Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews May 29, 2018 India’s Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case on Tuesday against more than ten major officials of AirAsia Group in India, Malaysia, and Singapore, who, according to authorities, collaborated with civil aviation officials to “expedite the approval process and change aviation policies to suit the company.” The officials allegedly had lobbied for speedy clearances, removal of existing rules, and changes in regulatory policies to benefit startup domestic carrier AirAsia India. The case report viewed by  AIN  characterized the actions by the airline group as a “criminal conduct.” The report also specifically named AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes. Authorities on Tuesday conducted simultaneous raids at five offices of AirAsia India, which, according to a CBI statement, “led to recovery of certain documents” into which an investigation continues. The CBI said the “criminal conspiracy” amounted to an attempt to amend/remo...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 8, 2016, 1:07 PM Although Indian law limits foreign ownership of domestic airlines to 49 percent, some established carriers in India complain that startups such as Vistara operate under direct control of their overseas parents. (Photo: Flickr:  Creative Commons (BY-SA)  by  Rameshng ) India plans to release a new aviation policy next month and put it into effect on April 1, Ministry of Civil Aviation secretary  R.N.  Choubey confirmed to  AIN  during a civil aviation seminar in Delhi on February 2. The policy that has remained a draft for almost two decades comes at an opportune time, as Indian aviation posts record growth rates and low oil prices lead to competitive fares. Once a policy exists, investors can look seriously at investing in infrastructure-related projects. The policy focuses on development of regional connectivity and waiving of taxes that make maintenance, repair and...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS Indian Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley disappointed the country's aviation industry by failing to address its multiple concerns in his new budget. July 11, 2014, 6:30 AM With India’s airlines still mired in losses, the country’s new budget announced on July 11, did little to address some of the aviation industry’s most pressing concerns. It offered nothing on reforms in taxation on aviation fuel and maintenance, repair and overhaul–long issues of contention the aviation industry hoped India’s new government would address. In fact, the finance minister’s budget speech did not once allude to aviation, raising concern that the new government will be as ineffectual in removing obstacles to industry growth as its predecessor. The entry of domestic startups–AirAsia India and soon to be launched Tata  SIA —appears likely to exacerbate the situation as they released more seats in a market where supply already exceeds...

by    NEELAM MATHEWS February 12, 2014, 3:44 AM India’s newest domestic startup, full-service Delhi-based Tata SIA  Airlines, could have an advantage over newcomer budget-carrier AirAsia India as the latter is forced to wait for its air operators permit ( AOP ), which has been delayed by the decision of the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) to issue a public notice requesting comments. This could put on hiatus AirAsia’s plans of launching before summer. Tata  SIA , for its part, “expects to start operations by mid-2014,” a spokesman told  AIN . AirAsia India was due to have started operations by the end of 2013; investment company Tata Sons holds a 30-percent share in the budget carrier, while also holding an interest in Tata SIA –a potential conflict of interests it has refused to comment on. Somewhat surprisingly, India’s Competition Commission seems to have no objection to this, saying one carrier is ful...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Star Alliance member Singapore Airlines has signaled a desire to expand its Indian joint venture’s network to include international destinations eventually. (Photo: Singapore Airlines) September 30, 2013, 11:50 AM The  bid by Malaysia’s AirAsia to launch a low-fare airline in India with the Tata Group  has hit some unexpected turbulence as Singapore Airlines prepares to launch a joint venture with the very same investors. Already holding a 30-percent stake in AirAsia India, the Tata Group has now turned its sights toward the full-service market in agreeing to take a 51-percent stake in Tata SIA  Airlines, apparently to the dismay of at least one of the principal investors in the AirAsia Indian venture. Last week  Forbes  and several Indian media outlets reported that Arun Bhatia, a partner in AirAsia India, expressed shock at ...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  AUGUST 19, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS United Breweries Group chairman Vijay Mallya launched Kingfisher Airlines in 2005. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) August 19, 2013, 12:45 PM The death knell for India’s Kingfisher Airlines sounded as lender banks took possession of the airline’s 25,850-sq-ft headquarters property in Mumbai on August 10. Carrying some $1 billion in outstanding debt, liquor tsar Vijay Mallya and his United Breweries Group have seen wholly owned Kingfisher accumulate $2.6 billion in losses since its launch in 2005. Most recently, it registered a loss of $188 million for the quarter running from April to June. Once again it collected no revenue due to its  grounding on October 1  of last year. It still technically employs some 2,000 people, none of whom it has paid for the past 10 months, and retains a fleet of 15 airplanes out its former complement of 66, including three self-o...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  AUGUST 5, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Etihad Airways chief executive James Hogan (left) and Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal. (Photo: Etihad Airways) August 5, 2013, 12:10 PM Clearance of Etihad Airways’s $380 million investment in Jet Airways by India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board ( FIPB ) last week has paved the way for completion of the deal. The airlines now await approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs ( CCEA ), which oversees foreign investment proposals of more than $200 million, and security clearances of foreign nationals. Numerous caveats in the shareholder agreement now address concerns about the possibility that Etihad Airways would gain control of Jet Airways, despite the fact that the deal would give Etihad only a 24-percent stake. The restructured airline’s board would consist of 12 members, four appointed by Jet and two by Etihad (compared with the origi...

