Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Aug 31, 2014 As reported, Vivek Lall  has confirmed he has moved from Reliance Industries Ltd to being appointed as CEO   for Commercial Strategic Development, General Atomics, California. GA that has been in India just for two years, is into nuclear energy and high technology defense applications. It is pitching for EMALS.

ROTORHUB 29th August 2014 - 18:14 by  Neelam Mathews  in New Delhi India has cleared the offsets proposal for 22 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy helicopters for the Indian Air Force.  The Defence Acquisitions Council, (DAC), headed by the defence minister, announced the move on August 29. The approval comes on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled to visit to the US on September 30.  It takes both deals closer to completion with clearances to be made by the finance ministry, which shares its minister with defence, and by the Cabinet Committee of Security. Meanwhile, the long pending, oft re-tendered, 197 Indian Army/Air Force Reconnaissance Surveillance Helicopter (RSH) bid for the Indian Army and Air Force, has been officially scrapped, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Boeing, last year, signed a MoU with Bangalore-based ......................................

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  AUGUST 29, 2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Indian Air Force chief of staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha flew the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad in June this year. August 27, 2014, 10:17 AM As part of its offset agreement related to a purchase by India’s air force, Pilatus Aircraft has signed a 10-year contract with Tata Advanced Systems ( TASL ) for the Indian company to supply aerostructures for the  PC -12  NG  utility turboprop single. Tata will replace existing supplier  PZL -Swidnik of Poland. This is India’s first major private partnership, and results from the 30-percent offset obligation (worth about $165 million) that Pilatus incurred in its sale of 75  PC -7 Mk  II  trainers and associated systems to the Indian Air Force ( IAF ). The  PC -7 contract also requires Pilatus to cooperate with Hindustan Aeronautics ( HAL ) in creat...

Jane's Airport Review Neelam Mathews Read full story on janes.ihs.com (subscription) Mattala Rajapaksala International Airport represents part of the island's bid to position itself as a tourism and cargo-handling destination For decades, Sri Lanka relied on a single international gateway at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport. However, this airport has reached saturation point beyond its designed capacity of 6 million passengers per year, processing 7.32 million in 2013. 1565965 The first phase of Mattala Rajapaksala International Airport went operational in 2013. (Neelam Mathews)   "Sources at the airport indicate that AASL is in advanced discussions with Oman Air and held talks with AirAsia X. SriLankan CEO Kapila Chandrasena told  IHS Jane's  that he expects MRIA to become a hub for leisure traffic to the Maldives. The airline plans by 2015 to shift its narrowbody MRO operations from Bandaranaike International to a ne...

Neelam Mathews Aug 26, 2014 Rome While there are some good tidings coming from the Modi government, I must say the practice being adopted to release an 'unofficial' statement through just a certain segment in the press, is in the steps of the past government. There are no sources quoted and no official sources. This is truly sending wrong signals to our foreign partners we want to do business with and leaving OEMs to clam up and probably writhe in agony. An example is this  Statement issued by Finmeccanica on the AW101 deal  -   "With reference to the many and often contradictory press articles concerning alleged decisions by the Indian MoD relating to existing contracts and future business with Finmeccanica companies, Finmeccanica would like to clarify that at the moment it has not received any official communication from any of the relevant authorities. Thus, Finmeccanica will not make any comments on these press reports."

Neelam Mathews Aug 25, 2014 Our expectations from the Modi Government are reaping rewards already. Impatient industry people will be glad to hear that very soon services can be used for offsets. The previous government's hair-brained idea is out of the window. Hopefully this policy has come to stay and there will be some provision to ensure it is not being misused. Bringing in financial institutional funding too, could be a step in the right direction. We are also hearing, but could not confirm the new FDI structure will clarify that the Indian stake of 51% in a joint venture can be split, giving some relief and hopefully more investment in an industry that has failed to take off. As for 100% FDI, it will be on a case-to-case basis. Which is fair enough. Licensing is also being rationalized. Now we just hope politics will not come in the way of nation building.

