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it was launched, but in course of time, escalation of costs of certain components forced the authorities to jettison the important facilities. With the project nearing completion, the AAI had sent a revised estimate for the expansion project to Public Investments Board (PIB) a few months ago. The AAI had already constructed a shell for the benefit of comfortable movement of passengers from the new domestic terminal to the new international terminal on the southern side of the airport and vice-versa. Once the PIB gives its nod the AAI will import the travelators and install it.
Skytrax honours Indian airports Between the four private sector airports — two Greenfield and two modernized — are the top four airports in India according to Skytrax. Delhi and Hyderabad are at number one and number three spots while Bengaluru and Mumbai are sandwiched at two and four, respectively. However, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has been rated as the World’s Most Improved Airport in 2012. The World Airport Awards were based on 12 million survey questionnaires completed by airline customers of over 100 different nationalities during a nine month survey period in 2011-2012, covering more than 388 airports worldwide. Commenting on the occasion Edward Plaisted, the Chairman of Skytrax, said, “Coinciding with the opening of the new Terminal 3, there has been a significant improvement in product standards for passengers travelling into Delhi International Airport. The enhanced airside transit service, and better shopping and dining options have really improved the passenger experience and Delhi
Passengers in the VIP lounge at Delhi airport.
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Training future aviation leaders
n the framework of the EU-India Institutional Capacity Building for the civil aviation sector initiative, an Aviation Diploma project has been awarded to the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt am Main (UAS Frankfurt). The main aim of the programme is to support the booming Indian aviation sector with highly qualified staff and the establishment of institutional networks between European and Indian institutions. The MBA in Aviation Management programme is designed for those who aim to assume managerial responsibilities, possibly in an international context, while meeting the special requirements of the aviation sector. In order to attract participants from different regions, lectures have been arranged in two-week blocks. The study programme will be based in Delhi and the Indian partner, the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), will support the project by providing faculty. The study course will last four semesters and lead to the degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA) from UPES and UAS. Admission requirements will include an undergraduate degree, two years’ professional experience in aviation, advanced English-language skills and a Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or CAT. According to Andrea Janssen of the
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CRUISING HEIGHTS May 2012
Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, who was in Delhi to announce the launch of the programme, the initial response from the Indian aviation majors has been good. “There will be two groups of 25 students each to kick start the programme which will begin in September this year,” she said. She also added that the course cost would be much less — possibly onefourth the cost — than what students would have paid to attend the university in Germany. Frankfurt University has the relevant expertise and experience in the field: the English-language part-time Master’s Degree Programme in Aviation Management, the only one of its kind in Germany, was launched in the winter term 2011-12 at the UAS Frankfurt. During the course, postgraduate students from both Germany and abroad will be given the necessary education for taking on executive positions in international companies operating in the field of aviation. “We are pleased that we have been chosen by the EU to carry out the programme,” explained Professor Yvonne Ziegler, Dean of the Business and Law Faculty at the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt. “Together with our partner university in India we now have the unique opportunity of preparing students on the spot for the challenges arising from the rapidly growing aviation sector in India.” Delhi International Airport (DIAL) has welcomed the revision in aeronautical charges promulgated by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA). In a press release, DIAL has said, considering that the charges were stagnant for the last decade (since 2001), the revision of charges was much below its expectations. Tariff calculations show that the approximate increase in ticket pricing on account of passenger fee per passenger, for the year 2012-13, worked out to `290 on an average for domestic and `580 on an average for international. Delhi airport will compare favourably to other major global airports where passenger fees range between $ 25(`1300) to $ 30 (`1560) on an average, thus making a very soft impact on the passengers.