Aerospace Diary

13 Jan Vistara aims to go the extra mile to make passengers smile- Neelam Mathews Jan 13 2019 Vistara, a young, boutique airline in India, is seeking to make waves for its service and gracious staff. With a fleet of 22 aircraft including nine Airbus A320neos, Vistara – which is jointly owned by Tata and Singapore Airlines – has an endearing quality. Its name was drawn from the Sanskrit word Vistaar, which means “limitless expanse”. Presented with the opportunity to try .....https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2019/01/13/vistara-aims-to-go-the-extra-mile-to-make-passengers-smile/ By Neelam Mathews   → https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2018/12/04/oman-air-continues-to-embrace-its-roots-with-737-max-experience/ Oman Air continues to embrace its roots with 737 MAX experience Dec 4, 2018    By Neelam Mathews  → Oman Air recently celebrated the delivery of its fifth of 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8s on order with the airframer. Ke...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev (right) and Bombardier president and CEO Pierre Beaudoin meet in Astana on February 26. March 4, 2014, 11:12 AM The Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan plans to launch a domestic airline, Air Kazakhstan, in early 2015 with a fleet of 10 new Bombardier Q400 twin turboprops. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced the plans with Bombardier president and  CEO  Pierre Beaudoin on February 26 following a meeting between the two at January’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss wider cooperation in air and rail transport. “We can build on the experience of starting a new airline from Air Astana,” a 12-year-old joint venture between Kazakhstan’s national wealth fund Samruk Kazyna and the  UK ’s  BAE  Systems, confirmed Nazarbayev. “We plan to transfer technology, provide training to Kazakhstan’s pilots, construct a...

Neelam Mathews Dec 24, 2012 Airbus delivered the first A320 equipped with Sharklets to AirAsia on Friday, which becomes the first operator of the new fuel-saving large wing tip devices. Sharklets are an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft, and are standard on all members of the A320neo Family.

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Dec 19, 2012 Thales has issued the following clarifications regarding the ‘Angle Of Attack’ (AOA) probes that equip Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft following the airworthiness directives issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on December 4th and 17th. Here goes- Thales wishes to make the following clarifications- - The EASA directives regard the removal of the conic plates that equip the AOA probes, they do not concern the probes themselves. - EASA has demanded the removal of the conic plates that protect the probes; the Agency has not demanded the removal of the Thales-manufactured probes themselves. - Thales supplies the AOA probes alone and is not responsible for the probe’s conic plates. - Contrary to initial assertions made by certain media articles, Thales is not the supplier of the probes equipped on the A330 of the Asian carrier, which experienced the event that caused the EASA to issue...

Neelam Mathews Nov 15, 2012 Even as an Airbus ACJ319 with the fuel-saving Sharklet option has been ordered by a Chinese customer, in the first deal for this version from the country, Maldivian Airlines, the national carrier of the Maldives has become a new operator of Airbus single aisle aircraft, following the first commercial flight of an A320 on the inaugural flight from Male to Chennai.  The aircraft, operated under a leasing agreement, is the first A320 Maldivian will fly to destinations in the Indian sub-continent. “This signifies the increasing expansion of Maldivian in the region,” commented Abdul Haris, Managing Director of Maldivian. “We will start our A320 operations with direct flights to Mumbai, Chennai and Dhaka, much-anticipated routes for our customers.” 

Neelam Mathews Aug 22, 2012 With the delivery of its 13 th aircraft, slow and steadily growing GoAir has introduced a new flight from Lucknow to Delhi and Mumbai.  GoAir is the only low cost carrier in India offering a business class service aimed at SME customers. It recently entered into a contract with Germany-based and worldwide market leader Lufthansa Technik for maintenance and spare parts for its A320 fleet. “Within this financial year …..more flights are planned to connect major metros to Tier two and Tier three cities….. ,”   Giorgio De Roni, CEO, GoAir, said . GoAir services 22 destinations in India with 707 non-stop and over 2,000 connecting flights per week. An additional new aircraft will be added within the end of this financial year .