Neelam Mathews  - IHS Jane's Airport Review 21 August 2014   Key Points Rapiscan and L-3 will have the chance to showcase their technologies to the AAI and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security As the aviation market in India grows, new airports will require investment in security equipment to meet international aviation safety and security standards A USD200,000 security co-operation agreement under the Aviation Co-operation Program (ACP) is to be signed between the US Trade Development Agency and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) later this month or in early September 2014,  IHS Jane's  has learned. Under the Aviation Security Equipment Testing and Evaluation Program, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will provide technical assistance and host visits of Indian aviation security officials to its testinglaboratories.........http://www.ihsairport360.com/article/4690/india-and-us-combine-in-security-initiative

Posted By- Neelam Mathews Aug 22, 2014 Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Marion Blakey accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge today from Capt. Lee Moak of the Air Line Pilots Association and made a personal donation of $1,000 to further support the effort to end ALS.    Her challenge went out to Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson and their head of government relations Andrea Newman, along with Club for Growth’s president Chris Chocola, and the Export-Import Bank’s chairman and president Fred Hochberg - you have 24 hours. http://www.aia-aerospace.org/ news/aias_marion_blakey_ accepts_the_als_ice_bucket_ challenge/#.U_eTuEI5f_k.gmail

Neelam Mathews Aug 21, 2014 Barely had Alok Sinha Jt Secy in MOCA taken over from Mr Agarwal as Chairman, AAI, this year, word has it, he is returning to his state UP cadre on Aug 24. Why can’t these decisions be made even a year in advance to ensure smooth functioning of our organisations?  It is becoming increasingly easy to understand why not much work is being done at the Airports Authority of India. Blame the system of transfers or the just the system that does not create loyalty of any sort.  We saw some adhocism and flip flops in the case of Rohit Nandan CMD of Air India too. As Bharat Bhushan is soon to join AERA - which we could not officially confirm- we are hearing Mr Raheja will be the temp replacement of Sinha.

Posted by-Neelam Mathews Aug 21, 2014 Easily one of my favorite hosts alongwith Jon Stewart. Wish we could have something like this in India! The ability to laugh at ourselves but not letting the main issue slip by.

Neelam Mathews Aug 14, 2014   Recently, while visiting the head office of a US publication I write for regularly, I was surprised to hear myself as was my editor, to hear me wax eloquent on the new government and its plans and how we as Indians finally saw hope on the horizon. For a person reporting deals and scams for the past few years, this was a transformation, and the editors eagerly offered me numerous assignments. Digging a bit deeper for my stories, I sadly found the same bureaucratic mindset and stubbornness to change and a ministry making unofficial leaks, ensuring journos hear their point of view alone. Twitter and a news agency is now the government’s mouthpiece and they do not reply to queries! Dear lord- this administrative inertia is what I had not voted for! I had voted for a promised change in policies to push India ahead, a fresh mindset and a freedom of expression- within limits of course. All this was reinforced after I read a story on Rol...

Engine teardown is a complex issue. Owners must consider the value of the engine, its parts, and the market for each. Choosing when to tear down an engine can feel like playing Russian roulette. Neelam Mathews reports . The decision whether to tear down an engine is a tough one as teardowns come at a price; labour and skills are the same as required in an overhaul. How does one decide to do a complete overhaul if the engine is over halfway towards its time between overhaul (TBO)? Among the many considerations, the owner must look at the availability of that aircraft type and its parts, and whether repair would be more cost-effective than reaping gains from serviceable parts. There is no generic answer to determine the right time for engine teardown, as each engine must be treated on its individual merits Jon Sharp, president and CEO of Engine Lease Finance Corporation (ELFC), explains his company's ‘hold or sell’ analysis: "On the one hand, we take into accou...

Neelam Mathews August 2014 http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?eid=29c8470d-b1c2-4c4e-b5ea-37717ad9f512

Neelam Mathews Aug 12, 2014 India is buzzing. Lufthansa expects to start flying A380s to Mumbai and Delhi from around Nov 1, this year, with the start of the winter schedule, South Asia Director Wolfgang Will told AeroSpaceDiary here. The A380s will replace the 747-800 to Delhi and 747-400s flying into Mumbai. The carrier is “in the final steps of getting approval.” The carrier has ordered 15 A380s, of which the 11 th and 12 th aircraft are in delivery mode. The last aircraft will be delivered by 2016. The entry of the world’s largest commercial jet will bring in 180 additional seats per flight and that’s no mean job to fill. Interestingly, the first ever region-specific commercial presently on major channels, “More Indian than you think,” to be followed by billboards and “much more,” is “a prelude to the A380 coming into India,” Will added. “We realize there are challenges, but we see huge opportunities. We will reach out to new customer segments like the leisure...