Russia hands over Nerpa nuclear sub to India

Dec 30, 2011

There’s news coming in that Russia has handed over the nuclear-powered attack submarine Nerpa to India following two years of delay.

The signing ceremony is believed to have happened yesterday at the Bolshoi Kamen ship building facility in the (Far East) Primorye region. The report says an Indian crew would sail the Akula II class craft to its home base at the end of January.

The 8,140-ton sub can fire Granat cruise missiles that can be nuclear-tipped.

Diverted and Delayed BMI Amritsar - Almaty - London-Heathrow

BMI notification

BD991 Thursday 29th December from Almaty (originating from London Heathrow) diverted to Delhi due to fog at Amritsar. Customers have continued their journey on Air India flights from Delhi to Amritsar on Friday 30th December.

BD992 Friday 30th December will now operate late as a result of the diversion to Delhi on Thursday. Timings in local times are as follows:

BD992 Amritsar departure 2130 Friday 30th December (local time Amritsar)

BD992 Almaty departure 0300 Saturday 31st December (local time Almaty)

BD992 Estimated arrival time at London Heathrow on Saturday 31st December at 0445 UK time.

Island Aviation Services Maldives MD dismissed

Neelam Mathews
Dec 30, 2011




Bandhu Ibrahim Saleem has been dismissed as Member of Board of Directors and as Managing Director of Island Aviation Services Limited Board of Directors by President Mohamed Nasheed.
 

AerospaceDiary learns Saleem was opposed to the government’s bid for privatization.

In a letter sent to Bandhu Ibrahim Saleem, President Mohamed Nasheed conveyed his gratitude for services rendered as Member of Board of Directors and as Managing Director of Island Aviation Services Limited Board of Directors.

Following his dismissal, Addu Atoll Hithadhoo, Reyalivaage Ahmed Zuhair has been  assigned as Member of the Board of Directors and as Managing Director of Island Aviation Services Limited Board of Directors.

Bids for aviation fuel terminal

Neelam Mathews

Dec 30, 2011

Sri Lanka's state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has invited bids to build an aviation fuel terminal being built with Chinese finance for an international airport being constructed at Hambantota International Airport at Mattala in the South of the island.

 A CPC tender notice said the petroleum firm was looking for a turnkey contractor for the "design, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning works" for the aviation fuel terminal.

The terminal has to be built in 12 months. The bids close on February 2. 

The estimated cost of the terminal, which includes storage facilities and a hydrant system $31 million.

ASA signed between Hong Kong and Taiwan

Posted by- Neelam Mathews

Dec 30, 2011

Dragonair says it welcomes the Air Services Arrangement (ASA) signed today between Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The ASA signifies a new milestone for the development of air services between Hong Kong and Taiwan. Dragonair believes the ASA will not only allow room to increase flights, capacity and destinations, but also encourage and stimulate traffic between the two places which will bring additional benefits and advantages for both.    

Dragonair operates a total of nine daily flights to Taiwan - three to Taipei and six to Kaohsiung. With the airline’s current network which covers key Asian destinations combined with the international network of sister airline Cathay Pacific, Dragonair believes the ASA will offer greater opportunities in strengthening the Cathay Pacific Group’s connectivity worldwide as well as Hong Kong’s position as an aviation hub.

Dragonair, an affiliate member of oneworld, is a Hong Kong-based airline operating a fleet of 32 passenger aircraft and serving 33 regional destinations, including 17 cities in Mainland China.

ROUND UP- Year-End-Review of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the Year 2011

MOCA Press Release-

Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA)

India signed Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with U.S on July 18. This agreement provides for mutual certification of aeronautical products. It recognizes the mutual benefit of improved procedures for the reciprocal acceptance of airworthiness approvals and environmental testing, and the development of reciprocal recognition procedures for approval and monitoring of flight simulation training devices, aircraft maintenance facilities, maintenance personnel, flight crew members and flight operations. An Implementation Procedure for Airworthiness (IPA) was also signed in November, 2011.

