate income of more than $500 million a year.

…and here is a great account of how far we have come in 45 years:

The launch of a US-made Nike-Apache Sounding Rocket from Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram, on Nov 21, 1963, marked the beginning of India’s space odyssey…

…Recalling the incident, R. Aravamudan, who has been associated with the Indian space programme from the very beginning, says: “There were no buildings yet in the range (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station -TERLS). Our first office was in the bishop’s house and the St. Mary Magdalene church building there.”

“Once the rocket was launched, there was no telemetry or radar tracking, only photography from three stations of the vapour cloud. The orange vapour trail was visible from all over Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu. This created great excitement. Since the common public had never seen such a sight before, it also gave rise to some hilarious newspaper reports.”

…”We had to make use of public transport as there were no official vehicles yet and no canteen. So, our day began with a quick breakfast of idli sambar at the Railway Station Canteen, which was the only place where we could get food to our taste.

We would then pack some snacks and lunch from the same canteen and go to the bus stand to catch a mofussil bus to Kazhakkutam. We would get down at the bus stand there and walk about a kilometre or so to the range. The whole trip took about an hour.

“The range (TERLS) was quite large in area and the only means of transport within the range was by bicycle. Those like (A.P.J. Abdul) Kalam, who could not cycle, had to hitch rides with others.”

*Somewhat* Related Post: Of Vimanas and Time Travel

Recommended Reading: G Madhavan Nair’s interview in Outlook.

Jet Airways Reverses Layoffs, Naresh Goyal Apologizes

Aaman Lamba — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:18:02 EDT

In another indication that capitalism as practiced in India is tempered by the socialist and democratic framework it operates in, Jet Airways founder and Chairman Naresh Goyal announced the company had reinstated all 1,900 employees who had been retrenched only yesterday. They would join duty on October 17th.

Mr. Goyal apologized to the employees and indicated that the move might have been a hasty decision, among a clutch of options considered for reducing costs. He said the decision to reinstate the employees had been his own, made without consulting anyone. He also stressed that the earlier decision to layoff employees had not been related to the proposed alliance with Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines. He said a joint Jet-Kingfisher Alliance Council had been set up to explore cost reduction options, including route rationalization and shared costs.

The layoffs had evoked negative reactions from various quarters, with the employees' union planning a Jet Airways boycott, and heated comments from Maharastrian politico Raj Thackeray. It had been followed by an announcement from Air India that 15,000 employees were being asked to proceed on 3-5 years leave without pay. The Indian airline industry had been grappling with the prospect of drastic shrinkage in travel arising out of high fuel costs and the general economic slowdown. The Indian government is being propositioned for a large bail-out package to avoid potential bankruptcies in the industry.

The emotional announcement by Mr. Goyal came as a surprise, and his frankness was in stark contrast to typical bland corporate announcements. The future of the industry and Jet Airways may still be uncertain, but there's no gainsaying that Mr. Goyal has won the hearts of his employees for now.

Secret Rules for Air Hostesses

Lekhni — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 10:44:28 EDT

How does an air hostess's weight matter ? Of course it's vital, as any airlines will tell you. Air hostesses must be slim and young and pretty. Never mind if they are not courteous or speak such poor English that they do not understand what "toast" means. That's not what their job is about anyway.

The Hon'ble (male) judges of the Delhi High Court would agree. The Court thinks that Air India (or Indian or whatever they call themselves now) was right to ground five air hostesses because they were overweight. This is what the Hindu reports:

The rules prescribe different weight limits according to their height and age. For an 18-year-old air hostess with a height of 152 cm, the maximum weight permissible is 50 kg while air hostesses in the age group of 26 to 30 and a height of 152 cm, the weight limit is 56 kg.

Of course, Air India itself is very overweight and the Maharajah packs a hefty paunch, but then the Maharajah is not an air hostess.

I had always thought that air hostesses are really a sort of glorified waitress. Except, they are waitresses who don't depend on customers' tips for their income, which explains why air hostesses in US airlines are so rude to passengers. But apparently not. Air hostesses must be in the fashion industry. Why else would they have rules saying air hostesses can't marry, get old or put on weight? I thought such rules were only reserved for models. Also obviously, male stewards are not in the fashion industry. That is why none of these restrictions apply to them.

But why stop at just age and weight? The airlines have other secret rules for air hostesses that explain the quirks in their appearance, behavior and the quality of airline service these days. I have seen these rules in action in the US, and I am sure they exist in India (or Indian). So for readers of this blog, I am letting you into a trade secret that is guarded zealously by the airline industry. I shall tell you the secret rules.

