Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews , Delhi Feb 28, 2019 French design and project management consultancy Egis is targeting the Indian air traffic management and airport markets, according to chairman and......JAR

Benefits of connectivity must be protected with appropriate support from governments if the air transport sector is to help fulfill its potential as a connector of people, trade and tourism and is a driver of sustainable development. These are the conclusions drawn in a new report, Aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders, issued by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG)- Worldwide, aviation supports 62.7 million jobs and generates $2.7 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP).  Across Asia-Pacific, specifically, air transport supports 28.8 million jobs and contributes $626 billion to the region’s GDP. In the next 20 years, forecasts suggest that aviation-supported jobs worldwide will increase to over 99 million and GDP to $5.9 trillion. Asia-Pacific boasts the highest share of global traffic at 33% and aviation in the region is forecast to grow strongly at 5.1% per annum for the next 20 years. With the liberalisation of the air transport market in the ASEAN region being agreed in ...

Kurt Baes, Willem Romanus, Mattias Banck of Arthur D. Little The aerospace and defense (A&D) industry today struggles with a duality: defense-driven segments take hits due to significant governmental budget cuts, while commercial aircraft manufacturing is enjoying double-digit growth. Commercial aircraft deliveries at Airbus and Boeing grew by a CAGR of 7.5% between 2010 and 2015, with both companies registering record annual deliveries in recent years. Nevertheless, the commercial aircraft value chain is under stress: only half of the manufacturing firms in the chain show healthy profitability growth, and European players especially have struggled to enhance shareholder value. Which strategies should players take to surf the growth wave? Commercial aircraft manufacturing: steady and strong growth, sizeable order backlog Air traffic growth and the replacement of ageing fuel-inefficient aircrafts are driving the global commercial aircraft market. The two major OEMs, Ai...

Neelam Mathews  - IHS Jane's Airport Review 17 July 2014 ATC  The incoming BJP government led by Narendra Modi must surmount a number of aviation obstacles Even as the Indian Parliament prepares to clear the creation of an independent Civil Aviation Authority to replace the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the corporatisation of Air Navigation Services (ANS) is top on the list of the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 100-day agenda. Other immediate plans include establishing low-cost airports. Some aviation insiders harbour serious concerns about ANS corporatisation. Subit Kobiraj, president of the CNS [Communication, Navigation and Surveillance] Officers Guild, described "grey areas" in the implementation plan - and  IHS Jane's  has seen a letter dated 4 July, addressed to the AAI Member ANS from Shamsher Singh, general secretary of the ANS Guild. ....read more on Janes Airprots Review

Neelam Mathews July 5, 2014 The government will need to start looking at aviation in its entirety and not in isolated blocks. Take for instance, the shortage of CNS manpower at Airports Authority of India, which is a  becoming a safety hazard even as new ATM facilities continue to be commissioned. If CNS staff, are not added as per present requirements, safety will be severely compromised, employees  informed the Chairman AAI recently. CNS and ATM Data Processing are the backbone of Air Traffic Services for safe and smooth operation of aircraft at airports and Indian airspace and accidents could be waiting to happen with overburdened and stressed people. Interestingly, DGCA’s Pre-commissioning Safety Audit for CNS-ATM facilities does not look into the Safety critical requirements of adequate CNS manpower for new facilities. “There is a missing link in the Safety Chain of Air Navigation Service….this is the weakest link in the chain....,” cautioned a recent letter...

Neelam Mathews June 29, 2014 And this is exactly what is happening between the aviation industry and the DGCA that views all operators as violators. We at AerospaceDiary, have received umpteen calls, all boiling down to the same thing- the DGCA does not have any faith in the industry despite the total powers moving from E Part, 7 to 8 years ago to Part 145 that moves control to airlines to take decisions and to enable the regulator to move on its own business. In essence, the quality manager and engineer hired for precisely the same purpose by the airline have ended up as mere appendages. DGCA interference has led airlines ending up with higher costs and AOGs. Given that DGCA has incorporated EASAs Part 145 with so much conviction- including the spelling mistakes- it should now follow it to the last word. "Give a chance to airlines to grow. If you find a defaulter-and there are bound to be some- keep them under scrutiny," said the official. However, he adds, "w...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  NOVEMBER 18, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS AAPA director general Andrew Herdman. November 18, 2013, 9:40 AM Lack of infrastructure and regulatory cohesion challenge the growth of the Asia-Pacific region’s airlines, said Andrew Herdman, president and director general of the 15-airline Association of Asia Pacific Airlines ( AAPA ). Herdman and other industry officials warned of rising air traffic congestion at  AAPA ’s 57th Assembly of Presidents, held November 14 and 15 in Hong Kong. The Association of South East Asian countries (Asean) will begin implementing an Open Skies liberalization policy in 2015. Already, with seven of the world’s top 10 busiest routes located in Asia, the region sorely misses a single regulatory body like the  U.S.  Federal Aviation Administration to control its congested airspace. Every nation has its own set of regulations related to airspace management...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  NOVEMBER 18, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Lion Air faces increasing competition from new low-fare startups in the Asia-Pacific region. (Photo: Boeing) November 18, 2013, 9:45 AM Economic growth, aviation deregulation, a growing middle class and aggressive tourism marketing continue to drive business in the regional markets of Asia-Pacific, where well entrenched budget carriers such as Malaysia’s AirAsia and Indonesia’s Lion Air face increasing competition from new low-cost startups. In neighboring India, three of every four airline seats now belong to budget carriers. According to Sydney-based consultancy Center for Asia Pacific Aviation ( CAPA ), Southeast Asia’s international market has seen a 20-percent capacity increase in the last 18 months, from 4.7 million weekly seats in April last year to 5.6 million weekly seats last month. The fastest growing markets, Thailand and Malaysia, added 23...

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  NOVEMBER 15, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Russo-Indian cooperation to develop the Brahmos cruise missile will be extended. But integration onto India’s Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters has been delayed. (Photo: Chris Pocock) November 15, 2013, 12:56 PM The contract between India and Russia to cooperate on the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile expires in February next year but is likely “to be renewed indefinitely by the end of [this] year,” an Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) official, who did not wish to be identified, told  AIN . “We’re partners. It’s not for us to divulge,” Shivathnu Pillai,  CEO  and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace, told  AIN . Earlier this year, the Indian Navy tested a highly maneuverable, warship-based version of the Brahmos. The surface-to-surface version has a top speed of Mach 2.8, and 290 km range with  GPS /Glonass mid-course guidance. It is being prep...

DUBAI AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Paras Dhamecha, executive director at Empire Aviation with a Challenger 300 managed by AEG in Bangalore. November 15, 2013, 10:30 AM Dubai-based aircraft sales and aircraft management specialist and operator of the region’s largest fleet of business jets,Empire Aviation Group, which has been a subsidiary of  Air Works India Engineering  since 2012, is looking to expand support to the booming Southeast Asia market. A strategic tie-up is to be announced in the first quarter of 2014, Paras Dhamecha, executive director at Empire Aviation, told  AIN . Empire started its services in Bangalore early this year and is now taking “the  Air Works marriage  forward,” said Dhamecha. As markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand boom, he added, “we will create an international brand east of India–not China. Southeast Asia and Hong Kong are active [markets]…Our f...