Amendments of Air Services Agreements (ASAs) with foreign countries

With a view to modernize and update the existing Air Services Agreements (ASAs) with foreign countries as per the ICAO templates, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has signed ASAs with Indonesia and Brazil and ASAs initialed with Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Mozambique,   Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago.

European Union Emission Trading System

 An international meeting of ICAO council and other Non-EU member states was held in New Delhi on 29^th – 30^th September to discuss the inclusion of aviation in the European Union Emission Trading System (EU-ETS). Discussions included legal objection to EUETs, Policy objections, the role of ICAO-the way forward and discussions on next steps.

A Joint Declaration was negotiated and adopted at New Delhi on 30^th September, opposing the scheme. India thereafter took the lead to co-present a Working Paper (WP), in ICAO Council which included the Joint Declaration. This was adopted in the 194^th Council Session of ICAO meeting held on 2^nd November, 2011.

 India-ICAN conference, 2011

The he 4^th ICAO Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) Conference was held in Mumbai from 17-22 October, 2011. ICAN has been conceptualized by ICAO as ‘One-Stop-Shop’ for bilateral negotiation process. A special Africa session was also held on the inaugural day which included participants from the African Union, ICAO, Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. During the conference, more than 370 bilateral meetings were held between air services negotiators from states in all regions of the world which led to the signing of over 120 agreements and arrangements. India met with 37 countries and signed MoUs/agreed minutes with 22 countries. 

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA):-

v      Approximately 17000 hours have been completed and a total number of 80 CPL holders graduated in the current year.

v       

v  DA 42 Aircraft and one DA 42 Simulator have been inducted for multi engine training.

v  125 cadets have been selected to undergo training for the next year at IGRUA.

v  Considering the need for skilled manpower by the growing civil aviation industry in the country a proposal for upgradating IGRUA to a national Aviation University, is being considered.

v  A proposal for the Airports Authority of India to take over Fursatganj Airfield, with a view to extend the runaway and convert it into a Civil Airport, along with a Cargo Hub and Maintenance Repair Organization Center, is under consideration.

v  To supplement the demand for skilled technical manpower is proposed to start an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer training school at IGRUA.

Air India Limited: -

v  Air India has extended the offer of discounted fares in full fare economy class to para-military forces.

v  Air India has also decided to honour the children who are recipients of National Bravery Award 2010 by offering free tickets for their travel on domestic network along-with their parents/Guardians.

Helicopters Operations: -  

 The main objectives of PHHL are to provide helicopter support services to meet the requirement of oil sector, conduct operations in hilly and remote terrain, connecting inaccessible areas and providing charters for promotion of travel and tourism. The company has recently added the objectives of setting up of Heliports, helipads, Training Institute and Safety Institute.  PHHL has emerged as one of Asia’s largest helicopter operators having a well-balanced own operational fleet of 42 helicopters at present.

v  As on 31.03.2011 the Company had operation & maintenance contract of 01 Dauphin N3 helicopter of Government of Gujarat, 2 Dhruv helicopters owned by ONGC and 4 Dhruv helicopters owned by BSF (MHA). Further, the company has signed in December 2010 another contract with HAL for operation & maintenance of 4 more Dhruv helicopters of BSF. The Company has provided one Dhruv helicopter taken on lease from HAL to Government of Maharashtra for Anti-Naxal activities at Gadcharoli, Maharashtra.  

v  At present 16 Dauphin N & N3 helicopters are on contract with ONGC out of which 2 Dauphins are stationed overnight at the main platforms in addition to a dedicated Night Ambulance to meet any emergency evacuation.

Important Policy Decisions Taken during 2011

v   The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in the meeting held on 29.03.2011 approved a proposal of AAI for a one-time grant-in-aid of Rs. 378 crore for final operational phase of a GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) project over Indian Air Space subject to certain conditions.

v   A New Transfer Policy has been implemented by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The new regional offices of BCAS will now be opened at Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Amritsar and will be manned by the BCAS officers.

