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Kingfisher's new sector : Bangalore-Cochin-Agatti Island

 
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Nilanjon
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:33 pm    Post subject: Kingfisher's new sector : Bangalore-Cochin-Agatti Island Reply with quote

Kingfisher plans to land at Agatti from March 27 onwards.

With this flight, Kingfisher is breaking the IC monopoly on the COK-AGX sector. And they seem to have beat DN at breaking through and creating new sectors out of erstwhile virgin sectors.

The flight schedule is :
IT2453
Bangalore - Cochin : 11:15 - 12:35
Cochin - Agatti : 13:00 - 14:20
IT2454
Agatti - Cochin : 14:45 - 16:05
Cochin - Bangalore : 16:30 - 17:50

The BLR-AGX fare is Rs. 5400 one way.
The COK-AGX fare is Rs. 4240 one way.

Does anyone know the length of the AGX runway ?
I'm wondering why, if it is long enough for IT's ATR-72 planes, was IC serving the sector only with a 18-seater Dornier and thereby keeping fares exorbitantly high ?

From Google Earth, I can imagine that the touchdown at Agatti will be quite breathtaking (I imagine), since the airstrip literally starts from the beach. And my boss who was there few months back was telling me that there's not much of a terminal there - people can walk directly from the flight to the Resort !!

Also, when some A.Netters are on the tip of the island armed with their cameras, then we can get some amazing landing snaps just like Princess Juliana Airport snaps in the Antilles.
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Birendra
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OMG this is great news.

Something like Antilles, wow.

Thanks for sharing.
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karatecatman
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Kingfisher's new sector : Bangalore-Cochin-Agatti Island Reply with quote

Nilanjon wrote:
Does anyone know the length of the AGX runway ?
I'm wondering why, if it is long enough for IT's ATR-72 planes, was IC serving the sector only with a 18-seater Dornier and thereby keeping fares exorbitantly high?



Its just about okay for Dornier --- 4,235 ft. Mallya is pushing hard for an A319 suitable runway.
Reason: wants more tourist traffic to his 2 OWNED islands near Bangaram. Lakshadweep is now on the cruise ship circuit and is not seen to have as great the "sensitive environmental problems" that the Nicobar has.
Also adman Prahlad Kakkar has his scuba diving outfit at Lakshadweep. and has been indirectly influencing the Tourism Ministry to think big now.

Current plan is to get the existing runway, long enough and extended across to the next island.


Also for the spectacular type of landing you are talking about, try the Maldives, Male airport on Huhulu Island. Really stunning landing on a white sandy island in an ocean of transparent turquoise blue.
(Indian Airlines now does Trivandrum-Male and Bangalore-Male using its A320s.)
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karatecatman
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is the official report that appeared on Jan. 27, 2007

ATR-72-500 landed at Agatti Airport

Agatti , Jan. 21 : A big Aircraft ATR 72 -500 of Kingfisher Airlines, with70 pax capacity including Pilot, Co-Pilot and Cabin Crew landed at Agatti Airport on 21-01-2007 at 1305 hours.
A total of 19 persons were on board the aircraft in its first test landing trip. Shri K. Buzar Jamhar, Addl. Sub Divisional Officer, Shri A. Amirtha Raj, Airport Controller, officers and staff of the Airport etc. received them at Airport.
A big crowd also present on the occasion.
A meeting was also conducted under the Chairmanship of Shri B.V.
Selvaraj, Administrator. Representatives of Kingfisher Airlines viz.
Shri Sunam Datta, Dy. General Manager, (Flight Operations), Ms. Elsa
D'Silva, (DGM Metro Planning), Capt. K. Ravindran, General Manager,
(Flight Safety), Capt. A Maharajan, Airport Authority of India
represented by Shri A. Amirtha Raj, Airport Controller, Shri
Pappukuttan, Sr. Manager (CNS), Shri S. Attakoya, Superintending Engineer (LPWD) and Shri K. Buzar Jamhar, Addl.
Sub Divisional Officer, attended the meeting.
Administrator Shri B.V. Selvaraj, explained the facilities available and
the requirements of the special sector like evacuation of patients to
mainland and the reasonable and affordable fare for the people of the
isolated area. The representatives of Kingfisher Airlines briefed their requirements and the facilities which can be provided if the permission to operate the Aircrafts is obtained with the approval from
their headquarter. The representatives of Airport Authority of India also explained the facilities available in the Airport, Agatti and the future
requirements. The Administrator expressed thanks to all who participated in the discussion and urged them to implement the plans
expediently.
Mechanised bowsers will be operated and Airport will also extended
in length after consulting with locals and land will be acquired.
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tsk911
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Google Earth image is awesome... Can we have a member from the Indian counterpart of Princess Juliana(SXM) for some awesome pics???
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the_380
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the first place can i have the link to Google Earth's AGX airport please Rolling Eyes Laughing Razz
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iflytb20
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