The Six Secret Rules for air hostesses:

Rule 1: Air hostesses should remember that they are, first and foremost, sales persons. They are responsible for selling stale trail mix, cheap headphones and overpriced blankets and pillows. Unfortunately, airlines do not as yet sell water, so air hostesses should refrain from handing out water unless specifically requested by passengers. Even then, they should provide water only in tiny water cups.

Rule 2: All air hostesses should wear high heels that are at least 6 inches high. Heels of five inches may be permitted in special cases, with prior approval. They should sashay through the aisle, rolling carts on high heels, and also use these heels to curb passengers who demand too much attention, like extra cups of water.

Rule 3: Air hostesses should have long fingernails that are at least an inch long. Long fingernails are an important accessory that can be used to dip into cups and discourage use of complimentary drinks by passengers. They can also be used to poke passengers while handing out cups of water and juice.

Rule 4: Make up is very important. Nail polish and lip stick should always be bright red in color. Also, make-up should be applied heavily, so the face looks pale, contrasting with the bright red lipstick. Eyes should be heavily made up. This appearance, when combined with a glare, may scare some of the more timid passengers.

Rule 5: Hair color should be brown on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On all other days, it should be black. Red and orange highlights are recommended.

Rule 6: Air hostesses should give the appearance of smiling at passengers. But genuine smiles are not recommended, in case the passengers get too friendly and request additional cups of water, newspapers or other services currently free.

The airlines take interaction with passengers very seriously. Hidden cameras will be placed above each seat to monitor whether air hostesses chat with passengers or otherwise indulge in courteous behavior. Such behavior can attract disciplinary action. Air hostesses are permitted to be rude to economy class passengers, however, and also to smile in relief, however, when passengers depart the plane.

Perhaps there are more. Certainly the airlines seem to invent a new rule every day, and you just have to open the papers to learn about it.

The Bangalore International Airport - The Day One Experience

Anuradha Goyal — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:57:03 EDT

I was to land in Bangalore on 24th May in the morning at 8:45 AM, and this turned out to be the exact date on which Bangalore’s new international airport was to commence operations. To be honest, I was sincerely hoping that I land at the old airport as it is a hop. skip, and jump from my place. And the closer you were to the old Bangalore, the farther you are from the new airport in Devanahalli. But now that I have landed at BIAL on day one and got comfortably back home, it feels good to be a part of the history. There have been so many debates, arguments, views and controversies around opening of BIAL that I want to share the experience if being there on Day 1.

As we were landing at 8:30 AM on Saturday morning, all those who were returning home wanted to peep out and have a glimpse of the new airport from the top. While landing at HAL, I could always see my apartment complex, and a whole lot of other identifiable landmarks. At BIAL, it was a vast empty space all around and then there were two airstrips in the middle of nowhere. The first look at airport from the plane window did not give a great impression, it looked like a building still under construction. It is definitely much bigger and better than HAL, but is it big enough to take care of the potential air traffic of Bangalore in coming years, I am not sure. As we landed through an aerobridge, which used to be a rarity at HAL, it felt nice to go through an absolutely new aerobridge still to be adorned with advertisements or any other kind of messages or notices. As we walked out, the place looked a little deserted, but none the less everyone carried a curious look on their faces as they walked towards the immigration counters.

The counters look ported from the old airport, not very different and I think they could have been better designed. They look like counters in old time banks and are situated too close to each other. The yellow line to separate the queues and the counters is yet to be drawn. The number of counters was good enough to clear most passengers within 5-6 minutes. I spoke to the immigration officer who was excited to be at the new airport. When I asked him is he happy about being in the new facility he said, 'Its day 1 - lets see how it goes’.

The toilets were a big disappointment. Less than 9 hours of operations and the toilets were dirty, filthy and it appeared that they had not been cleaned at all since being opened. The down escalator was not working, but there were people attending to it and it started working in about 30 mins or so. Baggage carousels are well designed, a lot of people can stand by them and collect their baggage. While immigration was finished in 5 mins, we had to wait at least an hour before the carousel started moving, which everyone applauded loudly. I was lucky to get my baggage very fast after it started moving. While waiting for the baggage, I moved around to see the airport and strolled around a few retail outlets, most of which were still in the setup mode and were fixing things. The prices mentioned were in dollars and I wonder why.

