Jet Airways - a new identity?

neelam mathews
May 10 3019
7.05 pm

As the aviation world awaits the fate of Jet Airways with the last date of the bids today, we are looking at a scenario which may not have been seen by most of us.

There is no confirmation but what if-

Etihad bids with Tata group for Jet?
Think about it.
We will come back with more. 

pix- Neelam Mathews

07

May

Ball in Indian carriers’ court as more IFC providers approved

By Neelam Mathews →

Indo Teleports Limited (ITL), a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) are the latest Indian companies to receive permission from the country’s Department of Telecommunications to offer inflight and maritime connectivity on domestic and foreign airlines and ships.

They join Hughes Communications India (HCIL) and ... read on Runwaygirlnetwork.com

Kazakh LCC Launches Domestic Services with A320s

by Neelam Mathews

 - May 1, 2019, 12:38 PM

Kazakhstan’s first budget carrier—Air Astana subsidiary FlyArystan—on Wednesday launched services from its Almaty base to the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan with one of its two Airbus A320s. FlyArystan will initially operate six domestic routes, with journey times from one to three hours to Taraz, Shymkent, Pavlodar, Uralsk, Nur-Sultan (Astana), and Karaganda, most of which lie on the periphery of the country.

Aimed at computer literate first-time travelers, the Kazakh budget model resembles that of successful Indian budget carrier IndiGo, Air Astana president and CEO Peter Foster told AIN.

By mid-October to November, when two more A320s join the fleet, FlyArystan will start to fly regional international routes to neighboring Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations and Russia, said Foster. Plans call for the fleet to grow to 15 airplanes by 2022. Foster revealed the airline would establish bases through joint ventures in neighboring countries “much like Malaysia's Air Asia,” he added. 

“They’ve got the planes, the know-how, and the first mover advantage,” opined Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst at Malaysian consultancy Endau Analytics. “I believe they will make it work within two to three years, if not sooner.”

Foster said exposure to IndiGo’s operations and training at its headquarters and outstations had benefitted his team in a big way. “They [IndiGo] were very accessible and generous,” he explained. “It is a very high-quality product and we will replicate their model here.”

“Operating an LCC anywhere is broadly similar and there is no reason Central Asia would be different; high seat density and high utilization are two of the most important fundamentals," IndiGo chief commercial officer William Boulter told AIN.

Air Astana, meanwhile, plans to reduce slowly but steadily its domestic operation to a few metropolitan and oilfield airports with a high volume of business travel. Foster also told AIN that Air Astana would fly to New York using a Boeing 767 with “a north European stop” by early 2021. He added that Kazakh government subsidies would likely cover Tokyo and New York.

Foster insists FlyArystan will employ a classic low-cost model, including no premium seats, no global distribution system, no interlining nor alliances, and no free baggage allowances apart from 5 kg of cabin baggage.

Indoor Air Quality at Airports- An Emerging Environmental Challenge

 

Information Shared

New Delhi-, ISHRAE in collaboration with GMR group organized a two day conference“ACRECONF India 2019”on March 29&30, ‘2019 at Indian Aviation Academy. ISHRAE in public spaces has remarkable importance.  Indoor air quality is a crucial element for passengers and staff protection, as well as a key aspect of airport passenger experience.Busy environment area like airport terminals, are currently regarded as possible hotspots .

 

This two days conference organised by the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers along with ASHRAE- India Chapter in association with, India’s largest Private Airport Company was attended by experts from Aviation and environment sector who brainstormed on how to improve Indoor Air Quality inside Airports.

 

Ms. Radha Goyal, Deputy Director IPCA, Secretary Society of Indoor environment stated that, “The main emphasis should be put on reducing the infiltration inside the building and managing the work activity. Also building should be strictly declared a “non-smoking zone”. She discussed that different zones have different heating and cooling demands, due to different occupant density, activity performed, or time spent by travellers. The passenger flow in airport terminals varies significantly throughout the year or even throughout a single day.

 

The fluctuation in the level of activity and crowding is typically at terminal environment. Workers and travellers, including children and adults, are at risk for exposure to SHS in airports with designated smoking areas.No study has demonstrated a significant relationship between specific exposure to jet exhaust particles and respiratory symptoms because of many confounding factors. 

 

ISHRAE with 42 chapters all across India, having more than 12,000 members and 10,000 student members has been working relentlessly on promoting   Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and has already come up with IEQ Standard which has been well received internationally, & has been adopted by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). 

 

Indian Growth Rates To Slow as Airlines Cut Capacity

by Neelam Mathews

 - March 19, 2019, 8:11 AM

With airline seating capacity throughout India down about 20 percent from its peak, the country appears set to lose its standing as the world’s lowest-airfare market. About 100 airliners now sit grounded or out of service, suggesting the aviation sector will almost certainly not see the near 19 percent growth many forecasters projected for this year.  

