India will push to get 90 new airports up and running over the next 12 months, under a government plan to service smaller cities that have missed out on the country's air travel boom. PM Narendra Modi wants to accelerate growth in the world's fastest expanding aviation market while encouraging airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and Jet Airways to fly more people to and from smaller, often poorer cities. Scores of new airports have been built around the country but many are yet to open because airlines do not see sufficient demand as ticket prices are too high for most Indians. That has raised worries the government is building infrastructure few can afford to use. Civil aviation ministry officials, however, said that the government has identified 30 recently built airports, and another 60 nearing completion, that it says it can get airlines to start flying to soon. Individual states will offer free land and emergency service support to all newly built airports, while landing charges and taxes on aviation fuel will be kept at low levels, they said. "Economic activity should grow to such an extent that these routes are economically viable," Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said. India's aviation growth has been driven by flights between larger cities, catering to a growing middle class as the country enjoys economic growth of more than 7% a year. But the government believes there is latent demand in smaller cities where airports are too small or not yet built.<br/>
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Geneva Airport has withdrawn from bidding for a 60% stake in Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport, Geneva's local authorities said. "Changes in financial partners that were made by the management of the consortium during the past weeks were not such as to convince the State Council of the viability of the project," the canton of Geneva said. A Reuters report said that Turkish conglomerate Limak was in talks to join a consortium comprising the Cube fund and Geneva airport in the bidding for a 60% stake in Lyon Saint-Exupery airport. The French airports of Nice and Lyon have attracted at least 16 bidders ahead of a July 4 deadline for firm offers, Reuters reported sources as saying.<br/>
Boeing gave its strongest hint yet that it will soon develop its first all-new passenger aircraft since the 787 Dreamliner. The planemaker is honing designs for a mid-range plane to whisk travelers from New York to London, Sydney to Shanghai or Dubai to Oslo. Billions of dollars of investment would be required, but the aircraft would fill the gap in its product line between the largest single-aisle 737 and smallest widebody 787 -- a relatively untapped market where Airbus Group SE is starting to extend its reach. Boeing estimates that sales of middle-of-market jets could reach between 4,000 and 5,000 and the company would be poised to capitalize, provided it can keep production costs in check and prices reasonable, said Mike Delaney, general manager of airplane development. He used the term “when,” not “if,” while discussing the prospects for the new aircraft family, which would begin commercial flights next decade. Recent discussions with 36 airline customers have given Delaney confidence that Boeing is on the verge of a breakthrough after years spent seeking a replacement for its out-of-production 757. Mike Sinnett, who heads product development for the company’s commercial planes, has delved into the prices airlines would be willing to pay, and performance they’d expect, for jets that seat between 200 and 270 people with the range to fly about 5,000 nautical miles. <br/>