India Aviation Industry : Unisys Supports Delhi International Airport’s Successful Opening of Terminal 3
Unisys Corporation today announced that its Indian subsidiary, acting as system integrator for Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), worked alongside DIAL to successfully commence operations at Terminal 3 at the city’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Terminal 3 was built to cater for India’s growing aviation industry, and will welcome visitors for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Terminal 3 is a state of the art integrated passenger terminal featuring world class facilities. It will provide additional capacity of 34 million passengers a year to Delhi’s IGI Airport. It will cater for increased air traffic expected for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and thereafter. The terminal covers 502,000 square meters of space with 92 automated walkways and 78 aerobridges. The new terminal is among the largest airport terminal buildings in the world. The total cost of the terminal is estimated at approximately Rs 12,850 Crores or US$2.7 billion.
In its first week of operation, DIAL Terminal 3 has handled approximately 140,000 passengers, 850 international flights and 5,845 metric tons of belly cargo.
“Passenger delight has always been one single goal for us at DIAL, and I strongly believe that we will achieve that with the opening and operation of T3. We have worked very closely with Unisys to implement the best ideas and solutions in the industry,” said Prabhakararao Indana, CEO – Airport Development, DIAL.
Sue Carter, Asia Pacific Vice President, Global Commercial Industries, Unisys said, “The eyes of the world will be on Delhi in the lead up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. We are delighted to have worked with DIAL on Terminal 3 at such an exciting time in the development of India’s expanding aviation industry.”
DIAL awarded Unisys India two contracts in September 2008: master systems integrator for the entire airport and systems integrator for the Terminal 3 project.
As the master systems integrator, Unisys leveraged its expertise to advise DIAL on the organization processes and roles, and to develop the standard operating procedures for the Airport Operations Control Centre. Unisys was responsible for testing the systems against business scenarios to give DIAL the assurance that the integrated systems could support the airport’s operational requirements.
In the systems integrator role, Unisys was responsible for reviewing and coordinating the design, installation, commissioning and integration of IT systems delivered by 12 separate companies. These systems cover the full range of IT services required by a modern airport, including terminal-wide managed network, full CCTV coverage with more than 3,000 cameras, complete access control, public address system, flight information displays, check-in and boarding gate systems, and a fully integrated building management system.
To manage the project Unisys drew on the experience garnered from similar projects around the world, including a proven project management methodology which was customized to address the unique needs of DIAL’s Terminal 3 project in order to deliver an integrated systems environment.
JetBlue Airways Considers Adding Flights at Bradley International Airport
JetBlue Airways, the discount airline headquartered in New York, is considering adding flights at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.
“We are evaluating it,” said JetBlue spokesman Mateo Lleras. “We have not announced anything.”
JetBlue serves about 50 cities in the United States, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, with the largest number of flights in New York, Boston, Washington-Dulles, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale and Long Beach, Calif.
It’s adding service at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. in November.
If JetBlue joins Southwest Airlines in flying from Hartford, the airport will have both the nation’s most prominent discount carriers.
Officials at Bradley could not be reached for comment late Monday.
Global Airline Industry Expectations in 2010 : Aviation Firms Shares Rose Sharply
Airline stocks have been flying high in 2010 thanks to renewed hopes over an economic recovery, an uptick in business travel, and a stronger dollar. The Claymore/NYSE Arca Airline ETF (FAA) has shot higher on the news, gaining nearly 5% on the week and 15% so far on the year. A slight pullback in oil prices–one of the primary negative factors weighing on the airline industry–has also added momentum to FAA in recent sessions. Ongoing concerns over the financial health of Europe have boosted the greenback, which generally moves in the opposite direction of oil.
Alliance consolidation should also further help to boost revenues, as the world’s biggest airline, Delta Air Lines, looks for a new partner to assist in the expansion of international travel destinations. Not to be outdone, several of Delta’s chief rivals are also looking to strengthen international operations. “American Airlines, British Airways, and Iberia have taken significant steps toward allaying antitrust regulators’ concerns over their proposed alliance, offering a number of gates at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports to competitors,” writes Christopher Hinton. These developments could help many airlines open up more international routes, which could translate into increased profits. For many carriers, business and international are the most profitable operations.
Wall Street banks are beginning to take note of the improved outlook for the industry. UBS recently raised its target price on several carriers and Jesup & Lamont Securities forecast a smaller first-quarter loss for Delta. In further good news for Delta, the company raised its operating profit margin forecast for this quarter from 1% to 2% of sales, up from an estimate at the end of January of “break-even.” However, the best sign for investors in Delta was the large uptick in business travelers; ticket volume was up 34% in February compared to last year, producing a 32% rise in corporate travel revenue according to Barron’s.
KLM Takes Delivery Of Eco-Friendly Aircraft
KLM has taken delivery of a new Boeing 777-300 long-haul aircraft that is reportedly more environmentally friendly than its predecessors.
The plane is the first to leave the manufacturer’s plant using a new form of paint that does not include chromate, a development that reduces the environmental impact of the painting and stripping processes.
KLM has ordered a total of seven Boeing 777-300 planes, which are considered the most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly in their class.
Commenting on the new paint being used by the aircraft manufacturer, Ype de Haan, KLM’s vice-president of operations, said: “Developments such as these in the airline industry fit perfectly into KLM’s policy.
“We aim to be the innovative market leader in environmental and climate care.”
KLM’s new addition to its fleet is also unusual as it features the silver and dark blue colour scheme of the SkyTeam airline alliance, to which the carrier belongs.
All SkyTeam members will be painting one per cent of their fleet in a silver and dark blue livery in anticipation of the tenth anniversary of the group in 2010.
The Amsterdam-based airline’s new aircraft will operate its first commercial service, a flight to Nairobi, on August 28th.
Qantas Customer Forced to Pay for Inaccessible Fiji Hotel
Qantas Holidays is refusing to provide credit or refunds to tourists unable to reach their hotels in Fiji because of widespread flooding, a Sydney holiday-maker says.
As Fiji struggles to cope with widespread flooding, at least six people have died and a state of emergency has been declared in western parts of the island nation.
Many hotels have been cut off by the flooding and tourists are being flown out by helicopter to the airport.
Sydney resident Melanie Yu was due to fly to Fiji at 8:00am AEDT on Monday morning for a long-awaited family holiday.
She had booked a flight with Virgin and her accommodation through Qantas Holidays.
“The accommodation alone was $4,000 – I’ve been paying it off for a year. I booked it last February and I’ve spent a year paying it off,” she said.
After seeing a news story on the flooding over the weekend, Ms Yu contacted her travel agent for advice about the situation.
Staff manning Flight Centre’s emergency number, after speaking to stranded tourists in Fiji’s Nadi airport, advised Ms Yu it would be unwise for her to travel to the South Pacific country.
