Aerospace Diary

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW AIR TRANSPORT by  Neelam Mathews  -  January 31, 2018, 6:00 PM IndiGo’s A320 fleet will be augmented by ATR turboprops for rural service. India has rolled out a plan designed to encourage rapid growth in transportation services to, from, within, and between its regions. The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), titled “Udan” (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik, or “let the common man fly”), has been designed to act as a catalyst for growth as the Indian economy matures. The RCS was launched last year, after two phases of bidding for laid out routes, and now seems well on its way to maturity. Demand is clearly there­. Already growth in populated metropolitan areas has been spilling over to the hinterlands, opening numerous opportunities for regional aircraft, helicopters, and seaplanes to interconnect remote, underserved, or unserved airports, towns. and cities. Domestic ticketin...

RH - Rotorhub 29th August 2017 - 03:08 GMT |  by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi There is reassuring news for India’s fledgling helicopter industry with the Ministry of Civil Aviation .........

Neelam Mathews Feb 20, 2017 Feb Air India is planning to add Dornier 228 twin turboprops to the fleet of its Alliance Air subsidiary to boost service to second- and third-tier cities under the government-backed  Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), which begins in March . Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani told  AIN  that the flagcarrier expects to lease 10 of the 19-seat aircraft from government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which already produces military-configured versions under license from Switzerland Ruag Aviation. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is now working on a requested civil type certification for the aircraft. “The certification from DGCA could well be facilitated and speeded given HAL and Air India are both government owned,” R.K Bali, managing director of India’s Business Aviation Operators Association (BAOA) told  AIN . He said that HAL, which is in the process of creating...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 13, 2017, 4:31 PM Business aircraft operators are encountering barriers to participating in India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme ( RCS ), which is supposed to stimulate cost-effective air service to second- and third-tier cities. The first flights under the program, which is intended to boost service to some 325 airports and airstrips around the vast country, are due to be made in March, according to the Airport Authority of India ( AAI ). To date, prospective operators have bid to add service at just 19 of these airports. “ It is a good policy plan that has fallen short of implementation,” said Rohit Kapur, former president of India’s Business Aviation Operators Association ( BAOA ). For instance, charter companies wanting to operate under the  RCS  now need to complete a new certification process to qualify under the new designation of scheduled commuter airline ( SCA ). “This is an extra conservativ...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 13, 2017, 1:49 PM Indian aircraft management and charter company Invision Air last week launched a joint venture with Canadian business aviation services group  ACASS . The Mumbai-based operator holds the majority stake in the new  ACASS  India enterprise. Montreal-based  ACASS 's services include sourcing flight crew, providing regulatory and management support and handling aircraft sales, as well as delivering and preparing them for entry into service.  CEO  Andre Khury told  AIN  that despite slower-than-anticipated growth in the Indian business aviation sector, he believes that the new venture will allow  ACASS  to capitalize on opportunities in a potentially huge marketplace. Sourcing qualified flight crew and support personnel is a particular challenge in India.  ACASS  believes it can alleviate this situation by drawing on a database of a p...

by  Neelam Mathews  - December 6, 2016, 11:57 AM AIN (US) India’s replacement of all Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes in an attempt to curb counterfeit and “black” illicit money is negatively affecting business aviation in the country. A shortage of the new currency since last month's announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is creating problems for business aircraft operators, who have traditionally conducted certain aviation services transactions in cash in India. “Our business has been affected…mainly because of our own operational compulsions of paying in cash for various purposes,” Jayant Nadkarni, president of India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA), said yesterday during the release of the group’s “Business Aviation in India” report. With some 80 percent of the old notes withdrawn, the country is facing a cash crunch that is being amplified by cash withdrawal limitations. Nadkarni told  AIN  that some flights had to be cancelle...

by   Neelam Mathews  -  May 9, 2016, 11:18 AM JetSmart CEO Erfan Haque is looking to boost empty leg flight utliization. [Photo: Neelam Mathews] Indian private jet charter start-up JetSmart recently launched its online booking platform. The company is looking to boost the use of empty leg flights, tapping what it says is an Indian fleet of some 140 fixed-wing aircraft and 100 helicopters available for charter with 120 operators. JetSmart, which is not affiliated with  U.S.  charter group JetSmarter, is part of three-year-old charter group IndJets India and to date has signed agreements with 15 other charter operators. JetSmart has financial backing from a group of small Indian entrepreneurs and three Middle Eastern investors. “I am willing to invest for the next stage,” said Abrar Ahmad, a partner in with Travel Capitalist Ventures. “We have identified key city pairs not covered by commercial carriers. The idea is to get as many priv...

