Aerospace Diary

  AIN Air Transport Perspective » March 26, 2012 by  Neelam Mathews Russia’s Irkut displayed a full-scale interior mockup of its single-aisle MC-21 at this month's India Aviation show in Hyderabad. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) March 26, 2012, 3:50 पम   India could emerge as the third largest aviation market by 2029, from a ranking of 12th in 2010, according to a new report from the Airports Council International (ACI) at the recent India Aviation show in Hyderabad. But the country needs a regulatory framework to encourage investment, promote safety and facilitate the development of tourism, according to Rafael Echevarne, the ACI’s director for economics and program development. With budget carriers now selling more than 70 percent of airline seats in India, the country needs more investment in no-frills airports for smaller cities with a growing passenger base, added consultant KPMG during...

Neelam Mathews March 17, 2012 The Russians are breaking past myths about their lack of interest in customer care and design. In the past as long as the equipment worked and was hardy, design had no place in civil planes. I was fortunate enough to be shown the mockup at the Hyderabad show and wow, seriously think if the marketing is right, this is going to give the OEMs some serious sleepless nights. By the way, Lufthansa Consulting has been appointed by Irkut to do marketing for the MC-21 that has over 75% western suppliers including avionics and engines. One enters the aircraft and its all about space. Look at the bins on top and they are digital and designed for short people like me. Gone will be the days of looking feverishly around for a tall well built passenger to ask if he could help stack my trolley in a bin designed for those above 6ft tall! The fuselage is much larger giving more space for even the well endowed to pass through as the food is distributed. The econom...

Neelam Mathews Feb 19, 2012 Singapore Air Show Irkut Corporation, the head contractor in the MS-21 program, will soon be approaching India’s regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to assess local requirements if any, to incorporate in the design of its MC-21 family, Sales Director, Civil Aviation Division, Valery Lunkov told Aerospace Diary in Singapore. The company is also in discussions with government owned defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) whom it has identified as one of its six key sub suppliers for “the process of industrialization…. HAL will produce some elements of the aircraft,” says Lunkov. Meetings for finalization of HALs role are planned after the India Aviation show ( March 14-18) in Hyderabad. “We would like to launch the process of aggressive marketing in the Indian market,” he adds. This follows Russian President Dmitry Medvedev words last December at the India- Russia summit in Moscow. “I discussed the idea of shifting our su...