The March 10 Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max crash near Addis Ababa prompted Indian authorities to ground some 13 Max jets flown by SpiceJet and five by cash-strained Jet Airways, an airline that already had grounded 56 airplanes due to financial troubles. Others include GoAir, nine of whose Airbus A320neos await engine spares; Air India, which has grounded 17 airplanes for similar reasons; and IndiGo, which has taken out of service 10 airplanes and cut some 100 flights a day due to a pilot shortage. 

“Capacity reduction is likely to see annual growth come down to 14 to 15 percent,” said Vishok Mansingh, CEO of Mumbai-based aviation consultancy CAV Aero. “With this reduction fares will likely go up by 10 to 15 percent. In the long term, the increase in fares is good for the stability of aviation in India.”

Most carriers have experienced heavy losses due to rock-bottom competitive fares.

The reduction in seat capacity is the most severe on the Delhi-Mumbai city pair, which commands a 50 percent share of the domestic market. The closure of a runway at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for repair three times a week during peak hours until the end of March has exacerbated the situation. Fewer flights have resulted in soaring fares. A study done by online travel agency Yatra has shown airfares in the sector have doubled over the last year. “While comparing the domestic air traffic of January 2019 with last year, there has been a growth of about 9 percent," said Yatra COO Sharat Dhall. "The percentage of growth has been affected due to unprecedented flight cancellations by various airlines impacting the overall capacity and market growth adversely.” 

Meanwhile, SpiceJet is working on reducing cancellations through more efficient use of its existing fleet of 64 aircraft, adding two wet-leased Boeing 737s and canceling low-yield routes. SpiceJet will now fly a planned Max route from Hyderabad to Jeddah starting March 25 with the 737-800.

Despite the initial pain, some good may come from the pullout of aircraft,” an airline official told AIN. “The smallest carrier, AirAsia India, may just get some slots at major constrained metro airports released by airlines unable to retain them,” he noted.

HAL Ramps Up LCA Production and Looks to the Mk2

A model of the LCA Mk1A was also on show at Aero India. This version introduces a refueling probe.
(Photo: Neelam Mathews)

Government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will deliver 16 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in the final operational clearance (FOC) configuration to the Indian Air Force (IAF) by the end of this year, said HAL chairman R. Madhavan. He added that 16 LCAs have been delivered in the Initial Operation Clearance (IOC) configuration already. An additional eight are being produced as trainers.

The LCA received its FOC last month during the Aero India show in Bangalore, for induction into the Indian Air Force as a fully weaponized fighter. Following the major Vayu Shakti Air Force exercise in February, the Chief of the IAF, Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, reported, “It is a fighter jet and behaved like a fighter. It did well both in air-to-air combat, as well as air-to-ground combat.”  

HAL has been waiting for the past six months to receive an order from the IAF for 83 LCA Mk1As to enable it to expand its production capacity. The version will have line-replaceable units (LRU) for ease of maintenance, and enhancements that include an Elbit radar and Cobham probe for in-flight refueling. The number of single-seaters and two-seater trainers has not yet been specified. It will take three years for the first flight from the time of signing the contract, Madhavan said. While HAL’s technical bids have been evaluated, the commercial bids have yet to be opened. Following a price negotiation, a formal contract will be signed with HAL. Madhavan noted that with HAL now involved only in integration, and production of components out-sourced to private companies, it was likely that production would speed up the in future.

“After that [Mk1A], we should take up LCA Mk2…which in the long term would replace the Jaguar, the Mirage, and MiG-29s,” said Dhanoa. The Mk2—a medium-weight fighter version of the supersonic LCA with a maximum all-up weight of 17.5 tonnes, a delta wing, and close-coupled canard, and a payload of 6.5 tonnes—will be powered by a General Electric F414 engine with advanced digital control. It will have an advanced sensor suite and be capable of firing beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missiles beyond 100 km (62 miles). The addition of an infrared search and track system will allow the fighter to track aircraft through their heat signature. 

Based on the IAF LCA, the naval version of the LCA Mk2 will require an increased-thrust engine, reduced weight, an increased wing area, and a tailhook. “We have to move on towards a twin-engined deck-based CATOBAR [aatapult assisted take-off but arrested recovery] fighter,” chief of naval staff Sunil Lanba told AIN.

Beyond the LCA program, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is India’s fifth-generation fighter planned for production once the LCA Mk2 design is frozen. It is said to be designed for swing role, with BVR and close-combat capability, and precision strike. Madhavan said that a manufacturing partner would be sought for the AMCA.

HAL displayed the air force version of the MWF/LCA Mk2 in model form at the recent Aero India show.
 (Photo: Neelam Mathews)

By Neelam Mathews   March 11, 2019

Melbourne looks to Indian market amid expansion programme

Neelam Mathews, Delhi
March 5, 2019

Melbourne Airport in Australia has begun work on its development plans for the next three years. “Most of the Request for Proposals for infrastructure development for the airport ...more in JAR