Aerospace Diary

By  Neelam Mathews  Dec 14, 2015 Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab (right) discusses the group's new Connecting Partner Model concept alongside the CEO of the first airline to participate, Mango's Nico Bezuidenhout. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) South African Airways subsidiary Mango Airlines plans to join the Star Alliance network by the third quarter of 2016 under Star’s new “Connecting Partner Model,” concept, potentially paving the way for more budget carriers to enter the 28-airline alliance. Star Alliance made the announcement at its annual Chief Executives Board meeting in Chicago on December 10. With the addition, Star Alliance will get access to 51 percent of the South African market. The new model looks at adding routes operated by “low-cost” and “hybrid” airlines to the network. “With a focus on ‘Friends of the Family,’ the Alliance plans to add connectivity to these types of carriers within the family of Star Alliance,” said Star Alliance  ...

by   Neelam Mathews  -  March 1, 2015, 10:59 AM A uniform rate of import duty on private and charter operators was not included in India’s budget for the financial year (April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016). The nation's Business Aircraft Operators Association had hoped the budget would introduce equal taxation, which it believes is essential to strengthening the business aviation sector in the country. Under the current rules, the levy on an aircraft imported for personal use is between 19 and 21 percent, while charter operators pay approximately 3 percent. The differential tax structure often leads private operators to import aircraft as “nonscheduled operators.” This complicates monitoring the aircraft, and the  BAOA  is working with the Ministry of Civil Aviation on requirements to regulate aircraft for categorization (similar to the procedure for commercial aircraft) to become eligible for similar duties, according to  BAOA  secretary...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS Etihad CEO James Hogan (right) and Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal meet in New Delhi. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) July 24, 2014, 11:12 AM India’s loss-making Jet Airways and its new 24-percent owner Etihad Airways are formulating plans for restructuring debt and fleet rationalization for enhancing a full-service branding. Jet, reporting $689 million in declared losses last year, expects to show profits by 2017, founder and chairman Naresh Goyal said at a July 23 press conference in New Delhi. A slowed economy, infrastructure constraints, and rupee depreciation have in the past years resulted in massive losses for airlines in India. Nevertheless, Etihad Airways president and  CEO  James Hogan ruled out any exit strategy. “This is not an overnight turnaround,” he said. “It’s a structured rebuilding process…We have a responsibility to shareholders of the company…for return to sustainable profitabil...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  MARCH 11, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Air India, which is among the early operators of the Boeing 787, is set to receive a further capital injection of almost $1 billion from its government shareholder, but it is about the only Indian carrier with any grounds for optimism from the country’s new budget. (Photo: Boeing) March 11, 2013, 1:20 PM The Indian government’s new budget, released on February 28, brought little relief for the country’s  ailing air transport sector , although the industry awaits a possible announcement of some reduction in high aviation fuel taxes. In particular, the budget documents made no mention of hoped-for fiscal support for India’s emerging regional airline industry. High fuel prices and other rising operating costs combined with declining passenger traffic have resulted in mounting losses for Indian carriers and represented a severe constraint to the growth ...

Neelam Mathews March 4, 2013 Defense Queries Answered Today (Verbatim) in Lok Sabha on- HAL- So what’s new? More Excuses? Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has taken up indigenous production of SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Advanced Jet Trainer (Hawk), Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), Advance Light Helicopter (ALH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and Dornier-228 for the defence forces. Dornier-228 program has been as per schedule. There have been some delays in deliveries in respect of production programs of other aircraft. In the initial stages of the projects, delays were due to additional re-work on jigs in Hawk, late receipt of drawings from Russia for Su-30 MKI, integration issues of Integrated Architecture and Display System (IADS) with Shakti engine and other new items in respect of ALH and design and development issues relating to IJT and LCA. The certification of IJT was also delayed due to an accid...

Neelam Mathews  March 2, 201 "Let them eat cake," said Marie -Antoinette in 1789 when told her French subjects had no bread. And while this remark fueled a revolution which led to her losing her head, one doubts this will happen in a hurry to the government that refuses to see aviation as an essential part of India's growth graph. Interestingly, a reader told AerospaceDiary the finance minister took 5 minutes talking about  how air conditioned restaurants were being taxed and 30 seconds on aviation- and that too even as he mentioned MRO, he added this could be checked out in the main document. Really Mr Minister? Aviation to you is clarifying a notification and extending the period of duty on spares from 3 months-which was not used by anybody anyway - to one year? What happened to regional connectivity to remote cities that you so wanted to garner votes for? Or did you think by starting a woman's bank you have won the sympathy of more that half the population...

Neelam Mathews Oct 2, 2012 Once considered a slow mover, Sky Team is going places and finding ways to face challenges of how to increase value since major world carriers are already aligned to alliances. SkyTeam hopes to have a platform finalised in early 2013 and to conduct a trial with a hybrid carrier or LCC, although it is not naming potential partners, says CAPA. SkyTeam is upfront in saying it is targeting airlines in Brazil and India with this new partnership platform. (This does not come as a surprise as the alliance previously indicated it was looking to expand in Latin America and India), says the report. In India, IndiGo is the largest domestic carrier and, unlike many others, is healthy. It is not only an obvious target but there have been discussions between IndigGo and SkyTeam, says CAPA.   This was ofcourse, till just a couple of years ago, unthinkable! Top Indian domestic airlines ranked on seat capacity: 24-Sep-2012 to 30-Sep-2012...