Aerospace Diary

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  »  SEPTEMBER 3, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Indonesian carrier Lion Air emerged as one of several big-spending Asian carriers this year when Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of Asia Pacific and India sales Dinesh Keskar (left) and Lion Air president Rusdi Kirana signed a big order for Boeing 737s at February’s Singapore Airshow. September 3, 2012, 8:30 PM With leasing companies taking positions on Boeing’s new 737 Max, the Asia-Pacific region holds the key to large narrowbody orders, according to Boeing’s senior vice president of sales for Asia Pacific and India, Dinesh Keskar. “We have three potential customers in India and more in Asia [that can take the Max] on lease or direct buy: Jet Airways, SpiceJet and even Air India Express,” he told  AIN . “[The Max] can go 500 additional miles, which will be a big boon for the Asian market.” Keskar said Boeing’s latest 20-year foreca...