Neelam Mathews Marc 1, 2016 During the annual budget announcement on 29 February 2016, Indian minister of finance Arun Jaitley revealed plans to develop 160 unused airports and airstrips. The airports will be developed at a cost of USD7 million to USD14 million each, and "10 of 25 defunct airstrips will be developed in partnership with state governments", Jaitley said. There have been mixed reactions from aviation and finance experts. "If effectively managed, these investments would provide a huge impetus to regional airlines and help in unlocking significant potential in civil aviation. This is likely to be undertaken under the PPP....Read more in Janes Airports Review (Subscription)

  Neelam Mathews  March 3, 2016 The Indian government is aggressively promoting its Regional Connectivity Scheme, which encourages charter operators to run scheduled services, including some operating business jet types. To support that program by making new aircraft purchases more viable and help stimulate business aviation in general, the Punjab Haryana Delhi ( PHD ) Chamber of Commerce, supported by India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ), has appealed to central government for an interest subsidy to bring prevailing interest rates from Indian finance agencies more in line with international rates for small-aircraft loans. Bhupesh Joshi,  CEO  and director of Indian operator Club One Air, told  AIN , “The present rate of interest is very high in India; at retail commercial rates of 14- to 16 percent, making it unviable. We have suggested the interest rate be capped at 9 percent.” To ensure lending institutions have le...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 8, 2016, 11:53 AM Making way for two recently announced  FBO s, Delhi International Airport Ltd. (Dial) has evicted some 20 third-party operators and companies from their premises at the airport. The two  FBO concessionaires—Bird Worldwide Flight Services-ExecuJet and Indamer- MJ ets—have until March 31 to sign new contracts with tenants and based operators,  AIN  has learned. India's Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) called the move a “monopoly” and took the issue to court. Operators are concerned because the concessionaires are sharing up to 65 percent of revenues with Dial, and this could substantially increase the costs of services rendered to them. Bird Worldwide Flight Services-ExecuJet and Indamer- MJ ets are also mandated to invest around $15 million each on the  FBO  terminal, lounges, hangars, fuel and parking.  “ We are looking for transparency, quality ...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  November 11, 2015, 3:30 PM Business aircraft like these jets at Mumbai International Airport invariably are overshadowed by commercial airliners in India, including at a regulatory level. [Photo: Neelam Mathews] I ndia’s general aviation sector has expressed disappointment following the October 30 release of the country’s draft civil aviation policy. The public comment period for this long-awaited draft legislation is set to end on November 20, and India’s Business Aviation Operators Association ( BAOA ) is requesting changes to various proposed rules that it believes will further disadvantage an industry already held back by a flawed regulatory environment. “ We will be asking for rollback of the ill-conceived import duty on business aircraft imposed since 2007 that has throttled the growth of a booming industry,”   BAOA   managing director R.K Bali told   AIN . He claimed that in the past three years the governme...

by  Neelam Mathews  - September 22, 2015, 8:47 AM Even as India’s airlines remain undecided on the adoption of Gagan, the country’s indigenous  GPS  Waas-like system, the general aviation industry is likely to embrace the system once modalities on validation and certification are sorted out. To address these issues, the Airports Authority of India ( AAI ), general aviation aircraft  OEM s and members of India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) held an initial meeting last week in New Delhi. An independent directorate within  AAI  for communication, navigation and surveillance ( CNS ) is being proposed to ensure Gagan be given “a focus and priority.”  AAI  is currently developing procedures for 63 medium and small airports to make them Gagan-enabled. “The business aviation industry will find this useful given that the new civil aviation policy focuses on regional and remote connectivity,” said...

Neelam Mathews Aug 18 2015 For the first time, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) is proposing to allow different regulatory codes for aircraft based on their all-up weight. The new policy would define two categories of aircraft: more or less than 5,700 kg (12,566 pounds). The country’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) has welcomed the  DGCA  report proposing this change as a positive first step toward regulations more suitable for non-airline operations. Reacting to the  DGCA report, the  BAOA  is further asking for separate  standards and recommended practices  for scheduled and nonscheduled operators; currently the two types of operation are lumped together under many of the same rules. The association has suggested subclassifications for the two categories. “ You cannot equate a small operator flying three aircraft of Challenger 605 weight class, for instance, with an airline operating 70 nar...