What is Mittu thinking? (pix-neelam mathews) Neelam Mathews June 3, 2013 These days, when Tony Fernandes speaks, he makes news. Suspect the quiet guy sitting next to him in a suit, his new CEO for India, Mittu Chandilya, isn't as silent as he seems. Tony promises Mittu will have fewer hair on his head in a few years if he does things right! Given the challenges ahead, we suspect it'll take less than that. Add to that a red cap and t-shirt ofcourse! Of the the little we have heard, Mittu is working overtime to start India operations, we are told, will start in October. We are also hearing, the AA India Chennai hub has a few issues that need to sorted out. But Tony has clearly said he has no complaints about bureaucracy in India. For his sake and the sake of Indian aviation going through an upheaval at the moment, we hope he is right- particularly in the context of an impending change in the government.

  Neelam Mathews  April 22, 2013 Complications don’t go away in India- more so for late entrants like AirAsia India, likely to be faced by a flood of pain points. Tony Fernandes has time and again declared Chennai as its hub, but at AerospaceDiary, we won’t be surprised if this decision may need to be re-looked. Little wonder, the carrier has not approached the authorities for an NOC as yet. As they say, never forget to look over your shoulder- there might be a competitor lurking there. In Chennai, where SpiceJet is safely enconsed with night parking for its six 737s and 4 Q400s using seven gates for their early morning flights and Indigo with five aircraft parked, possibly using the other two, and just 24 takeoffs and landings an hour, one wonders how the Asian giant will tap its early morning flight requirement with limited runway slots. Horror stories are aplenty about the new large terminal referred to by an operator, as a “white elephant”, not helpful to a ...

Neelam Mathews March 9, 2013 That Etihad may be leveraging Jet for its international expansion as reported by CNBC recently, is getting apparent. We learn that Jet has changed its plans to lease its A330 to Oman Air and will now lease it to future partner Etihad. Also a 777 returned from Thai is expected to head westwards. Aerospace Diary could not confirm this. It follows perhaps, that Abu Dhabi will be Jet's new hub. It is interesting to note, that recently, the minister of civil aviation has been mentioning the Jet-Etihad deal a lot. Just a day ago, he told CNBC: “ I am very hopeful that the deal will go through. …… Discussions are on between Jet and Etihad and their relations are coordial, I hope the deal will be concluded in the next four to six weeks.”  While one can understand the concern that the government has that its policy on FDI is working, there seem to be mixed signals on AirAsia. Worrying about that ubiquitous comma, Singh said: “T he government is in favo...

Neelam Mathews Feb 24, 2013   Before the rumor mill goes amuck, we at AerospaceDiary learn from a pretty reliable source that the new CEO of AirAsia India (I like the sound of that!) will not be from the airline industry. Again, we cannot confirm this and just reporting a strong tailwind. However, we do know from past history of the airline, there were few airline-associated top guys, starting with founder,Tony Fernandes, who refers to himself as a ‘dreamer’ in his twitter profile, while Azran, the CEO of AirAsia X calls himself a “madhatter running AirAsiaX, or sometimes just running aimlessly. Outdoor freak.or sometimes just freaking out randomly. On a plane!” Azran in Paris It is becoming increasingly clear the new guy will also be out of the aviation space, bringing in fresh ideas while the Tatas strive tirelessly with the regulator making it possible for Tony's dream to become a reality.

Neelam Mathews Feb 23, 2013 timescontent.com India's first budget airline Air Deccan made  its first flight in Aug 2003. It was no cake-walk for founder G.R Gopinath, who showed a similar grit asTony Fernandes- who already  two years into the business, had started shaking up everything that was previously sacrosanct.  Today, AirAsia is making making an entry into India and dare I say, we'll have our hats truly off to Fernandes if he manages to shake our moth-ridden system with fresh concepts.  Take the airports for instance. Many years ago, in an interview during Formula One in Bahrain with me, Tony called airports in India, "vultures." They still remain that and AirAsia is rather sagely keeping away from Mumbai and Delhi for the moment. Tony said during a press concall he hopes to convince them to relook at costs. At AerospaceDiary, we have our bubbly ready to cork if that happens! Tony also hopes that the five-year minima for Indian carriers to fly ...