Aerospace Diary

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Sept 19, 2013 Here's a press release that has taken the industry by storm. Sure we'll have much more in the next few days. Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and applied for Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to establish a new airline in India that will help further stimulate demand for air travel. Subject to FIPB and other regulatory approvals, the airline will be based in New Delhi and will operate under the full-service model. Tata Sons will own 51% and Singapore Airlines will own 49%. The initial Board will have three members, two nominated by Tata Sons and one nominated by Singapore Airlines. The Chairman will be Mr. Prasad Menon, nominated by Tata Sons. “It is Tata Sons’ evaluation that civil aviation in India offers sustainable growth potential. We now have the opportunity to launch a world-class full-service airline in India. We are delighted that we are partnering in th...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  MAY 20, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Air India reintroduced Boeing 787 service on May 15. (Photo: Boeing) May 20, 2013, 9:10 AM A major restructuring at Air India has cut loss-making routes to 25 percent of its network in the fiscal year ending March 2013, down from 69 percent in the previous year. The airline attributes the improvement to a series of steps taken to cut costs, restructure loans, strengthen management and liquidate assets, including the spin-off of engineering and ground handling as independent profit centers. Air India has also started the process of changing its business model to a “hybrid” one, said chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan. Following a recent approval by the ministry of civil aviation to allow for charging of extras, or “unbundling,” the airline has reduced its free baggage allowance on domestic flights to 15 kg from 20 kg. Meanwhile, the airlin...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  DECEMBER 10, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS The failure of Kingfisher Airlines to meet deadlines for repaying debts accounts for one of several factors that have discouraged investment in India’s air transport sector. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) December 10, 2012, 10:00 AM Policy-making paralysis over much-needed reforms and liquidity concerns raised by the grounding of Kingfisher Airlines has deterred investors, vendors, lessors and suppliers from doing business in India’s air transport sector, according to delegates attending last month’s Asia-Pacific Airlines Association Assembly of Presidents in Kuala Lumpur. “Airlines in India are scared of rising fuel prices and airport charges, and are waiting for the regulatory environment to pan out,” a senior  AAPA  airline executive told  AIN , speaking on condition of anonymity. “Besides, we do not expect much to move in India until t...

AIN Air Transport Perspective » August 6, 2012 by  Neelam Mathews IATA director general Tony Tyler says governments could reach a consensus over the ETS if the European Union backs down from forcibly imposing it on non-European carriers. August 6, 2012, 1:15 PM If implemented through global agreement rather than unilaterally by the European Union ( EU ), an emissions trading scheme ( ETS ) could prove effective in reducing aviation’s environmental footprint, according to Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association ( IATA ). Speaking with AIN during a visit to the Indian capital New Dehli, Tyler warned that the EU will not get the global agreement it claims it wants unless it “takes the gun away from the heads of other countries.” Nonetheless, he added that IATA considers the ETS “a good example of a market-based measure which would he...