try 10°49'26.13"N 72°10'19.18"E
Idea
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Aseem
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

iflytb20 wrote:
try 10°49'26.13"N 72°10'19.18"E
Idea


here is the satellite photo from Wikimapia
If properly developed, will beat St.Marteen any day.
cheers!!
VT-ASJ
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ssbmat
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I dont know why, but I will feel somewhat jittery in sending even an ATR sized plane to such an underdeveloped area.
Its not about runway length- but even a case of a sick passenger or any other incident can cause problems. Obviously, more infrastructure needs to be developed.
AFAIK, Port Blair is a larger establishment as a town than Agatti.
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COUGAR
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Holy cow! I knew that this service was due but I didnt know it would be coming this soon! I assumed it would happen AFTER the runway expansion!

From what i remember, the runway can barely handle a Dornier. East West and NEPC used to operate F27's here but those ops were suspended due to safety concerns then. Can an ATR72 operate now? I wonder!

I think 9W and KF could consider extending one of their BOM-GOI atr flights to AGX as well connecting the 2 tourist hotspots.

Or how about a PNQ-GOI-AGX? Very Happy
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tsk911
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aseem wrote:

If properly developed, will beat St.Marteen any day.
cheers!!
VT-ASJ

I don't think so. As far as I think the area near the beach from where runway starts will be a restricted area. And I don't think there will be any route to reach that particular point as the whole area should be under the security cover. What say?
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karatecatman
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ssbmat wrote:
such an underdeveloped area.


In what sense?
Infrastructure?
In terms of other social paramemters, Lakshadweep will put many an Indian State to shame. Comes out in flying colours in literacy rate, infant mortality rate, etc.

There's a reliable boat service. And its easier gettng back to the mainland (in terms of time) than from the Andamans.
Navy is always on standby in Cochin.
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haree
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The optimal landing distance for an ATR 72-500 is 3500 Ft at Sea Level.

So 4,235 ft means an additional roll out distance of some 700 feet which sounds okay to operate an ATR 72.. but the question is whether the airline can carry a full flight to the island without getting its feet wet..

Any inputs MEL ?
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Nilanjon
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In fact, the Agatti-Cochin service is starting today. Praful Patel will be on the innaugural flight. Saw an ad in the Bangalore TOI today. Also, IT's website shows this flight starting today !!
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the_380
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aseem wrote:

here is the satellite photo from Wikimapia
If properly developed, will beat St.Marteen any day.
cheers!!
VT-ASJ

thanks...even i agree its damn good.....but St.Marteen has parking bays unlike this one Wink
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ABN397
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also the Lakshwadeep government had a Pawan Hans small helicopter which is used to fly sick people to Kochi in an emergency-though it seems to be often used by visiting politicians and other VIPs. I used to see it at Kochi airport (the old one) during the 80s. Sometime in that period Big B and his family were spotted using it.
T
here was a fatal crash involving this copter some years ago, so I'm not sure if the service is still there.

There is a bit of a jinx here as one of the Alliance Dorniers crashed at Kochi in '97-there were several fatalities, including some people in the naval base.

Similar Pawan Hans services can be seen on Bagdogra-Gangtok and Guwahati-Shillong routes. The former is a 4-seater, while the latter is a MI-8. It flies from Guwahati airport to the Air Force helipad near Shillong, which is a little more convenient than the actual Shillong airport which is somewhat further away. Last I heard Alliance was flying ATR-42s there.

The safety record of the Pawan Hans helicopters is not that good. There is a thriving business of taxis from Shillong to Guwahati airport, which bypass the latter city. It appears that most of the potential travellers from Shillong use this route, as both the Pawan Hans and Alliance flights are somewhat erratic.
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Nilanjon
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Since Shillong was my home town till 2001, I can throw more light on this.

