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IATA Trainings in India

TRAVEL AND TOURISM TRAINING IN INDIA

IATA Training and Development Institute

* The leading provider of global aviation training solutions and professional development program, supporting and promoting industry standards worldwide
o Committed to the development of human capital for tomorrow’s air transport industry
* Professional and vocational programs in eight areas of study:

o   Safety , o   Security, o    Management, o    Regulation & Compliance, o    Organization & Human Performance , o    Operations & Infrastructure, o    Travel & Tourism, o    Aviation Studies

* IATA certification is recognized by :
o Tourism boards and government agencies
o Airlines
o Airports
o Hotels
o Travel agencies, consolidators, and tour operators
o Airline back offices
o Cruise and rail lines
o Cargo agencies
o Logistic companies

ITDI In India

* 29 classroom courses are scheduled for delivery in Delhi this year
o Courses ranging from advanced management and marketing courses to safety and finance
* 2010 priority is to meet the increasing demand for in-company training

IATA International Travel and Tourism Training Program

* More than 50,000 students in India between 2000 and 2009
* Offers diploma and certificate vocational training
* Provides qualifications and skills to meet the requirements of IATA Travel Agency Accreditation Program, which requires accredited travel agents to employ a minimum number of qualified and skilled staff
* Regular updates of the training content ensure that participants are kept current in their knowledge and skills
* IATA certification is globally recognized and transportable, allowing successful participants the opportunity to secure employment within the tourism, aviation, cargo, or airport sectors, at home and abroad

Methods of Study

* IATA Authorised Training Centers (ATC)
o A network of 60 private vocational centers in India, accounting for over 80% of Travel and Tourism students
o Many located near Mumbai, Delhi and Cochin
o There are plans to expand the network of ATC to Tamil Nadu, Rajastan and central Indian states
o There are minimum standards to be met before a training centre can qualify as an ATC
* Distance learning courses
o provides students the flexibility of learning at their own pace and  place
* Online training solutions – IATA BSP Essentials for Travel Agents
o New e-learning course to prepare travel agents and accounting staff to interact with the IATA BSP system
+ Understand and use BSP methodology
+ Efficiency at using the BSP system
+ Correct reporting errors
+ Interpret BSP billing reports in order to plan the agency’s business

Future Plans

* IATA is pursuing recognition by the Indian government for IATA courses and training qualifications

Popularity: 3% [?]

IATA

IATA Blasts Europe’s Handling of the Volcanic Ash Crisis

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on European governments and air navigation service providers to urgently develop more precise procedures to identify ash contaminated air space and allow more flights. The call came in the wake of 1,000 flight cancellations on Monday (17 May) as a result of the continued volcanic eruptions in Iceland.

“This problem is not going away any time soon. The current European-wide system to decide on airspace closures is not working. We welcome the operational refinements made by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in their theoretical model but we are still basically relying on one-dimensional information to make decisions on a four-dimensional problem. The result is the unnecessary closure of airspace. Safety is always our number one priority. But we must make decisions based on facts, not on uncorroborated theoretical models,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Bisignani noted some successful exceptions which provide examples to follow. “France has been able to safely keep its airspace open by enhancing the VAAC data with operational expertise to more precisely determine safe fly zones. Today, the UK Civil Aviation, working with the UK NATS (the air navigation service provider), announced another step forward by working with airlines and manufacturers to more accurately define tolerance levels while taking into account special operational procedures. Both are examples for other European governments to follow,” said Bisignani.

Bisignani called for (1) more robust data collection and analysis (2) a change in the decision making process and (3) urgency in addressing the issues.

Data Collection and Analysis : “Numbers show that the current system is flawed. Over 200,000 flights have operated in European airspace identified by the VAAC as having the potential presence of ash. Not one aircraft has reported significant ash presence and this is verified by post-flight aircraft and engine inspections. We must back the theory with facts gathered by aircraft to test ash concentration. France and the UK are showing that this is possible. If European civil aviation does not have the resources, it should look to borrow the test aircraft from other countries or military sources,” said Bisignani.

Changing the Decision-making Process : “We have lost confidence in the ability of Europe’s governments to make effective and consistent decisions. Using the same data, different countries have come to different conclusions on opening or closing airspace,” said Bisignani.

“Ultimately the industry needs a decision-making process for ash clouds similar to the one used for all other operational disruptions. Every day airlines make decisions whether to fly or not to fly in various weather conditions. Airlines collate the information available and make informed decisions placing safety first and with full access to all the latest weather reporting. Why should volcanic ash be any different?” said Bisignani.

In the US, which has a lot of experience with volcanic activity, the government identifies a no-fly zone where ash concentration is the highest. For all other areas, it is the responsibility of the airline to decide to fly or not based on the various data sources available. “The US has well-established, safe and effective procedures for tracking the hazards of volcanic ash. In recent years, the industry had no recorded safety incidents from volcanic activity in US airspace. Europe has a lot to learn,” said Bisignani.

Urgency : “Volcanic ash is a new challenge for European aviation. We can understand that systems need to be developed to cope. But what is absolutely inexcusable is the failure of Europe’s governments to act urgently and collectively to provide real leadership in a crisis. We have vast amounts of data from over 200,000 safe flights ready for analysis to support an urgent review of the current processes. The UK is finally moving in the right direction. But what about the other affected European governments? The next transport ministers meeting is scheduled for June 24.  What kind of leadership waits more than a month to make crisis decisions? European businesses are dependant on air travel and passengers certainly cannot wait that long for initiatives like the UK’s to be implemented continent-wide,” said Bisignani.

