Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews May 27 2016 A decision is expected soon to deploy a WindTracer lidar system at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport,  IHS Jane's   has learned. WindTracer manufacturer Lockheed Martin has been in "discussions with the Airports Authority of  India  and Indian Meterological Department [IMD] for a number of years", confirmed Phil Shaw, head of Lockheed Martin  India . The technology "looks for wind hazards on approach like wind shear, which you cannot see with any other detection source in clear air". Wind shear is caused by sudden changes in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance, posing a problem for aircraft safety on take-off or approach. Concise information on sudden wind shifts could significantly improve aircraft handling during these phases of flight. WindTracer also measures wake vortex turbulence, which is a particular issue at airports with parallel runways. Shaw explained that.........more on ihsa...

Neelam Mathews Jane's Airport Review 24-05-2016 On 23 May 2016, controllers began training on systems in the new 25-storey air traffic control (ATC) tower at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi,  India . IHS Jane's   was given a tour of the 102 m-tall tower, which cost more than USD 50 million. The visual control room has 21 controller positions with 360-degree visibility of the runway and taxiways, while 12 ground controller positions are in place at an operational level. Indira Gandhi International is the busiest airport in  India  with 344,413 aircraft movements in the 12 months to March 2016. In the same period, passenger volume rose by 18.1% to 48.42 million. The new tower is designed to deal with expected growth up to 2032, when 500 stands are expected. Training is under way for controllers at the new ATC tower in Indira Gandhi International Airport. (Neelam Mathews) A hydraulic control system enables the cabin to be raise...

by  Neelam Mathews  May 20 2016 From left to right, bottom row: Katsuya Goto, president of Vanilla Air; Robert Sharp, CEO of Tigerair Australia; Lee Lik Hsin, CEO of Tigerair, Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot; Piya Yodmani, CEO of Nok Scoot; Patee Sarasin, CEO of Nok Air; Ken Choi, CEO of Jeju Air and Michael Szucs, CEO executive adviser of Cebu Pacific In a bid to tap burgeoning unserved regional markets, eight Asia Pacific budget carriers have launched the largest budget airline alliance in the world. Airlines in the group, called Value Alliance, served more than 47 million passengers from 17 hubs in 2015, while rivals AirAsia Malaysia and its subsidiaries flew more than 51 million passengers. Founding Value members include Cebu Pacific, Jeju Air, Nok Air, NokScoot, Scoot, Tigerair Singapore, Tigerair Australia and Vanilla Air. The formation of the alliance represents a response to access to new markets and secondary airports resulting from the Associati...

Neelam Mathews May 15, 2016 As India's DPP awaits the Strategic Partnership clause to take off, Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar told AerospaceDiary this could be possible "after hearing all the stakeholders getting their  apprehensions on board."  He added: "We should start with one or two strategic platforms (though) I have nothing specific in mind so that we can also learn from their experience. It's a new kind of thing so you need to be careful there has to be proper thinking on all aspects including  (the) most important is transparency and financial competency. On why the decision had slowed down, He said: "Nothing is getting stopped. But when something is new, it has to be thought over. People don't want to come out of their cocoon, so there is either objection or apprehensions. So we have to take care of all those." While a lot Parrikar said made sense, this govt has to ensure it does'nt go in its predecessor's footsteps as ...

by   Neelam Mathews  -  May 9, 2016, 11:18 AM JetSmart CEO Erfan Haque is looking to boost empty leg flight utliization. [Photo: Neelam Mathews] Indian private jet charter start-up JetSmart recently launched its online booking platform. The company is looking to boost the use of empty leg flights, tapping what it says is an Indian fleet of some 140 fixed-wing aircraft and 100 helicopters available for charter with 120 operators. JetSmart, which is not affiliated with  U.S.  charter group JetSmarter, is part of three-year-old charter group IndJets India and to date has signed agreements with 15 other charter operators. JetSmart has financial backing from a group of small Indian entrepreneurs and three Middle Eastern investors. “I am willing to invest for the next stage,” said Abrar Ahmad, a partner in with Travel Capitalist Ventures. “We have identified key city pairs not covered by commercial carriers. The idea is to get as many priv...