The Barapani Airport is 45 minutes drive from Shillong and used to be served by Vayudoot earlier. After Vayudoot went under, the airport was closed till IC started ATR services only 3 years back. But the ATR flights too run only thrice a week, and till recently, were very expensive (Rs. 5000 one way fare). Hence, people in Shillong prefer to drive to Guwahati Airport which is 3 hrs away and is served by lot of taxis and a bus service by Sheba Travels (Shillong's oldest travel agency which once had a monopoly of all flight bookings from Shillong as well !!). and flights from Guwahati to Calcutta and Delhi run daily.

As regards the Helicopter service, it too was expensive (as far as I remember, the fare was Rs. 1800 one way pre-2001 when I last passed thru Guwahati). Since the bus journey from Guwahati to Shillong costed less than 100 bucks and a taxi about 600 bucks, this helicopter service was hardly used by anyone.

At present, every Airline except Go Air servces Guwahati and connects CCU and DEL to GAU. I pity that prior to 2001 this wasn't the situation, so that I could go home from Bangalore more frequently !!

Just to put things in context of this thread, let's mainly discuss the KF service to AGX in this thread.
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shivendrashukla
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ABN397 wrote:
A The former is a 4-seater, while the latter is a MI-8. It flies from Guwahati airport to the Air Force helipad near Shillong, which is a little more convenient than the actual Shillong airport which is somewhat further away. Last I heard Alliance was flying ATR-42s there.


All Services of Pawan Hans in NE are by Dauphin Helicopters only.
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ABN397
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is a news item from The Hindu of Mar 4:
http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/04/stories/2007030411801500.htm

Points to note: It mentions that the Dornier was flying with only 12 passengers (instead of the usual 19)-so even a 19-seater cannot be fully loaded on this route!

The news item also says that IT will run with 42 seats-does it mean an ATR-42 or an ATR-72 with 42 passengers? Does IT have ATR-42s, anyway?
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ABN397
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

shivendrashukla wrote:
ABN397 wrote:
A The former is a 4-seater, while the latter is a MI-8. It flies from Guwahati airport to the Air Force helipad near Shillong, which is a little more convenient than the actual Shillong airport which is somewhat further away. Last I heard Alliance was flying ATR-42s there.


All Services of Pawan Hans in NE are by Dauphin Helicopters only.


Perhaps the Mi-8 is borrowed from the IAF?
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COUGAR
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ABN397 wrote:
Here is a news item from The Hindu of Mar 4:
Points to note: It mentions that the Dornier was flying with only 12 passengers (instead of the usual 19)-so even a 19-seater cannot be fully loaded on this route!


When I last flew COK-AGX-COK, the Dornier had 14 seats as far as I can remember, and the last 2 rows of seats (so 4 seats) had been ripped out which The pilot told me was to accomodate a stretcher. I assume hospitals in Lakshadweep might be radioiong for evacuations and IC may be ripping out seats for the evacuation on an ad-hoc basis.

Those of you who may have flown DEL-PNQ during the Kargil conflict might recollect IC removing 2/3 rows of seats from the very front of the econpomy section (rows 7,8,9) to carry stretchers of wounded soldiers, probably being carried to the command hospital in Pune.
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Nilanjon
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It seems that the Agatti Airstrip extension is well on it's way to becoming reality. The IAF is interested in putting up a base in Lakshadweep to give it an Indian ocean strategic advantage.
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tsk911
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's the pic...

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shivendrashukla
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ABN397 wrote:

Perhaps the Mi-8 is borrowed from the IAF?


I don't think IAF leases out their Mi-8's. I have never seen one. May be some civilian evcuation. Then it's possible. For commercial services, i doubt very much.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tsk911 wrote:
Here's the pic...


I want to land there Very Happy
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VABBy
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 11:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

aa so they planning to reclaim some land to extend the runway to have an airbus operation is it?
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Nimish
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

VABBy wrote:
aa so they planning to reclaim some land to extend the runway to have an airbus operation is it?


There's another island just to the south of the current air strip, the plan was to build a "bridge" between these 2 islands, so the runway could be extended over the open sea! Sounds very challenging to me, but good news if we do manage to pull it off.
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iflytb20
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 5:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nimish wrote:

There's another island just to the south of the current air strip, the plan was to build a "bridge" between these 2 islands, so the runway could be extended over the open sea! Sounds very challenging to me, but good news if we do manage to pull it off.


i hope they dont open a toll booth on the bridge like neighbours kerala Smile
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