To enhance the industry’s long-term ability to address volcanic ash issues, Bisignani is traveling to Montreal for urgent meetings with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). “IATA and ICAO have been working intensely on this issue since the crisis first struck in April. IATA is strongly supporting the ICAO task force which is reviewing ash tolerance thresholds with operators and manufacturers. The responsibility of manufacturers is critical in providing performance information to back decisions,” said Bisignani.

Tomorrow Bisignani will meet Roberto Kobeh-Gonzales, President of the ICAO Council and Raymond Benjamin, ICAO Secretary-General. “It is important that we act urgently and globally to better deal with this crisis and to lay a solid foundation for better decision making in future eruptions. Even as Europe stumbles with its fragmented approach, IATA is working with the global community through ICAO and by tapping into the experience of leading regulators like the US FAA to facilitate harmonized solutions,” said Bisignani.

Popularity: 1% [?]

IATA Premium Traffic Monitor - March 2010

IATA Premium Traffic Monitor – March 2010

* There was a strong rise in premium travel demand in March, which was up 10.8% on the previous year;

* During the first quarter premium travel expanded at an annualized rate of 25% over the fourth quarter, driven by the rise in business travel;

* However, the fall in premium travel in 08/09 was so large that the size of this market is still 15% smaller than before the recession;

* Economy travel is now back to pre-recession levels and was 7.4% up on the same month last year in March;

* Very large differences in growth between geographical markets persist;

* At one end of the spectrum is Asia and connecting markets while at the other are weak European markets, reflecting the weak economic environment;

* The volcanic ash plume in April is expected to dent this expansion, cutting international travel numbers in that month by an estimated 4%.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Volcano Crisis Cost Airlines $1.7 Billion

Volcano Crisis Cost Airlines $1.7 Billion -IATA Urges Measures to Mitigate Impact-

Bangalore, April 21, 2010– The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the Icelandic volcano crisis cost airlines more than $1.7 billion in lost revenue through Tuesday—six days after the initial eruption. For a three-day period (17-19 April), when disruptions were greatest, lost revenues reached $400 million per day.

“Lost revenues now total more than $1.7 billion for airlines alone. At the worst, the crisis impacted 29% of global aviation and affected 1.2 million passengers a day. The scale of the crisis eclipsed 9/11 when US airspace was closed for three days,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

IATA noted there are some cost savings related to the flight groundings. For example, the fuel bill is $110 million a day less compared to normal. But airlines face added costs including from passenger care. “For an industry that lost $9.4 billion last year and was forecast to lose a further $2.8 billion in 2010, this crisis is devastating. It is hitting hardest where the carriers are in the most difficult financial situation. Europe’s carriers were already expected to lose $2.2 billion this year—the largest in the industry,” said Bisignani.

Mitigating the Financial Impact

“As we are counting the costs of the crisis we must also look for ways to mitigate the impact. Some of our airport partners are setting industry best practice. London Heathrow and Dubai are waiving parking fees and not charging for repositioning flights. Others airports must follow,” said Bisignani.

But the larger role is for governments. Bisignani made four specific requests for regulatory relief:

* Relax Airport Slot Rules: IATA urged that rules on take-off and landing slot allocation (use it or lose it) be relaxed to reflect the extra-ordinary nature of the crisis.
* Lift Restrictions on Night Flights: IATA urged governments to relax bans on night flights so carriers can take every opportunity to get stranded passengers back home as soon as possible.
* Address Unfair Passenger Care Regulations: “This crisis is an act of god—completely beyond the control of airlines. Insurers certainly see it this way. But Europe’s passenger rights regulations take no consideration of this. These regulations provide no relief for extraordinary situations and still hold airlines responsible to pay for hotels, meals and telephones. The regulations were never meant for such extra-ordinary situations. It is urgent that the European Commission finds a way to ease this unfair burden,” said Bisignani.

Bisignani also urged governments to examine ways for governments to compensate airlines for lost revenues. Following 9/11, the US government provided $5 billion to compensate airlines for the costs of grounding the fleet for three days. The European Commission also allowed European states to provide similar assistance.

“I am the first one to say that this industry does not want or need bailouts. But this crisis is not the result of running our business badly. It is an extra-ordinary situation exaggerated with a poor decision-making process by national governments. The airlines could not do business normally.  Governments should help carriers recover the cost of this disruption,” said Bisignani.

Re-Opening Air Space : On Monday, the European Commission announced revised measures for handling airspace closures, following widespread criticism of their methodology.

“Airspace was being closed based on theoretical models not on facts. Test flights by our members showed that the models were wrong. Our top priority is safety. Without compromising on safety, Europe needed to find a way to make decisions based on facts and risk assessment, not theories,” said Bisignani.

“The decision to categorize airspace based on risk was a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, not all states are applying this uniformly. It is an embarrassing situation for Europe, which after decades of discussion, still does not have an effective Single European Sky. The chaos and economic losses of the last week are a clarion call to Europe’s political leaders that a Single European Sky is critical and urgent,” said Bisignani.

Popularity: 2% [?]