Aerospace Diary

Open Skies Open Opportunities for Embraer in Asia by  Neelam Mathews  - January 14, 2015, 3:44 PM The Embraer E195 found its first operator in Indonesia when Kalstar Aviation agreed to lease two of the narrowbodies from Aldus Aviation. (Image: Embraer) As the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) prepares to partially implement an  Open Skies policy  by the end of the year, airlines in the region increasingly eye expansion in low- and mid-density cities. Indonesian operator Kalstar Aviation did its part on Tuesday, when it announced a lease deal covering two Embraer E195s with Dublin-based Aldus Aviation. It plans soon to announce routes from Kalimantan, its base. “We are proud to be the first Embraer operator in Indonesia and we look forward to enhancing our operations,” said Kalstar CEO Andi Masyhur. “The E195 gives us an opportunity to open new routes and provide better connectivity, freque...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS Now leasing a pair of Embraer E170s, Air Costa became Embraer’s largest-ever Indian customer in February, when it placed an order for 50 of the company’s planned E2s. (Photo: Air Costa) March 24, 2014, 3:15 PM Five-month-old Indian regional airline Air Costa plans to start international operations once India lifts its rule that limits new carriers to domestic services during their first five years of operation. Ahead of that revision, the carrier, which  ordered a mix of 50 Embraer E190-E2s and E195-E2s at the Singapore Air Show  in February, has applied for a national permit to fly pan-India, Vivek Choudhary, chief commercial officer and vice president of corporate finance of parent company  LEPL  Projects Ltd., told  AIN . He noted that the range of the E2s would allow the carrier to fly to neighboring Southeast Asia and Middle East countries. “We will also look at code shares with [...

Neelam Mathews Sept 13, 2013 A reader has written to us saying the delivery of  Air Costa's 3rd Embraer ERJ 170 has delayed plans for launch. Air Costa, we hear, conducted trail runs in Vijayawada airport yesterday. It is awaiting the final NOC for airport slots expected by the of this month. The average fleet age is 4.6 years. DGCA norms mandate regional carriers to have a minimum of 3 aircraft, while scheduled operators must maintain 5 aircraft on their fleet.

Neelam Mathews Jan 8, 2012 Air Costa static website. We dialled the number-was constantly engaged There is some buzz again on the start of the regional Vijaywada-based Air Costa owned by Lingamaneni Estates (LEPL), a company into real estate, construction and contracting business. AerospaceDiary could not confirm this. The company has been employing staff of ailing Kingfisher Airlines that include cabin attendants, station managers, Instructors for Inflight services, ground instructors etc. In Aug last year, it had advertised for Captains holding ALTP License with total flying experience of 4000 hours (Jet 2000 hours, 1000 hours of Glass Cockpit, 1000 hours as TIC). The airline has popped in and out of the news  in the past year. Its website is static. However, we do hear it might start with five CRJ-200s, or Q400s.We realise the seating numbers of the two are miles apart, but we're reporting the buzz!  The CEO Air Costa listed on the website is Captain K.N. Bab...