According to the McGraw Hill Science & Technology EncyclopediaAir transport is the movement of passengers and cargo by aircrafts

such as airplanes and helicopters. Air transportation has become the primary means of common-carrier travelling. Greatest efficiency and value are obtained when long distances are travelled, high-value payloads are moved, immediate needs must be met, or surface terrain prevents easy movement or significantly raises transport costs. Although the time and cost efficiencies obtained decrease as distance travelled is reduced, air transport is often worthwhile even for relatively short distances. Air transportation also provides a communication link, which is sometimes vital, between the different groups of people being served.

Air cargo is a segment of the airline industry. Cargo can be carried in cargo holds of passenger airlines or on aircraft designed exclusively to carry freight. Cargo carriers in the air transportation industry do not provide door-to-door service. Instead, they provide only air transport from an airport near the cargo's origin to an airport near the cargo's destination. Companies that provide door-to-door delivery of parcels, either across town or across the continent, are classified in the couriers and messengers industry.

A regulation authority was put in place, the IATA that stood for International Air Traffic Association between 1919 and WWII and stands for International Air Transport Association since 1945. IATA has two functions: 1.Trade Association (technical, legal, financial, traffic services and most agency matters); 2.Tariff Coordination (passenger fares and cargo rates, agents' commissions).

There are three things to keep in mind: 1.The scope of IATA encompasses all Air Transport activities. 2.IATA only controls International flights. However because they must comply with the IATA processes the involved parties tend to apply the same processes to domestic flights. 3.Nowadays much of the IATA's revenues come from selling its products and services to Member airlines, to other airlines and to other companies involved in the travel, transport and tourism industry.

Air transport faced problems/disadvantages:

1. High Costs:

under

noted

Air transport in India is becoming very costly day by day with rising operational costs. 2. Non Co-operation of Staff: Indian airlines are facing problems due to non-cooperation of the staff, such as, strikes by pilots, etc. 3. Out dated Planes: Aviation technology is changing very fast. But our planes are out dated and not very safe. Consequently Indian airlines find it difficult to compete with the world airlines.

4. Huge Investments: Creation of aviation facilities requires huge investments. The Government is least capable of increasing the number of planes and airports in the country. The private sector has its own limitations. 5. Inadequate Training Facilities: There are no adequate facilities to train a large number of pilots in the country. On privatization of airlines we are again facing the problem of sufficient trained staff.

6. Maximization of Risks:
In air transport, risks are increasing day by day due to crime and terrorism, violence, hijacking, etc. all over the world.

Prospects of air transport: 1.Indias positive economic growth and rising income per capita may boost the aviation industry. 2.Passenger maximization became a common competitive strategy among most airlines as prices were slashed across the board in hopes of filling up vacant seats. 3.Consolidation in aviation sector: In aviation industries the rise in the number of alliances will help in promoting the growth of aviation sector in India. Example of the Jet-Sahara merger is just the beginning. Indian aviation industry is looking forward to more consolidations.

4. The number of passengers traveling by air is on the rise: By 2025 passenger boarding expected to double and by the same time aircraft operations are expected to triple, the number of passengers traveling by air is on rise. 5. Outsourcing: Private airlines are famous to hire foreign pilots, get expatriates or retired personnel from the Air Force or PSU airlines, in senior management positions. Airlines are also famous to take on contract employees such as cabin crew, ticketing and check-in agents. 6. Untapped potential of India's tourism: Presently India attracts 3.2 million tourists every year, while China gets 10 times the number. Due to the open sky policy tourist arrivals in India are expected to grow exponentially.

7. Attraction of foreign shores: Many private players like Jet and Sahara have gone international by starting operations, first to SAARC countries, and then to South-East Asia, the UK, and the US and many more domestic airlines too will be entitled to fly overseas by using unutilized bilateral entitlements to Indian carriers.

Airline industry in India is plagued with several problems.

These include high aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, rising labour costs and shortage of skilled labour, rapid fleet expansion, and intense price competition among the players. But one of the major challenges facing Indian aviation industry is infrastructure constraint. Airport infrastructure needs to be upgraded rapidly if Indian aviation industry has to continue its success story. By 1995, several private airlines had ventured into the aviation business and accounted for more than 10% of the domestic air traffic. These included Jet Airways, Sahara, NEPC Airlines, East West Airlines, ModiLuft Airlines, Jagsons Airlines, Continental Aviation, and Damania Airways. But only Jet Airways and Sahara managed to survive the competition. Meanwhile, Indian Airlines, which had dominated the Indian air travel industry, began to lose market share to Jet Airways and Sahara. Today, Indian aviation industry is dominated by private airlines and these include low cost carriers such as Deccan Airlines, Go Air, Spice Jet etc., who have made air travel affordable.

Although the prospects of Indias aviation industry are far from certain, the industry outlook appears to support a positive trend in the near future. The future prospects of Indian aviation sector look bright.

VISHNU KUMAR AGRAHARI vishnu.mft2010@gmail.com