        

v      The Bay of Bengal Arabian Sea India Ocean Safety Monitoring Agency (BOBASMA) has been endorsed as a competent Air Space Safety Monitoring Agency by the Regional Air Space Safety Monitoring Advisory Group, ICAO. The Enroute Monitoring Agency is presently monitoring PBN compliance and assessing the level of safety in horizontal plane.

v      The Air Traffic Management (ATM) Contingency Plan for Indian Flight Information Regions (FIRs) have been updated to included revised route structure for safe and orderly flow of international traffic through upper Indian Air Space in case of disruption of Air Traffic Services.

v      Installation of Air Traffic Services (ATS) automation system has been completed at Mangalore

v     On the airports side the revised charges for handling Non Scheduled Operators (NSOs) at airports which were not within the ambit of Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, has been implemented with immediate effect.

v      Minimum Safety Requirements for Helicopter Landing Areas used on Regular basis has been issued and which lays down the minimum safety requirements for helicopter operating to/from helicopter landing areas within the Indian Territory outside and licensed aerodrome/heliports and procedures to be followed by Helicopter operations for such operations.

v     Digital Automatic Terminal Information Service (DATIS) has been installed at Dehradun, Udaipur, Bhuntar airports, permitting automatic broadcast of Airport information to the Airlines/Pilots.

v     AAI has installed an Instrument Landing System at Agra (Defense Airfield) commissioning flight check has been successfully completed.

v     ILS has been commissioned at Delhi for runway 09.

v     Guidelines in the form of air traffic management circular have been issued on mandatory rest of relief for Air Traffic Control Operators (ATCOs). This will help in reducing stress and fatigue of ATCOs and improving overall safety levels.

Clear immigration for US in Dublin on Emirates and more airlines news!

Posted by- Neelam Mathews

Dec 30, 2011

Emirates starts flights to Dublin Airport in January 2012. The new route will expand direct links in the region and its onward connections into India, Africa, South East Asia, Australasia and China. It was the additional long-haul capacity provided by new boarding gates at Terminal 2 which clinched the deal, according to the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). 

Starting January 9, 2012, Air Seychelles will suspend its routes to London, Milan, Rome and although it had initially planned to continue some flights to Paris, these have also now been cancelled. 
The carrier is looking at narrowbodies for its revised network strategy. The short-haul model will then form the backbone of an expansion in India, East Africa and the Indian Ocean.

As it builds its presence in the Middle East market, Ethiopian Airlines inaugurated a three times weekly new route between its Addis Ababa base and Muscat  using a B737-700 on December 27. Ethiopian Airlines expects to generate additional passengers wishing to fly onto other destinations in Africa and is providing connections to and from cities such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, Accra, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Entebbe and Lusaka.

Brussels Airlines is to launch its first ever flights to the U.S with a new daily link to New York JFK to be introduced from its Brussels Airport base from June 1, 2012.  An estimated 219,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year with up to daily flights already being operated by American Airlines (with a codeshare partnership with British Airways, Etihad Airways and Iberia), Delta Air Lines (with a codeshare partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines) and Jet Airways of India which uses Brussels as a regional hub for connections between cities in India and the US. 

All Nipon Airways (ANA) has revealed that Seattle and San Jose are to become its first US destinations for B787 services - two cities is not does not currently operate to.

Tiger Airways is to launch direct flights from Singapore to Dhaka from March 2012.

Delta Air Lines is expanding its flight schedules for at New York's LaGuardia Airport by 60% and adding services to major destinations such as Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver and Houston as it seeks to make the gateway a new domestic hub.

Worldwide Seat Capacity

Posted by-Neelam Mathews
Dec 30, 2011

This might prove useful for planners!