Posted by Neelam Mathews Aug 11, 2012 Go Airlines (GoAir) and Lufthansa Technik have signed a 10-year component support contract, effective from August, 2012, for the carrier's present and future fleet of 20 A320 classic and 72 A320 neo aircraft. The contract covers most of the spare parts required for the regular maintenance of A320 classic aircraft and will also cover the new A320neo fleet of GoAir which is expected to enter into service from 2016 onwards. The component support will be handled via the Lufthansa Technik Group network. Spare parts shall be supplied to the airline's bases at Mumbai and Delhi . The contract also provides GoAir access to Lufthansa Technik's manage/m technical operations WebSuite, whereby both parties shall observe just-in-time inventory management. This will enable further efficiency gains for both parties. The maintenance and repairs of the components will be done at Lufthansa Technik facilities. GoAir shall be supported by a d...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews June 8, 2012 Japan’s newest low-cost carrier AirAsia Japan has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320 aircraft in Toulouse, France. The Narita-based carrier will start commercial services on August 1 from Narita International Airport to Sapporo and Fukuoka, and from August 3rd to Okinawa with an initial fleet of two aircraft. AirAsia Japan will start international operations to Seoul (Incheon) and Pusan in Korea in October, with a fleet growing to four aircraft by the end of 2012. AirAsia Japan’s A320s are configured in an all economy layout with 180 seats. Each aircraft is powered by CFM56 engines. “We are extremely happy to take delivery of our brand new Airbus A320. Our aim is to provide opportunities for everyone to fly with low fares. With the A320’s cabin comfort and operational reliability, we want to offer better access, in particular for the Japanese travelling public, and make them feel easy to fly,” said AirAsia Japan President Kazuyuki ...

AIN Air Transport Perspective » May 28, 2012 by  Neelam Mathews Air France KLM’s Engineering & Maintenance division sees continued growth in India’s troubled airline industry. May 28, 2012, 10:25 AM The decline of India’s Kingfisher Airlines, whose fleet has shrunk to 16 aircraft from 66, hasn’t only served to push air fares upward due to declining capacity in a high-demand market. At the same time it has reduced business for suppliers and airline service providers, such as maintenance, repair and overhaul ( MRO ) groups. For example, Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance ( AFI / KLM E&M) fell victim to default on payments by Kingfisher , under the terms of a component support agreement covering its long-haul operations. “We had to pull out [of the agreement] as a result of non-payment of dues. This was done in good order with ...

Neelam Mathews May 24, 2012 Starting May 25 IndiGo will launch two new non-stop flights between Delhi and Mumbai; making it a total of 11 daily direct flights between the two metros. With fares spiralling to Rs 14,700 and over between the two metros, it remains to be seen whether there will be any respite. "The new flights are designed to serve the growing demand between the two business hubs of India, " says the carrier that has 56 brand new Airbus A320 aircraft, 351 flights connecting 32 destinations across the nation. Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo said: “In line with our endeavor to meet the requirements of both business and leisure travellers, we have introduced two new daily direct flights between Delhi and Mumbai. We are looking at providing affordable fares on these new routes for 6E travelers...."

Neelam Mathews February 18, 2012 It’s not the best of times for five star airline, Kingfisher, that is believed to have flown only around 20 of its fleet of 66 on Saturday. Aerospace Diary now hears this will be cut down to another four aircraft on Sunday (Feb 19). Interestingly, these will be a mix of ATRs and A-320s. This was confirmed by officials who told Aerospace Diary over five Kingfisher aircraft each were parked at Delhi and Mumbai airports. Attempts to reach the corporate communications head to confirm or deny the report were met with no repsonse. A letter to Kingfisher Airlines employees from senior management states that Kolkata will be pulled off from its routes from monday, while hinting Hyderabad will follow soon. The carrier is also looking at withdrawing from all its international routes starting with Dacca, Kathmandu, Colombo, Bangkok, and then London and Hong Kong. It is not clear if the DGCA has been informed of this decision. A distraught employee tells u...