Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews April 27, 2014 As Jet Airways inches towards its 25 th anniversary on May 5- or is it the 26 th?  as people have different modes of calculation- AerospaceDiary has learnt an all- business class service on B737-900 could be started between Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai. We hear the aircraft is being reconfigured presently, but could not confirm this.                   While many would look at this as a gutsy step given that it were to happen, and with the economy not having bounced back, a ministry official here informed us the seats could be between 78- 92. Presently, Jet Airways has 28 business class seats on the sector. This could be in the footsteps of its partner Etihad Airways that is believed to be looking at a similar service from Abu Dhabi to London. While many might wonder whether load factors will meet expectations, we hear Jet has managed to woo its business c...

AINALERTS  »  APRIL 17, 2014 by    N eelam Mathews April 17, 2014, 10:38 AM India’s Invision Air has abandoned plans to build a wholly owned fleet of Embraer Phenom light jets, switching its business model to one based largely on aircraft management and a scheme to provide flights connecting smaller cities within the state of Maharashta.  Under a deal signed in 2007, Invision held options for 18 Phenoms. But these are now “deferred and in abeyance,” according to Invision managing director Vinit Pathak, who added that Embraer understands the economic pressures that have forced the change of plan. He also told  AIN  that the manufacturer has been “very flexible.” Invision is now evaluating other aircraft for the new services it intends to operate within the state of Maharashtra in the west of India. It intends to use 19-seat twin turboprops and expects to make its fleet decision in November, with plans to buy two or ...

April 17, 2014 Posted by Neelam Mathews Press Release The Government has appointed Admiral RK Dhowan PVSM AVSM YSM ADC as the Chief of the Naval Staff. Admiral RK Dhowan was commissioned in the Navy on 01 Jan 1975. He is a Navigation and Direction specialist who has served with distinction in an array of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments through his exemplary career spanning 40 years. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. He has commanded frontline warships INS  Khukri ,  INS Ranjit , INS  Delhi  and served as Chief Staff Officer (Operations) Headquarters Western Naval Command. He has also served as Indian Naval Adviser at the High Commission of India, London. He has commanded the Eastern Fleet as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and served as Chief of Staff at Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam. He also has the distinction of co...

ABACE CONVENTION NEWS  »  2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS April 10, 2014, 3:30 PM In its recommendations for improving general aviation in India, an  ICAO -led group has recommended to India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) include: Fully implementing a safety management system and ensure the industry is fully compliant; hiring and training sufficient qualified technical and administrative staff to carry out its obligations, and removing the pilot experience requirements for nonscheduled operators that require 500 hours, including 25 hours in type.

ABACE CONVENTION NEWS  »  2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS With the lack of fixed-base operators in the country, general aviation aircraft experience congested parking at Delhi International Airport. April 10, 2014, 3:15 PM With general aviation regulations in India caught up in a web of complex rules, the industry has expressed a need for a stable regulatory framework that would allow it to grow in a sound, more straightforward regulatory regime. Addressing this, an  ICAO -led group drafted a set of recommendations for a policy on general aviation–including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and seaplanes–and submitted them to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in April 2012. While no action has been takenas a consequence of changes in leadership over the past few months, 2014 could bring in good tidings, Rohit Kapur, president, Business Aviation Operators Association ( BAOA ) told  AIN . In addition, hopes are high, he said, that...

ABACE CONVENTION NEWS  »  2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Kerala-based charter operator Joy Jets recently received the first Embraer Phenom 300 aircraft to be based in India. It plans to add larger, longer-range aircraft next year. April 10, 2014, 3:45 PM Embraer recently delivered the first Phenom 300 to India. Customer Kerala-based Joy Jets will operate the light jet alongside its existing Phenom 100. The operator, which is part of the Joyalukkas chain of jewelry stores, has said it intends to add a longer-range midsize aircraft to its fleet next year. Embraer’s complete portfolio of executive jets (including the larger Legacy and Lineage models) is now represented in India. The Brazilian manufacturer has provided an instructor for the Phenom 300 to line-fly the aircraft with Joy Jets captains for the first 100 hours. Joy Jets said it selected the Phenom 300 because it can be flown by pilots already holding Phenom 100 ap...

AINALERTS  »  APRIL 10, 2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS April 10, 2014, 2:55 PM India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) accused the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) of trying to undermine the industry’s reputation by leaking observations made about nonscheduled operators during routine safety checks. According to the industry group, government officials have disclosed the findings of the checks to divert blame from the  DGCA  in the wake of the January 2014 downgrading of India’s safety rating by the  U.S.   FAA . “Most of the cases brought to light have been minor and level-two observations, which do not even prescribe the grounding of aircraft or penalties,”  BAOA  secretary  R.K.  Bali told  AIN . “This is causing damage to the business aviation industry as it tries to limp back to a saner business environment.” In a letter sent by the  BAOA ...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS The IAF currently operates three A-50EI aircraft, which are Ilyushin Il-76s outfitted with IAI Phalcon radar and mission control systems. (Photo: Indian Air Force) April 10, 2014, 8:00 AM Although India already operates two types of airborne early warning aircraft, the country’s air force is pressing ahead with a program to procure a third platform with extended range, longer endurance and higher operational altitude performance. A request for proposal ( RFP ) has been released to original equipment manufacturers by the Ministry of Defence’s Centre for Airborne Systems ( CABS ) for the supply of six “aircraft with necessary structural modifications, power and endurance adaptations and equipment installation/installation provisions for the Awacs (airborne warning and control system)(India) role, and certified as per  FAR  25 or equivalent.” The bids will be opened on July 15. With  CABS ...

AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS  »  APRIL 2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS India presents a ripe market for business aviation, if the industry can overcome significant regulatory and infrastructure hurdles, they emphasized at India Aviation. April 8, 2014, 4:50 AM The economic downturn over the past couple of years has resulted in negative growth for Indian general aviation, which has “hit rock bottom,” according to Rohit Kapur, president of the country’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ). Nevertheless, the Indian bizav community hopes that a general election next month will result in more decisive political leadership and effect change to a regulatory environment that many agree has stifled growth in their own industry and the wider Indian economy. “General aviation is directly related to the health of the economy, and once orders start coming in [for Indian companies] I am confident regulations will fall into place,” ...