Credit- Routes

AIRLINES

INDIAN DOMESTIC MARKET

INDIAN DOMESTIC MARKET ( non-stop weekly flights)
Rank	Airline	Weekly Flights	Weekly Seats	% Capacity
1	Jet Airways	2,863	336,832	20.3 %
2	Air India	2,403	327,848	19.8 %
3	IndiGo Airlines	1,803	281,268	17.0 %
4	Kingfisher Airlines	2,687	277,656	16.8 %
5	SpiceJet	1,759	184,871	11.1 %
(Others)		1,629	248,923	15.0 %
TOTAL		13,144	1,657,298

 TRANSATLANTIC AIR CAPACITY BETWEEN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA (non-stop weekly departures)

Rank	Airline	Weekly Flights	Weekly Seats	% Capacity
1	British Airways	335	107,226	14.6 %
2	Delta Air Lines	307	73,668	10.0 %
3	Lufthansa	201	59,741	8.1 %
4	Air France	185	50,347	6.9 %
5	Continental Airlines	239	47,750	6.5 %
(Others)		1,464	395,584	53.9 %
TOTAL		2,731	734,316	-

EUROPEAN AIRPORTS

TRANSATLANTIC AIR CAPACITY BETWEEN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA (non-stop weekly departures)
Rank	Airport	Weekly Flights	Weekly Seats	% Capacity
1	London Heathrow	685	201,991	27.5 %
2	Frankfurt	313	88,976	12.1 %
3	Paris CDG	326	81,001	11.0 %
4	Amsterdam Schiphol	233	62,090	8.5 %
5	Madrid Barajas	153	40,599	5.5 %
(Others)		1,021	259,659	35.4 %
TOTAL		2,731	734,316	-

US AIRPORTS

TRANSATLANTIC AIR CAPACITY BETWEEN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA (non-stop weekly departures)
Rank	Airport	Weekly Flights	Weekly Seats	% Capacity
1	New York John F Kennedy International	422	110,986	15.1 %
2	Newark Liberty International	311	67,387	9.2 %
3	Washington Dulles International	173	44,877	6.1 %
4	Chicago O’Hare International	165	43,427	5.9%
5	Miami International	124	34,870	4.7 %
(Others)		1,536	432,769	58.9 %
TOTAL		2,731	734,316	-

---

AIR CAPACITY BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST (non-stop weekly flights)
Rank	Airline	Weekly Flights	Weekly Seats	% Capacity
1	Turkish Airlines (THY)	827	140,816	19.7 %
2	Emirates Airline	328	94,794	13.3 %
3	Qatar Airways	226	53,950	7.6 %
4	Lufthansa	148	32,887	4.6 %
5	Etihad Airways	123	30,719	4.3 %
(Others)		2,048	361,245	50.6 %
TOTAL		3,700	714,411	-

EUROPEAN AIRPORTS

AIR CAPACITY BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST (non-stop weekly departures)
Rank	Airport	Weekly Flights	Weekly Seats	% Capacity
1	London Heathrow	339	88,672	12.4 %
2	Frankfurt	262	59,106	8.3 %
3	Paris CDG	200	45,116	6.3 %
4	Amsterdam Schiphol	132	28,334	4.0 %
5	Munich	139	26,771	3.8 %
(Others)		2,628	466,412	65.3 %
TOTAL		3,700	714,411	-

World Conflict Guide Regional Face-Off- India charts a delicate course with China

Jan 01 , 2012 ,

Neelam Mathews New Delhi

As two Asian giants jostle for regional power and influence, India, traditionally the silent one, is now working to diffuse tensions with its largest trading partner, China.

The two locked horns over numerous issues in 2011, including an alleged confrontation between an Indian navy ship—INS Airawat—and a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea near Vietnam in July. Tensions rose further in November following a row over a speech in New Delhi by the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, causing talks on border management to be postponed. They were subsequently scheduled for a later date.

“India’s position on Tibet is clear,” says R.N. Das, senior fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in New Delhi. “It follows the one-China policy and recognizes the Dalai Lama as a spiritual leader only. India did not buckle under pressure from China to cancel the event. Instead it ensured that neither the prime minister nor president attended.” 

China has been asserting claims in the South China Sea, where it shares maritime borders with Vietnam and the Philippines. In recent years, actions by China with regard to Pakistan relating to river issues have caused anxiety in India, as India’s growing relationship with Vietnam have prompted concern in China. 

