Aerospace Diary

by  Neelam Mathews  - October 23, 2017, 8:53 AM     New-build private aircraft terminal and hangars at Delhi International Airport have been delayed by two years, following a change in their location in the airport’s master plan. The planned site of the multi-FBO facility that was to be ready by 2018 is now being shifted, because it is near an air force base,  AIN  has learned. The revised location is awaiting the demolition of the India government-owned Centaur Hotel near Runway 29, where the FBO will be constructed, according to airport CEO I. Prabhakara Rao. Two consortiums were awarded 20-year deals in late 2015 for the design, construction, finance, development, operation, and maintenance for the FBOs. Concessionaires Bird Worldwide Flight Services-ExecuJet and Indamer-MJets are mandated to invest around $15 million each in the terminal, lounges, hangars, fuel storage and parking. Meanwhile, inte...

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW AEROSPACE Lockheed Martin Encourages Singapore Girls into Aerospace Careers by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 17, 2016, 2:35 PM Following up on a United Nations resolution last year to establish February 11 as the annual day to promote women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ( STEM ), Lockheed Martin (Chalet  CS02 ) is trying to encourage promising female students to get excited about the subjects. In partnership with  UN  Women (Singapore),  LM  ran an afternoon session “Girls Take Flight” on February 15 for some 250 female students from 10-to-15 schools in Singapore to come together with women who were leaders in their fields in an effort to inculcate an interest for careers in  STEM -related industries. Women remain an “invisible force” in the industry. Industry-leading speakers addressing the audience included: Lt. Col. Carrie M. Howe, Marine Attaché to the Republic...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 8, 2016, 11:53 AM Making way for two recently announced  FBO s, Delhi International Airport Ltd. (Dial) has evicted some 20 third-party operators and companies from their premises at the airport. The two  FBO concessionaires—Bird Worldwide Flight Services-ExecuJet and Indamer- MJ ets—have until March 31 to sign new contracts with tenants and based operators,  AIN  has learned. India's Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) called the move a “monopoly” and took the issue to court. Operators are concerned because the concessionaires are sharing up to 65 percent of revenues with Dial, and this could substantially increase the costs of services rendered to them. Bird Worldwide Flight Services-ExecuJet and Indamer- MJ ets are also mandated to invest around $15 million each on the  FBO  terminal, lounges, hangars, fuel and parking.  “ We are looking for transparency, quality ...

Neelam Mathews Nov 20, 2015 NEW DELHI: In 1998 India released a stamp to celebrate woman in aviation, an important recognition for this ofttimes invisible force. Today, there is a storm of motivation brewing to do more to educate, train and recognize women in aviation, as this journalist recently learned in the green environs of the Dusit Devarana Hotel on the outskirts of New Delhi. There, a group of women has launched the India chapter of Women in Aviation, International (WAI). CJ Collins, who serves as the FAA senior representative in New Delhi covering South Asia, is the brainchild behind WAI’s launch in India. “I was at a WAI event and what hit me was India’s neighbor UAE had a chapter. Why not here?” A couple of chance meetings with Radha Bhatia, chairperson at Indian travel and technology services provider Bird Group, “where we were two lone women” in an all-male crowd, led to their mutual resolve to launch WAI’s 147th Ch...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  November 13, 2015, 4:11 PM An award to two consortia to design, construct, finance, develop, operate and maintain   FBO s at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport for 20 years and upgrade the present facility in phases is being called a monopolistic move by the general aviation industry. Airport management company Delhi International Airport Ltd. (Dial) would not comment about the award. Following two earlier canceled tenders, Dial and bid advisor InterVistas released the request for proposal ( RFP ) last year that mandated a partnership of Indian companies with foreign providers. Concessionaires Bird Group with ExecuJet and Indamer Co. with Mjets of Thailand won the bid. Others bidders were Air Works with Turkey’s Celebi and Shaurya Aviation with U.S.-Aurora Aviation. However, the very tenets of the bid are being questioned by India’s Business Aviation Operators Association ( BAOA ). R.K Bali,   BAOA ’s managing...