Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Janes Airports  Aug 30, 2017 s Indian domestic traffic surges, overtaking projected air traffic and resulting in constraints from congestion in the air and on the ground, airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is seeking to add capacity at Indira Gandhi International airport with a revised masterplan. Low-cost carrier (LCC) growth, changes in airline fleet mixes, and increases in transit traffic and belly hold cargo are primarily responsible for the incremental change since 2006, when Delhi processed 10.4 million passengers, said I Prabhakara Rao, CEO of DIAL. "Keeping in....Read more in Janes 

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS A plan by India's transport ministry to allow charter companies to fly scheduled service to low-traffic routes has raised the ire of the airline industry. September 15, 2014, 12:32 PM Indian domestic airlines have voiced opposition to a Ministry of Civil Aviation ( MOCA ) draft policy on regional and remote connectivity that permits nonscheduled (charter) companies to fly regular service to remote destinations under code-share arrangements with scheduled carriers. Under India’s Route Dispersal Guidelines, domestic airlines must to fly 10 percent of their capacity to identified underserved areas. In a meeting called by  MOCA  to debate the draft policy, airlines plan to suggest establishing a regional connectivity fund in line with international practice. The plan would involve charging every passenger a fee, used for subsidizing airline operations for flights to 87 destinations mentioned unde...

Neelam Mathews June 24, 2014 There are so many woes domestic airlines are facing that one never hears of, that are often sniffed away. They range from something as basic as two aerobridges in Indore festering for 6 months for boarding that havent been fixed, to common terminal charges at airports, which some have referred to as "match fixing by the airports authority," (not our view!) . Do we really need aerobridges (Indore) for two flights a day?," AerospaceDiary is asked. Logic says no, but economic logic says something else, we guess. The query: "Why not create facilities where they are needed, instead of the other way around,?" makes sense again. One hopes presentations made to the PM recently took major issues in account. A case in point deeply resented by most airlines is that of Bangalore airport. "You increase  UDF, landing charges by 64% and then offer a discount of 25% on non-peak flights, still an increase of 40%," moans an operator...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  FEBRUARY 17, 2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS February 10, 2014, 5:20 AM Singapore’s transport minister, Lui Tuck Yew, has called for Asian nations to liberalize air transport policies, and build connectivity and infrastructure in the region. He was speaking at the Aviation Leadership Summit, held on February 9 in Singapore. Southeast Asia’s aviation landscape has undergone a substantial change and transformation with the rise of budget carriers, which now comprise 50 percent of the market. “Low-cost airlines have brought air travel to secondary airports, [with] a focus on short-haul travel, and are code-sharing with legacy carriers. In Asia they have set up affiliates to form interconnecting networks…Governments need to embrace the  LCC  sector,” said Lui. As traffic increases, pressure grows on governments to ensure sufficient capacity at airports. While Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta h...

Neelam Mathews May 19, 2013 There is an increasing realization on how the DGCA casually announced the unbundling- the newest word added to aviation parlance in India.Don't get me wrong. While I'm the first to support openness and transparency in the aviation sector, there are some c oncerns and we hope the DGCA is listening and, not just partially, like the BCCI!  Why, for instance, was the regulator in such a hurry? A date could have been indicated when the new system would start to ensure passengers, ie. consumers (yes they still exist!), could be given a chance to understand how it works for them. There is utter confusion in the market today. We think- given the comparitively new aviation business in India- DGCA could have set some guidelines for the unbundling, a word more misunderstood that most issues today. For instance, are the emergency seats on sale? If they are, that's a big safety issue. What if a disabled person is allotted the exit seats? Not the best...

Neelam Mathews Dec 17, 18, 2012 Even as the bad old 2012 nears an end, and Mr Mallya celebrates his birthday, followed by a new year bash and then the launch of the Kingfisher calendar, he has reason to celebrate-. “We will restart in a phased manner and will provide funding ourselves. We have not asked the Banks for any support. We have also shared a full recapitalization plan which will be further discussed with a small designated group of Bankers,” said a crisp statement from Kingfisher to Aerospace Diary this evening. No mention of how many aircraft- we hear it will be around 6 in “the first phase”. No mention of when they will take off- we suspect soon, since the carrier’s license expires end of this year. And though it is valid for 2 years after expiry, nobody will be in a hurry to renew it once it expires, we are told. No mention of how many staff will be retained. We hear they have not been informed. “Kingfisher is ready to infuse Rs 425 crore into the airline an...

Neelam Mathews

Neelam Mathews July 25, 2012 For all those who did not attend the CII- IATA meeting at the Leela Palace, one of the speakers announced the decision to permit foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers would be made on July 26. Aerospace Diary could not confirm this. The race is on.