Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews March 27, 2013  An industry person told me the other day, my blog posts had recently been covering a lot of AirAsia. For a person who believes in being fair, that came as a surprise. However, looking back, I must confess the person was right, I must clarify- this isn't because of any  agenda, but simply, because, like it or not, founder of AirAsia Tony Fernandes always manages to stand out bigger than life! By the looks of it, Indian aviation media will keep pretty busy in the time to come! As a member of the fourth estate, I welcome all  competitors in the airline business to scream your hearts out. A promise- your voice will be heard and noted!         Tony tweets-   The Apprentice. Crew who are going to be in the show .             All we can see is the face on the plane. Hell of a way of making a point!

Neelam Mathews March 27, 2013 The saga of the elusive Civil Aviation Policy Draft  posted on the MoCA website for what seems decades, doesn’t say much for our planners and decision makers. Time the industry raised its voice as the loss will only be its own. We might remind ourselves that unless the draft becomes a policy, it will remain adhoc and victim to sudden unpalatable whims and fancies of those in power. Besides, investors might see this as a deterrent. But then, that’s our view at Aerospace Diary. Even as minister Ajit Singh remained non-committal on when the draft civil aviation policy would be approved, a quick search into the history of this elusive draft is disturbing and shows there is no will nor any need by the government to put a method into the madness. April 1, 1997-The civil aviation policy was cleared by the Cabinet during PM Deve Gowda’s time. Was it a coincidence that it was April Fool’s Day!? June 6, 1997- Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral ...

AINALERTS  »  MARCH 26, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS March 26, 2013, 3:15 PM A statement by India’s ministry of civil aviation on Thursday has eased norms for import of all aircraft into the country. The government’s Aircraft Acquisition Committee ( AAC )–which was set up some five months ago, headed by the minister of civil aviation and responsible for clearance of every aircraft imported into the country–has also been abolished, “as it is no [longer] relevant,” said the statement. The   now-ditched policy   required civil aviation minister Ajit Singh to approve each aircraft import request personally, leading to serious delays for operators. In January, approximately 50 requests for aircraft purchases were on hold, awaiting approval by the minister. “An initial no objection certificate ( NOC ) and in-principle approval for acquisition of aircraft will still be required from the [ministry of civil aviation], as this...

Neelam Mathews March 26, 2013 At the Aviation Day organised jointly by IATA, GMR and CII today, even as Tony Tyler, DG and CEO of IATA - his third speech in India in less than a year- spoke about the need for infrastructure and a cut in high taxation rates, there was many a slip between the cup and the lip of our civil aviation minister, Ajit Singh.  I'm trying not to be cynical, but cetainly noticed some urgent issues dodged. "Navi Mumbai development may not be done as envisaged...." Really? That should be news to those waiting for years for it to happen! "Juhu Airport Upgradation (is being planned)." Since when? Given that the runway size has been decreased, now being used only by helicopters (possibly due to lobbying by the land lobby? We could not confirm this). And the always-soon-to-be released Civil Aviation Policy? Mr Tyler, however noble your thoughts may be, the question is, does this minister, or even the minister before him, really wan...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  MARCH 25, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS A new agreement on more flexible use of Indian airspace by civil aircraft operators could boost operational efficiency and flexibility for local carriers such as Jet Airways. (Photo: Airbus) March 25, 2013, 11:30 AM As India’s air traffic grows and skies get crowded, the country’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Ministry of Civil Aviation have finally reached an agreement on a long-standing demand for flexible use of airspace ( FUA ). The implementation will stand “subject to ensuring adequate safeguards in the system to prevent inadvertent leaks of military information and dissemination of any information on military aviation activities strictly on a ‘need to know’ basis,” noted a government statement. The military currently controls approximately 65 percent of India’s airspace. Plans call for a National High Level Airspace Policy Board–consisting of stak...

Neelam Mathews March 25, 2013 IPR and TOT remain  fragile  and not fully- understood subjects in  aerospace offsets. A  Training and  Certification  Program  on Transfer of  Technology and  Intellectual  Property Rights  in Aviation and Aerospace Industry   on Monday, 22 nd  April, is being  held in New Delhi  to address i ssues plaguing  the industry. Ajay Batra, M anaging Partner and CEO of  World Intellectual Property Rights Bank  asked me  to share this with those interested. ( +919910863666 ).  The full day- workshop will cover the  interrelation of TOT portfolios and IPRs.  And, also why it  is it important to have a demonstrable IPR capability and maturity in  aerospace companies. A session on  Management of IPRs in  TOT programs  will include a b asic awareness program on IPRs in Aviation and Aerospace...

