Aerospace Diary

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...

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 October 23, 2014, 2:30 PM Indian lawmakers are considering a proposal by the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) that would revoke the commercial licenses of nonscheduled operator permit ( NSOP ) holders with fewer than three aircraft available for charter. Affected  NSOP s that do not augment their fleet to at least three aircraft within one year will have to operate in the private category, depriving them of permission to offer charters. India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association ( BAOA ) sees the proposal as “a kneejerk reaction” to the  DGCA ’s shortage of flight observation inspectors ( FOI s) and its difficulties in recruiting more of them. The process of registering private aircraft owners as  NSOP s requires the services of an  FOI . This scarcity of  FOI s is also hindering India’s compliance with an  FAA requirement that would help restore the country’s safety r...