Aerospace Diary

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  FEBRUARY 25, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Malaysia-based AirAsia has announced plans to launch a new domestic airline in India before year-end. (Photo: Airbus) February 25, 2013, 1:52 PM Malaysia’s AirAsia has unveiled plans to launch a new domestic airline in India by the fourth quarter of 2013. Under the terms of a deal announced on February 21, the largest low-fare carrier in Asia will hold a 49-percent stake–the maximum holding permitted by the Indian government for a foreign investor–in the new airline. AirAsia is partnering with major Indian industrial groups Tata (to carry a 30-percent stake) and Telestra Tradeplace (21 percent). AirAsia chairman Tony Fernandes has decided against buying into an existing Indian domestic airline, as he could have done under foreign investment rules revised last year. By contrast, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways recently confirmed plans to buy 24 percent o...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  FEBRUARY 18, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Indigo wants to import 16 more A320s, but India's arcraft acquisition committee has issued clearance for only five. February 18, 2013, 4:15 PM India’s fastest growing and most successful airline–budget carrier IndiGo–has become the first victim of an October ruling by the country’s aircraft acquisition committee governing the number and kind of aircraft imported by airlines to encourage regional connectivity to smaller towns. In November, the committee, led by civil aviation minister Ajit Singh, cleared for import only five of the 16 Airbus A320-series aircraft Indigo wanted to acquire. “We know that operating an airline is a costly affair,” Singh said last month, “so [airlines] want to have only one type of aircraft as it reduces the operational costs. Hence, they need to be encouraged to also acquire smaller aircraft to fly to tier-two and tier-th...

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...