The whole airport carries a resemblance to the Infosys campus, especially the washrooms. Similar designs and materials have been used, probably because of the Mr Narayana Murthy being at the helm of affairs at both places…There was a huge board saying ‘I came here First’ with the lovely BIAL logo, open to everyone to sign on it. It felt great to sign on it. If you happen to see it, look out for my signature right on I.

As I came out of the airport, the view outside was almost similar to the one at HAL, loads and loads of taxi guys with placards waiting for their customers. It is when you go past them that you are able to see the other options to get back home. Thanks to the very active association of my apartment complex, I knew that I have to take the Electronic City bus to reach home. The Volvo bus station is about 200-300 mts from the arrival gate. You can take the trolley right up to the bus. The conductor helped me load the luggage on the bus. The buses are well designed to carry lots of luggage and can seat 31 persons. The conductor had a small machine around his neck which he used to issue tickets. The ticket to Sarjapur road junction on ORR costs Rs 150/-. You can also take taxis, which are flat priced at Rs 15/- per km. For most of us living in south Bangalore, I guess the bus is a better option than taxis, especially for women traveling alone as its one long stretch of lonely roads. The bus was comfortable and it took me 1 hour and 20 mins to cover approx imately 50 kms. It was a Saturday, so it might take a little longer on weekdays and during peak hours.

I think the Volvo buses are going to be a huge hit, provided there are enough of them. With only a capacity of 31 persons, we would need a lot of them. Buses are a good option to come back from the airport, but to go there they may end up serving only those who board them from the starting point. This would mean we need many more starting points or routes for the buses. Another idea may be exploring Taxi pooling to and from huge apartment complexes, organizations and hotels. This can reduce pressure on everything: roads, environment and pockets.

In my opinion it would take another 3-4 months by the time everything smoothens out, and the airport wears its planned swanky look. Overall, it was a nice experience to be there on Day 1, far better than what most newspapers made it out to be.

James Watson Vs. Howard Gardner - What Does Intelligence Mean?

Uma Ranganathan — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 05:10:17 EDT

The other day my mother expressed her opinion on James Watson’s remarks on intelligence in her usual succinct fashion. “He thinks blacks are less intelligent than whites? Why don’t we plonk Watson in the middle of the Kalahari desert and see how long he survives”, she said with a mean glint in her eye.

In fact the real debate about intelligence has to do with far more than some misconceived remarks made by an elderly Nobel prize winner for physiology and medicine. It has to do with the general view of intelligence in our society. Just look around you and this is what you see. That the branch of intelligence we worship by and large, is that which destroys, which alienates human beings from each other and to top it all pollutes the world to such an extent that many of us are no longer able to even breathe freely. True, at the material level modern intelligence has led to some pretty mind-boggling innovations, to technologies which have extended our life spans, have licked horrendous diseases considered to have been fatal till a short while back, and deepened our sense of comfort. Which I can hardly grumble about considering my own mania for creature comforts - electricity, running water, modern plumbing and all the rest. But one can’t help noticing how little this so-called intelligence has done for our sense of responsibility or dignity as human beings. There is nothing either responsible, dignified or half way creative about all that is going on in the world today in the name of religion, morality or nationalism.

The education system almost throughout the civilized world is centered around a philosophy which subtly (and often not so subtly) implies that the most smart talking, most powerful, most exploitative, most cunning people are the most intelligent. At least those are the ones who are rewarded, initially with good grades and later with recognition and wealth. A few nuts or eccentrics might be aware of and occasionally expound on Harvard Professor Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence but how many?

Gardner in fact lists seven different areas of intelligence: linguistic (the kind that would make you a poet), logical-mathematical (which you would need to be a scientist), musical, spatial (as in a sculptor or pilot), kinesthetic (intelligence of the body, which dancers need for example), interpersonal (intelligence related to the ability to connect with others) and intrapersonal intelligence (being aware of oneself). These were the original seven kinds of intelligence described by Gardner although later he added one more to the list, which he called the naturalist intelligence, the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals and animals.

Gardner’s theory might gladden the hearts of those human beings whose faculties fall outside those of traditionally defined intelligence, but still it is small consolation. How many parents do you know even today, for example, who would genuinely encourage their son to learn dancing instead of physics or law? How many parents would be happy to support a child’s artistic talents instead of egging him or her on to take up a respectable profession like medicine or engineering?

