Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Oct 31, 2015 All that fanfare about the draft aviation policy (watch this space!) and how the aam admi is going to fly etc etc and news coming in that pax will have to pay a UDF at Hyderabad of Re 485 on domestic tickets and Re 2000 on international! Really Mr AERA/ MOCA! So much for capping of fares-lets have a standardization in your thinking. By the way, as prices squeeze us the middle class, banish any thoughts of that hoped for year-end travel. Domestic fares as a result will go up on an average of 25% between Bangalore and Hyderabad and 10% between Hyd and Delhi. As for Hyd- international destinations, expect an increase of atleast 40%! Happy New Year.

Neelam Mathews  - IHS Jane's Airport Review 25 October 2015 ndiGo developed its own boarding stairs for passengers with limited mobility, but it also plans to procure a range of new GSE as it expands its fleet. Source: Neelam Mathews  Encouraged by low aviation fuel prices and a growing economy, Interglobe Aviation, promoter of India's largest budget airline, IndiGo, is looking to raise around USD465 million in an initial public offering. About USD5.3 million of the funds raised will be used up to March 2018 for the procurement of ground support equipment (GSE), IndiGo confirmed in a document filed with the Registrar of Companies and Stock Exchanges. GSE to be purchased includes 26 apron buses, 13 tow tractors, 47 ground power units, and nine pushback vehicles. IndiGo will replace GSE nearing the end of its service life, while also procuring equipment to match its fleet expansion plans. The airline does not intend to buy any second-hand equipment. "The p...

Neelam Mathews Oct 14, 2015 Five bidders are in contention to build a new greenfield  airport  at  Mopa  in the Indian state of  Goa . Construction by a public-private partnership is planned to start in August 2016 and will be completed by 2019, Chief Minister of  Goa Laxmikant Yashwant Parsekar announced at an aviation summit held by technology provider SITA on 13 October. "We want  Goa  to be a hub for aviation," Parsekar said. " Mopa  will serve as an engine for growth for the economy of  Goa  state." Responses to a Request for Qualification in October 2014 came from the Airports Authority of  India ; Essel Infra with Flughafen Zurich; GMR Infrastructure; GVK; and a consortium of .............. Goa  is served by Dabolim  Airport , which is run by the Indian N......more on Janes Airports

by  Neelam Mathews                                                                   October 23, 2015, 10:34 AM                 IndiGo operates a uniform fleet of 97 Airbus A320s. (credit-neelam mathews)   Helped by low fuel prices and an improving economic outlook, InterGlobe Enterprises, the current majority owner of Indian budget airline IndiGo, plans to raise up to $465 million in an initial public offering from October 27 to 29. InterGlobe expects the   IPO   to rank as the biggest airline public issue in India since the country’s first budget airline, Air Deccan, made its debut in the market in 2006. Domestic budget carriers in India now hold a 65 percent market share. The company plans to use the funds for retirement of certain outstanding ...

Neelam Mathews Oct 18, 2015 While Boeing Co Chairman, President and CEO James   McNerney announced to an awe-struck audience in Delhi on Oct 16 that the company would be willing to make its twin-engine F-18 fighters in India, when India releases another MMRCA tender in two years, one wonders what is actually happening to thinking in higher echelons of power? I am not even going into issues related to CISMOA, which a few say will be solved ultimately. While it goes to the credit of the OEMs that they are more than willing to include Indian companies in their global supply base, one wonders why homework has not been done to calculate costs that will be incurred should the country add to its already over two dozen different aircraft models? The Indian Air Force, as far as I can remember, has been crying hoarse over this issue. So while, one has no affiliations to the Rafale for instance, why not just set up co-production for another 90 more? We have to start some time. As...

by Neelam Mathews  - October 15, 2015, 11:16 AM Indian air force chief of air staff AM Arup Raha reviews engine component production at HAL’s Koraput factory. (Photo: Indian MoD) The Indian Air Force continues to mull alternative plans for its future combat aircraft fleet. But despite a recent call by chief of staff   AM   Arup Raha to speed up production of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft ( LCA ), a senior MoD official has told   AIN   that India will exercise its option for 36 more Rafales in a year’s time. The contract for the first 36 is expected to be signed shortly. Despite years of development, the   IAF   has received only one   LCA   from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd ( HAL ), for weapons integration and testing. Another three are due to be delivered by mid-2016, and   HAL   has said it can produce up to eight   LCA s annually, after investment in jigs, tools and fixtures. The   IAF   place...

Neelam Mathews Oct 13, 2015 Facebook Twitter DELHI: As airlines get a breather from plunging oil prices and tech-savvy, mid-level managers accept the fact that their ‘road warrior’ status doesn’t always come with first- or business class benefits, some sage upgrades by airlines are being implemented. Arguably chief among them is the introduction by non-US carriers of premium economy – a class of product that can give regular flyers on a budget a reasonable shot at affordably avoiding the economy class crush. Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the latest carrier to join the premium economy bandwagon; firstly on its A380s. But will SIA extend this new product to the new ultra long-range Airbus A350-900ULR, which  after an amendment to its A350 order is now poised to enable the reinstatement of all-premium, non-stop service from Singapore to the US from 2018? The airline, which  pushed for the ULR , isn’t saying explicitly. “We ...

With ‘Make in India’ the new mantra, NEELAM MATHEWS reports on the advent of the private sector in India’s aerospace industry (Aerospace UK) A decade of policy paralysis is giving a new ray of hope to the sluggish Indian aerospace industry — until recently dominated by slothful staid public sector companies plagued with delays with neither the will, nor the inclination to innovate or move forward. Driven by the promised speedy and transparent policy for aerospace manufacturing by the, now over one year old, Narendra Modi Government, that has made ‘Make in India’ its mantra, the entry of private sector into forbidden territory is changing the very dynamics of the business. While there remains a slip between the cup and the lip, $30bn worth of contracts cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in the past year are awaiting release of Request for Proposal (RFP) that, in theory at least, needs to be closed within a year. The new defence procurement policy once announced, it is ...

By Neelam Mathews DELHI: India’s refusal to revoke its rule – at least for the moment – to permit live inflight connectivity over Indian airspace forced SIA-Tata owned startup Vistara to seek interim solutions, says the carrier. A Vistara spokesperson tells RGN that while Indian carriers are collectively trying to convince the government to permit Internet on board, clearances are still required from the country’s ministries of civil aviation and telecom. To ensure passengers get value-add on the full-service carrier and as government clearances do not come easy, Vistara tapped defense contractor – and IFE newcomer – BAE Systems to install its IntelliCabin wireless IFE solution on its Airbus A320s. This is not a live connectivity system. Wireless IFE systems stream content from an onboard server via wireless access points on board the aircraft. The content is pre-loaded and cached. The system will be installed on the nine-strong fleet of aircraft th...