“Delhi has taken a calibrated stance in rejecting China’s diplomatic demarches on the Vietnam issue,” writes Uday Bhaskar, director of the National Maritime Foundation. “There is an unstated geopolitical dimension in the Vietnam standoff and related security sensitivity. The Chinese endorsement of Pakistani-occupied Kashmir as an integral part of Pakistan is as much of an issue for Delhi as Taiwan and Tibet are for Beijing.” 

Indian navy chief Adm. Nirmal Verma said at a seminar on national security that “the South China Sea is an area of significant concern.” Aiming at avoiding conflict with China in the strategically vital Indian Ocean, New Delhi is considering a bilateral protocol that may help defuse maritime tension between the countries. India may also set up hot lines between the two navies, which are expanding their footprint in the Indian Ocean, through which most of the world’s oil and cargo moves, Verma said.

Air India Board briefed on restructuring

Posted by- Neelam Mathews

Dec 29, 2011

The Air India Board met today in New Delhi and was was briefed on the progress made on the Financial Restructuring Plan of Air India. Following the meeting with the lenders on November 28, 2011, State Bank of India (SBI), as leader of the consortium has approached Reserve Bank of India for certain additional dispensations in the provisioning norms. A cabinet note is being moved by the Ministry of Civil Aviations for the purpose of equity infusion in Air India and for approving the Financial Restructuring Plan, says Air India.

The Board approved the rearrangement of authorized share capital by issue of preference shares worth Rs 7500 cr which are proposed to be allotted to the lenders of the working capital as part of the Financial Restructuring Plan.

The improvement in the key performance indicators for November 2011 included-

 Passenger revenue went up by 12.3%
Capacity in ASKM increased by 1.9%
Number of passengers carried increased by 7.7%
The load factor at domestic services was 74.9% and on international
services was 64.1%
The yield went up by 10%.

The appointment of Vinod Asthana as Managing Director of Hotel Corporation of India Ltd., was also approved by the Board.

Sikorsky delivers S-76C to Maharashtra

Posted by- Neelam Mathews

Dec 29, 2011

Sikorsky Aircraft has announced the delivery of an S-76C helicopter to the Government of Maharashtra for air transportation of senior leaders of the state and other government officials.

The aircraft joins a growing fleet of Sikorsky helicopters operating in India including other S-76 family of aircraft. 

Air Vice-Marshall (Retd) AJS Walia, Sikorsky Executive Vice President and Regional Head – India & South Asia, said: “This aircraft is recognized the world over for safety, operational performance, and comfort. The State Government has chosen the S-76C++ after an intense and transparent technical evaluation, and it has been customized to meet their requirements of safe and efficient transportation.”

Earlier this year, the Maharashtra Government had shortlisted Sikorsky’s S-76C++ helicopter after a technical evaluation process and signed a contract for delivery. The helicopter's versatility, reliability, safety and operating cost efficiencies make it ideally suited for transportation of senior leaders including Head of State, says Sikorsky.

Sikorsky is partnering with local industry. Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, in collaboration with Sikorsky is manufacturing cabins for its state of the art S-92 helicopter. The status of the project is not known.

SriLankan launches fourth daily to Chennai

Neelam Mathews
 Dec 28, 2011

Sri Lankan Airlines has added more capacity in India from 64 to 77 flights after 23 December. The carrier added two additional flights to Muscat from December 23.

Flights to Chennai increased to four frequencies a day from December 23 bringing the city’s total frequencies to 28 a week. The four daily frequencies to Chennai is the airline’s highest frequency to any destination, except Male, to which the airline operates an average of six frequencies a day. Some of these flights are direct operations from Europe and Tokyo and connect to Colombo via Male.

The airline operates it’s A320 and A330 fleet on this sector and caters to a mix of passengers from leisure travelers to business travellers and students from Colombo to through traffic (connecting passengers) from the Far East and Europe .