Once we’re done with verbally thrashing Watson for his remarks perhaps we should use the point he has raised as a launching pad to examine some of our own preconceived notions of what intelligence means. If you ask me one of the basic points on which I would personally judge intelligence is the ability to not only survive but to live in harmony with each other, in a kind of relationship which brings beauty, grace and creativity into our lives. Judging by the sort of world we have jointly produced, I would say we human beings (at least till now) have failed the test.

Sunita Williams, Potato Chips, and Space Research

Uma Ranganathan — Mon, 8 Oct 2007 11:40:12 EDT

The Indian media reminds me of a one-man dog. Once it gets hold of someone you find the person’s mug all over the press and television. Of course unlike a one-man dog the fancy doesn’t last a lifetime but for a few weeks or at the most some months. If the person in favor happens to be Mr. A. Bachchan, well you find Mr. A. Bachchan’s face plastered all over the dailies and the weeklies and dominating a string of talk shows as well, so that no matter who you are or what you do, in a while you’re eating, sleeping, dreaming of Mr. A. Bachchan. Some years ago our cook A, actually came to me giggling over a dream in which Mr. AB had figured. “We were both sitting in a car,” she said, “And he was dropping me off at the airport. When it was time to part, there were tears in his eyes and in mine as well.”

I said to her, “Oh heck, why did you have to pick on Mr. AB to dream about and she giggled, “That’s what I asked myself too! I don’t even like him particularly. The guy I used to be really mad about was Dharmendra.”

These days a person whose visage you can’t get away from is Sunita Williams. We are discovering all kinds of things about her including her penchant for samosas and how India’s president made sure she was provided them during a presidential tea party.

Don’t get me wrong. Sunita Williams comes across as a really nice, down to earth, personable young woman. I kind of like her. But this mania for space research? So all the kids in India are now gearing up to be astronauts? Naturally a few unwanted questions come to mind.

If the passion and energy that the U.S. and some other countries invest in space journeys were to be invested in revamping medical care all over the world, (especially in the U.S. with its notoriously exorbitant health care system) how would the world look?

If the money spent on space trips could be pumped into projects to feed, clothe and educate all the people on earth, would that make us human beings seem less creative or inspired as a race? Why don’t human beings spend just a little more time and make a little more effort to understand their own psyche and how to streamline the functioning between the different nations? Why don’t they look at ways to ensure that the benefits are really divided in an equitable manner between us all?

And as for journeys into outer space - in my experience, journeying into the space of your own mind and connecting with other individuals in a space in which one can move around with freedom and openness, seems far more rewarding than sitting in a rocket and taking off for the moon. I never have been to the moon but can well get a feel of the universe which Williams describes from where I am on earth. “When you are up in space,” she says, “You see the vastness of the universe and realize you are just one little piece.” Maybe some people need to get out there to really feel it. Some can sense it sitting in their own homes, on the balcony or in the garden, on a lonely beach by the sea, gazing at the stars above.

“You might say I’m a dreamer,” to quote John Lennon. You might say I’m not in touch with “reality”. Maybe the reality of human beings is to keep conquering new worlds (including those in cyberspace) leaving vast slums and mounting neurosis in their wake. Maybe this is our destiny. Maybe I should ask to be born a Martian in my next life. So what if I look like ET? There’s a chance that society on Mars or some other remote planet will turn out to be somewhat more congenial than the one we’ve tacked together between us on earth. But then again, you never know. I think I’ll just settle for a bag of potato chips when I finish writing this. Like I said yesterday, I’m definitely giving up eating chips tomorrow.

Bring the Maharaja Down to Earth

Jitesh — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:13:59 EDT

After months of unsuccessfully peddling Alitalia, the Italian government is now contemplating a liquidation of the insolvent national airline. "When something is diseased, you need to amputate it," Infrastructure Minister Antonio Di Pietro said.

While reading the entire story, it was hard not to draw parallels with the geriatric Maharajah of India and his domestic help – ‘Indian’. For as long as I can remember, Air India and Indian Airlines have been on life support, bolstered by government subsidies and powerful unions. Lately, competition from a bullish private sector has rendered the national airline more irrelevant than ever.

However, the Indian government continues to apply lipstick on the pig with ill-conceived merger plans and rebranding campaigns at the tax-payer’s expense. The pent-up demand for air travel in India is helping sustain the government’s misdirected efforts, but at what cost?

I travel to India several times a year for work and the starkness of the Air India and Indian Airlines facilities at most airports is galling. The check-in counters occupy prime real-estate but serve only a trickle of customers when compared to a Jet or an Air Deccan (and I am told much of that patronage comes from government babus for whom it is mandatory to fly on the national carrier). One routinely hears of the harrowing experiences of flying on Indian Airlines in contrast to the raving reviews of Jet and Kingfisher.

