Page 7 - AAA JULY-AUGUST 2012 Online Magazine

NEWS

Pay parity for Air India
Indian civil aviation minister Ajit Singh
STA converted released a recommendation for Air
India’s pay-parity between the two
ST Aerospace has signed agreements with Airbus, EADS, and EADS EFW to erstwhile carriers, Indian Airlines and
collaborate on the A330 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversion programme. ST Air India, that were officially merged in
Aerospace will be technical lead during the A330P2F development phase, with first 2007. The implementation will start by
service flights planned for 2016. The conversions will mainly done at EADS EFW’s mid-July. Presently over 200 pilots are
facility in Dresden, Germany, with the rest at ST Aerospace’s facility. EADS EFW will on strike due to issues over pay parity
also take up a role as ST Aerospace’s European MRO centre, filling a previous gap and promotion linked to training on the
in ST Aerospace’s global airframe MRO footprint. The A330P2F programme includes 27 Boeing 787s ordered by Air India. The
two versions – the A330-200P2F and the larger A330-300P2F. airline has cancelled service to more
than 20 international destinations and
Safety is suffering losses of approximately
First US$2 million a day. The strike, which
resulted in the termination of around
says DGCA 100 pilots, has not affected domestic
After a near famine and short-haul international flights,
of safety affairs said a spokesperson.
officers, the Indian
Directorate General
of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will get 130 Cash for companies
airworthiness officers in two months, DG Phone - go home The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
E.K. Bharat Bhushan told AAA. Bhushan (CAAS) has set up a S$5 million fund to
explained the process of recruitment Tired of check-in queues? France’s assist Singapore-registered aviation
was complicated. The 130 officers will Toulouse-Blagnac Airport is to companies and associations to build
be chosen from a pool of around 1,300. trial phone-based Near Field stronger international business.
One of the major concerns the DGCA has Communication (NFC) check-in later The fund, announced by Minister for
shown in the past has been for the ailing this year. Fifty selected passengers Transport Lui Tuck Yew, is aimed at
Kingfisher Airlines, which has reduced its will use BlackBerry phones to access enabling sustained, long-term growth
fleet from 66 to 16 in the past few months. car parking, boarding areas, and the for the Singapore aviation industry
Bhushan had said, “Kingfisher is severely waiting lounge. The SIM-based NFC in the face of challenges such as
hamstrung for want of funds and we still technology provides many benefits, say increased local competition, soaring
do not have any clarity whether the airline the providers. “Overall, a passenger fuel costs and a weakening European
will be able to defray its liabilities. We have using an NFC-enabled device can and global economy. The fund is aimed
no assurance on that.” It seems as the be processed faster than any of the at helping smaller businesses remain
situation remains status quo. Bhushan boarding processes available today,” competitive in the face of pressure on
said, “We are conducting checks on them said Renaud Irminger, implementation costs and upcoming liberalisation of
(Kingfisher Airlines) every day.” director of the project. airspace regulations.

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