Aerospace Diary

by  Neelam Mathews  -  May 28, 2019, 11:50 AM A Jet Airways-configured Boeing 737-800NG now donning the SpiceJet logo prepares to taxi at Delhi International Airport. By Neelam Mathews (copyright) India’s domestic carriers have found a temporary respite in their failing financials and capacity shortfall following the grounding of Jet Airways in mid-April. The reduced capacity and high demand in the market has provided an opportunity for domestic carriers to raise fares. The Jet shutdown has also given access to its slots at space-constrained airports, including Mumbai and Delhi. “Guidelines mandate only airlines that add aircraft have access to those slots,”  Vishok Mansingh, director of Mumbai-based consultancy CAV Aero, told  AIN . “SpiceJet and Vistara, as a result, have been quick to take Jet Airways aircraft on lease to get the slots.” Jet’s misfortune has advantaged virtually all airlines in India. With 19 Boeing Max 8s grounded, Spiceje...

Neelam Mathews May 27, 2019 Its been a while since I wrote a piece on lifestyle- not sure if this is a brief one on Bengaluru, Bangalore International Airport, design, management or strategy, but I do know by now, the greatest innovation of all - The Quad and BreaRoti. Hail to the innovators who have designed this gutsy piece of community get together which very sadly will be moved by December. Can you imagine pubs and eating places outside of the airport within the premises where locals gather on weekends? What a revenue earner! This quadrangle was empty space just outside the airport which now celebrates the cuisine, art, and heritage in a contemporary way of the IT city that has a buzz of its own. Archana, my friend and head of corp com - a very evolved lady- takes me around with pride. She knows her onions and every person who works there. This person to person connection is endearing I think. Interestingly every shop is constructed with renewable materials that are not p...

neelam mathews May 10 3019 7.05 pm As the aviation world awaits the fate of Jet Airways with the last date of the bids today, we are looking at a scenario which may not have been seen by most of us. There is no confirmation but what if- Etihad bids with Tata group for Jet? Think about it. We will come back with more. 

pix- Neelam Mathews 07 May Ball in Indian carriers’ court as more IFC providers approved By Neelam Mathews  → Indo Teleports Limited (ITL), a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) are the latest Indian companies to receive permission from the country’s Department of Telecommunications to offer inflight and maritime connectivity on domestic and foreign airlines and ships. They join Hughes Communications India (HCIL) and ... read on Runwaygirlnetwork.com

by  Neelam Mathews  - May 1, 2019, 12:38 PM Kazakhstan’s first budget carrier—Air Astana subsidiary FlyArystan—on Wednesday launched services from its Almaty base to the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan with one of its two Airbus A320s. FlyArystan will initially operate six domestic routes, with journey times from one to three hours to Taraz, Shymkent, Pavlodar, Uralsk, Nur-Sultan (Astana), and Karaganda, most of which lie on the periphery of the country. Aimed at computer literate first-time travelers, the Kazakh budget model resembles that of successful Indian budget carrier IndiGo, Air Astana president and CEO Peter Foster told AIN. By mid-October to November, when two more A320s join the fleet, FlyArystan will start to fly regional international routes to neighboring Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations and Russia, said Foster. Plans call for the fleet to grow to 15 airplanes by 2022. Foster revealed the airline would establish bases through joint ...