Neelam Mathews April 25, 2013 Watch out India- we're headed your way soon , tweets the Asian Budget carrier Tsar  Tony Fernandes Tony Fernandes Tweets We're hiring soon... India here we come Look out for dates soon at this space...

Peter Foster, President Almaty, 23rd March 2013 To misquote an old sporting cliché, 2012 was a year of two halves. The first half was seriously affected by sluggish demand and high fuel prices, causing year on year profit for the period to drop by 80%, in contrast to the second half which was our best on record, driven by demand recovery, non-fuel savings and greater efficiency of aircraft and crew utilisation. The full year net profit of $61.1 million was identical to that of 2011, marginally ahead of budget and in our view a good result given the pressures on the industry from high fuel prices and weak demand in Europe. Routes to and from the European Union make up 18% of the airline’s international capacity. Total airline revenues grew 15% to $875.5 million on capacity growth of 11%. We carried 3.3 million passengers, an increase of 10%. Whilst net margin slipped from 8 to 7%, it is likely that we will continue to place amongst the world’s 20 most profitable airlines, as we hav...

Neelam Mathews March 23, 2013 Give the man his due. He won’t let go off easily what he owns. And what he wants, he gets. That includes his passion(s) –IPL, Formula One (this week in KL) and his ACJ. V isits to Delhi have paid dividends and last evening, around 5.30pm, his A319 ACJ did a Mumbai-Aurangabad-Mumbai test flight.  We hear permission was sought from the highest corridors of power.  India - thy name is 'everything can be fixed/sorted'. This has no reference to any particular person or event. So, once again, Vijay Mallya may very soon be flying again in his ACJ, a source told AerospaceDiary. The aircraft was taken ‘temporary custody’ of by the service tax department in January. This had partially grounded the tsar of the liquor industry to his palatial mansion in Goa- not a bad place to be- as he refused to fly the 'aam admi' way. Now as the games’ season starts, there are rumblings again of paying employees, starting Kingfisher Airlines again. W...

Neelam Mathews March 22, 2013 While the minister of civil aviation's statement on pulling out of being the ultimate decision maker for import of aircraft and abolition of the aircraft acquisition committee, was hailed by the industry and many a bubbly popped, it is perhaps a coincidence that this decision was made even as the business plan for the AirAsia-Tata Sons was submitted and returned to them with some changes that needed to be made, AerospaceDiary learns, but could not confirm.  How the wheel turns! Remember attempts of SIA-Tata  to enter India's aviation arena that were unceremoniously battered down? This is perhaps an unintended retribution! As they say, 'never say never'. Some would say:"Its payback time." We feel a decision that is overturned in a matter of 5 months, should be of concern to the industry and investors as it indicates that no decision by the government lasts forever- or at least a decade. Remember the telecom mess? So, whil...

Neelam Mathews March 21, 2013 GeoPolitics- thy name is bedlam. Even as tourism had picked up between the two neighbors, SriLankan airlines announced today it has decided to reduce its frequency of flights to Chennai from 28 to 14 per week, effective from today. Was it coincidence that the news followed India’s vote against SriLanka at the UNHRC, one will never know. SriLankan Airlines said it “has observed a drop in traffic between Chennai and Colombo due to recent developments in Tamil Nadu, hence it was decided to reduce its frequency of flights….Revised schedule involves two daily flights, departing Colombo in the morning and evening, to facilitate the passengers who board their flights to Middle East and far eastern destinations from Chennai. Flights to other Indian destinations will be operated uninterrupted. SriLankan Airlines is closely observing the situation and will take further action if necessary.” Interesting, the carrier is tapping India’s traffic to the Mi...

Neelam Mathews March 19, 2013 Tony tweets-  Due to AirAsia and the Apprentice, won't be going to many Asian races.   The marketing at AirAsia never stops- Awesome!

Posted by- Neelam Mathews March 18, 2013 Answering a question in Parliament today defense minister said some of the major projects of Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which are lagging behind schedule are given below:- Project Probable Date of Completion (PDC) Original Revised Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Phase-ll December 2008 December 2012* Naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA, Navy) Phase-I March 2010 December 2014 Aero-engine Kaveri December 1996 December 2009# Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) System October 2011 March 2014 Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LR-SAM) May 2011 December 2015              *PDC is likely to be extended up to March 2015.                 #PDC has been extended within the sanctioned cost and scope . ...