Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Aug 31, 2015      Credit- Vistara website One has got so used to a DIY culture with domestic airlines-I'm not complaining as the budget concept and what comes with it is pretty ingrained into us- that,when old fashioned service is given, it seems a bit alien. But one gets used to it in a hurry as I discovered while checking into the business class of Indian aviation's newest star, Vistara in Delhi for an early morning flight to Bangalore. Checkin was smooth and despite my meek protests not to be accompanied, I was ushered into the lounge and it felt like going back into time. So why not sit back and relax as they say? Inflight, the seat was comfy, cold towels given etc etc, and though the hand-held IFE had programs I had no affinity to, the warm flight attendant- ex KFA and Saudia-made me forget all my gripes as she patiently and honestly catered to every annoying query from me.For a journo, thats a goldmine! Yes, the Tata-SIA factor is certa...

  Neelam Mathews Asian Aviation Aug 2015

 Neelam Mathews   Aug 25, 2015 The FlyEye mini-UAV will be offered to the Indian army by Kadet Defence Systems in partnership with WB Electronics of Poland. (Photo: WB Electronics) An Indian Army requirement for approximately 600 sets of mini- UAV s is attracting interest from various manufacturers, who must partner with Indian companies to comply with the government’s “Make in India” industrial strategy. The Directorate General of Infantry has issued a request for information ( RFI ) that will be followed by a request for proposals by late 2016. Indian companies will make the bids. The   OEM s include two Israeli companies: Aeronautics, maker of the Orbiter mini- UAV , and Elbit Systems, maker of the Skylark. Aeronautics' partner is not yet known, while Elbit might team with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd ( HAL ). AeroVironment will   co-develop the Cheel —a version of the Puma—with Dynamatic Technologies. Boeing is with Tata Advanced Systems ...

UVonline The Indian UAS market is looking strong after years of stagnation. Neelam Mathews rounds up the latest development T hanks to the government’s push to ‘Make in India’ combined with some longoverdue action on procurement decisions that had taken a back seat for the past decade, UAVs are high on the agenda for military and security agencies. Newly forged public-private partnerships are driving growth in an industry that was previously restricted by slow-moving statesector development programmes. Given the country’s manufacturing boom, ‘initiatives of development are being done in India [now] at multiple levels as sources of technology are dispersed, and are not dependent on just one or two OEMs’, said Rahul Gangal, partner in the New Delhi office of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. India’s 6Wresearch has forecast the domestic UAV market will reach $421 million by 2021, although this figure may need to be revised given the i...

Neelam Mathews Aug 18, 2015 As airlines in India jostle for media recognition in a bid to attract passengers, they are employing a host of new marketing initiatives in this fiercely competitive market. Leading the way is India’s fastest growing carrier, IndiGo, which has finalized a deal  to acquire 250 Airbus A320neo aircraft . Eyeing a public offering before year-end, the consistently profitable budget carrier focuses on excelling in meeting the  core  needs of passengers.  “It’s all about the experience – being on time, cleanliness on board and standardization,” says a marketing guru in the region. The carrier’s Twitter handle reacts politely to good and bad tweets, and its marketing is imaginative. “Who would think of printing little [story] snippets on sandwich packs? I know of a woman who has collected 68 cookie packs! Perhaps one day they will have a competition for the collectors,” he says of IndiGo’s decision to make the packa...

Neelam Mathews Aug 19 2015 AIN. Credit. Neelam Mathews India’s expanding aerospace industry has expressed regret about the government’s decision to buy 36 Dassault Rafale combat jets directly from France, without an offsets clause. Delhi has committed to signing the inter-government contract by the end of calendar year 2015,  AIN  has learned  from sources close to the negotiations . The tender for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft ( MMRCA ), which has now been withdrawn, specified 50 percent offsets as well as licensed production of 108 aircraft. Negotiations on the  MMRCA  faltered on the liability clause between government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics ( HAL ) and Dassault, which was not willing to take responsibility for  HAL ’s work. “ So much for the Make in India program,” said an Indian defense vendor, who told  AIN  that the valuable  MMRCA  project would have boosted the aerospace industry in India. A num...

Neelam Mathews Aug 18 2015 For the first time, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) is proposing to allow different regulatory codes for aircraft based on their all-up weight. The new policy would define two categories of aircraft: more or less than 5,700 kg (12,566 pounds). The country’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) has welcomed the  DGCA  report proposing this change as a positive first step toward regulations more suitable for non-airline operations. Reacting to the  DGCA report, the  BAOA  is further asking for separate  standards and recommended practices  for scheduled and nonscheduled operators; currently the two types of operation are lumped together under many of the same rules. The association has suggested subclassifications for the two categories. “ You cannot equate a small operator flying three aircraft of Challenger 605 weight class, for instance, with an airline operating 70 nar...

Neelam Mathews Aug 18 2015                    IndiGo now operates close to 100 A320s. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) I nvestor confidence in the troubled Indian air transport sector appears poised for a boost with budget airline IndiGo’s plans to raise $400 million in an initial public offering ( IPO ) following its   order for 250   A320N eos . Delivery schedules call for those airplanes to arrive in India between 2018 and 2025. In the past nine years since its launch, IndiGo has ordered 530   A320 -family jets. It expects to become the second carrier to receive the   A320N eo from a batch of 180 it ordered in 2011, after Qatar Airways takes its first in December this year. “ IndiGo’s   IPO   helps re-rate the sector and is a reflection of what can be achieved by budget GoAir and SpiceJet, and even Jet Airways,” Kapil Kaul, South Asia   CEO   of Sydney-based Center for Aviation t...