Aerospace Diary

  →By Neelam Mathews Devaluation of oil-rich Kazakhstan’s currency, tenge, twice in two years following a crash in oil prices has led national carrier Air Astana to focus its expansion on neighboring countries such as China and the Ukraine, and less on the saturated domestic market. But even as it fine-tunes its growth strategy, the carrier is eager to retain  its solid #PaxEx credentials . President and CEO Peter Foster, who has been with the airline for 11 years, told RGN in a recent interview that he is accustomed to fluctuations in oil prices and will not be deterred by the downturn. While Air Astana’s “cost base has never been lower”, Foster acknowledged that the short-term challenge is to manage recession. “We face a revenue challenge.” This is because Kazakhstan’s population of 17 million people is catered to by multiple airlines, which are targeting the same market with cutthroat fares, and in turn threatening ...

by  Neelam Mathews  - March 27, 2015, 7:42 AM India has bought three EMB-145s and equipped them with an indigenous AEW&C system but will not acquire any more Credit-Neelam Mathews India is seeking a joint-venture deal with Embraer to export the EMB-145 AEW&C system, now that it has decided on a larger platform to meet Indian Air Force (IAF) requirements. The country has acquired three of the Brazilian aircraft  and equipped them with an indigenous radar system . They are now undergoing trials, and two will enter service with the IAF. But the service will not exercised an option to acquire more such aircraft. Meanwhile, however, India is evaluating responses to the  RFP that was issued last year  for six larger platforms. S. Christopher, director of the Center for AirBorne Systems (CABS) within the government’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), told AIN that the...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  OCTOBER 22, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Kazakhstan flag carrier Air Astana wants to expand its network in Asia and could seek bilateral alliances with operators such as Royal Jordanian. October 22, 2012, 11:50 AM As oil and gas wells overflow in Kazakhstan, Air Astana–the national carrier of the newly enriched former Soviet republic–is looking deep into Asia to expand its network. Its inclusion on the  European Union blacklist , which frustrates its ambitions to expand west, lies at the heart of its strategy. Air Astana’s discussions over a code-share partnership with Royal Jordanian, which follows an analogous strategy, is no coincidence. Royal Jordanian has developed Amman into a hub for the Levant region, straddling western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and northeast Africa. As in central Asia, small and relatively weak flag carriers traditionally have served the region, according to inde...