“We are developing Colombo into a hub for the South Asian Region and it is vitally important that we provide the best service for our connecting passengers to south India and other parts of India,” said SriLankan Airline’s Chief Marketing Officer, G T Jeyaseelan.

“While we are planning to expand our operations into India with more destinations, we are also consolidating our presence in the sub-continent, with enhanced frequencies”, he added.

SriLankan Airlines also increased its services to Karachi to a daily frequency from December 23. It has plans to operate direct flights to Kathmandu and Dhaka next year.

The airline’s overhaul of fleet’s cabin interiors is scheduled to be completed by July 2012. With its fleet of 21 aircraft, SriLankan Airlines operates to 61 destinations in 33 countries. The latest destination is Zurich started this month.

EXCLUSIVE! International Contractors Grab Oman Transport Work

Neelam Mathews

Dec 28, 2011 

 

Oman, aggressively looking to build up its infrastructure and its strategic position in the United Arab Emirates, signed nine agreements worth a total of 2.16 billion in 2011 for new airports and roads. Firms from around the world have snapped up the work.

The largest share ($1.7 billion) allotted to the construction of a 334,995-sq-m new terminal at the Muscat International Airport was awarded to a consortium of U.S-based Bechtel, Bahwan Engineering Co., and Turkey’s Enka.

The airport terminal, scheduled for completion in 2014, will handle 12 million passengers annually. Piling and earthworks for the project has started.

“It took us a while to prepare the soil by removing part of the soil and replacing it with external soil…The entire airport is being built in such a way that it can resist any flooding,” Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, minister of transport and communications, said during a site visit last fall.
Denmark-based Cowi, in a joint venture with Larsen Architects and Copenhagen Airports, are the principal consultants. ADPI, the subsidiary of Aeroports de Paris, are the project management consultants. The project has been divided into numerous main contracts and standard national contracts.

The UK’s Croydon-based TPS, the principal consultant on the project, will provide architectural design for 11 new buildings, including the city’s tallest building—the 100-m-high air traffic control tower and a training center. TPS brought in Mott Macdonald and Canadian Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin Inc. (RWDI) to analyze structural characteristics of the tower.

“The key challenges for us are to develop designs in parallel, whilst meeting the different project objectives to a tight timescale. We also have to manage design interfaces for the timely flow of information with designers of other contracts for the airport development,” says Hanif Macci, regional director of TP.

South Korea’s Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. is building the 4-km-long runway, two taxiways, parking apron and two boarding bridges for the airport in Duqm, located in the Wusta region, halfway between Muscat and Salalah. It is designed with initial capacity to handle 500,000 passengers a year. That work is scheduled to be completed this year.

Bids will be out soon for the passenger terminal, air traffic management facility and a cargo complex to handle 50,000 tons of airfreight per year. The airport will support Duqm's planned development as a major industrial, petrochemical and commercial hub. A 20,300 ha. industrial area, a major port and dry dock, and a ship repair yard project are presently under construction.

The modernization and expansion of the Salalah Airport, awarded to a consortium of India’s Larsen & Toubro and Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Contracting, is to be completed by 2014. It includes a new passenger terminal covering an area of 71,000 sq m, a 4-km-long runway capable of handling Airbus A380s, an air traffic control tower and a cargo terminal to handle 100,000 tons of air freight per year.

Adam Airport, the smallest of the airport projects and the first in the interior region, is expected to be operational by 2014. Its principal consultants are Gulf Engineering in joint venture with Pryde Schropp Mc Comb Inc., with roads and runways by Strabag Oman. The terminal bid remains to be awarded.

Anticipating increasing cargo traffic between Sohar and Muscat or Dubai, officials plan a 50,000-ton-per-year air cargo terminal in close proximity to the Port of Sohar Special Economic Zone. The  ADPI is serving as project manager.

Meanwhile, work on Ras al Hadd Airport is in its third stage for the construction of the 8,000 sq.m. terminal. A 10-km road and civil works for the 4-km airstrip has been completed.