There is, and has been for some time, a strong case for pulling the plug on state-run airlines in India.

My friends tell me I’m a capitalist schmuck and don’t appreciate the service provided by Indian Airlines to destinations that would otherwise be unattractive to private carriers. The argument defies all logic because if that were the sole purpose of the state-run airline, it should not be flying the mainstream routes at all. By flying to cities like Mumbai and New Delhi, Indian Airlines introduces a shoddy, subsidized product into a market where the private airlines are already engaged in a fierce dogfight.

The Civil Aviation ministry would do well to take a cue from their Italian counterparts, and euthanize the ailing Maharajah once and for all.

Patna and Pune: India's Most Dangerous Airports?

arZan — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:06:00 EDT

The TOI has an article in today's edition about the lack of safety standards at Indian airports.

With an additional 12,000 flights this year compared with 2006, the rise in the number of skids and incidents is not surprising. The Sao Paulo tragedy has raised the question: how safe are Indian runways? The consensus in the aviation industry is that the two most unsafe airports in the country are those at Pune and Patna. However, it's not as if the rest are up to standard. [link]

While I have never landed in Pune, I have once in Patna. It was a long time ago in 1996, and the only thing I remember was that the airport was spectacularly boring from what I could see.

My vote for the weirdest airport in India would go to Nagpur hands down. Infact I am surprised that the airport was so bad, because Nagpur is a prominent city in Central India.

A lot of issues make airports unsafe. However the one big issue is length of runways. Its surprising that a lot of Indian airports do not have runways that are at least 9000 feet as per safety norms. In recent years Indian aviation has taken off literally and therefore its all the more surprising that infrastructure has not kept pace. Privatisation could be one answer, but the government has dragged its feet on the issue for years before offering some leeway on this accord with the airports in Bombay and Delhi.

Which airport according to you is the scariest one in India?

UB Group Acquires 26% Stake in Air Deccan - More Consolidation in the Skies

Rajiv Renganathan — Thu, 31 May 2007 21:49:03 EDT

From Kingfisher v/s Air Deccan to Kingfisher + Air Deccan- This seems like a story of two good friends who could not be rivals at business! Captain G.R. Gopinath and Vijay Mallya have joined hands. Vijay Mallya's UB Group is buying 26% stake in Air Deccan. The sale is termed as a "strategic financial investment”. What that means for now is that Vijay Mallya does not gain management control of Air Deccan. It would however gain a management role in the low-cost airline. G.R Gopinath will be the executive chairman and Vijay Mallya, the vice chairman of Air Deccan. The future will be interesting to watch the changing face of the pioneer of low-cost airlines in India and the role the man who described his airline's business to be "transport people between 2 places at the lowest cost and nothing more."

Launched in August 2003, Air Deccan has come a long way. Air Deccan has made flying affordable to the common man. To a business man, it has opened up a new business arena of low cost airlines. Air Deccan exploited an unexplored potential and on the back of it a host of low-cost airlines have mushroomed in recent years. In terms of numbers, Air Deccan hast the largest route network covering over 55 cities with a fleet size of 43. It has a market share of 20% making it the second largest airline in India. All this in a short span of about 4 years is highly commendable. However, the answer to one key question in any business- "Are you making profit?" turns the numbers topsy -turvy. Air Deccan reported losses of Rs. 356 crores in the last financial year. With 22% of the airline owned by the promoters and rest among public- VC funds, FIIs, Individuals including 11% by Lachmandas Ladhani, it seems it became difficult to keep flying without a co-pilot!

On the personal front, I have liked Air Deccan for the prices. My liking ends there. I have had bad memories with flight delays and reschedules. I have failed to understand the concept of "free seating" which only creates confusion and discomfort. When a simple software can churn out seat numbers, why not! I have had to wait for 30 minutes on call to speak to a customer service representative. When I made an attempt to cancel tickets in March, I was told that they have lost data in a system upgrade that included the price of my tickets! It is June and I am yet to get my money. Personal experiences aside, Air Deccan continues to provide the opportunity for many, who never expected to fly once in their life time.

The stage is set for the next phase- Kingfisher-Deccan versus Jet-Sahara combine. On the sidelines is the Air India-Indian merger. All this is immaterial for the common man- this is no end to the party. He can continue to watch for the "Fly at Rs 0" ads on daily newspaper.