Aerospace Diary

by  Neelam Mathews  - October 23, 2017, 8:53 AM     New-build private aircraft terminal and hangars at Delhi International Airport have been delayed by two years, following a change in their location in the airport’s master plan. The planned site of the multi-FBO facility that was to be ready by 2018 is now being shifted, because it is near an air force base,  AIN  has learned. The revised location is awaiting the demolition of the India government-owned Centaur Hotel near Runway 29, where the FBO will be constructed, according to airport CEO I. Prabhakara Rao. Two consortiums were awarded 20-year deals in late 2015 for the design, construction, finance, development, operation, and maintenance for the FBOs. Concessionaires Bird Worldwide Flight Services-ExecuJet and Indamer-MJets are mandated to invest around $15 million each in the terminal, lounges, hangars, fuel storage and parking. Meanwhile, inte...

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 13, 2015, 4:11 PM An award to two consortia to design, construct, finance, develop, operate and maintain   FBO s at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport for 20 years and upgrade the present facility in phases is being called a monopolistic move by the general aviation industry. Airport management company Delhi International Airport Ltd. (Dial) would not comment about the award. Following two earlier canceled tenders, Dial and bid advisor InterVistas released the request for proposal ( RFP ) last year that mandated a partnership of Indian companies with foreign providers. Concessionaires Bird Group with ExecuJet and Indamer Co. with Mjets of Thailand won the bid. Others bidders were Air Works with Turkey’s Celebi and Shaurya Aviation with U.S.-Aurora Aviation. However, the very tenets of the bid are being questioned by India’s Business Aviation Operators Association ( BAOA ). R.K Bali,   BAOA ’s managing...

WORDS / Neelam Mathews   There is an air of minimalism in Joy Alukkas’ office with everything understated, including the man himself. He is made of a different metal, and it is not gold.   He has no gold ornaments on him as would be expected in South India, where even men don gold ornaments on their wrists, fingers and neck. (They might even have a waistband of gold!) It is hard to believe he produces high-end gold jewellery that touches the lives of over 10 million customers across nine countries.   “I believe in simple living, high thinking,” says the billionaire, whose turnover is rumoured to be over $1billion - something he does not comment on. Joy Alukkas - whose stores are named after him- is now the world’s number one 22-carat jewellery maker with over 100,000 designs in his portfolio, and growing. By the end of 2012, he will have added ten more showrooms in India and 25 by the end of 2013, of which 15 will be in India.   As a matter of fact, his futu...

EBACE Convention News » May 15, 2012 by  Neelam Mathews May 14, 2012, 10:30 PM Aurora Aviation has signed a memorandum of understanding for a partnership agreement to run the first full-service FBO at Fujairah International Airport (FIA) in the United Arab Emirates. “We are looking to make Fujairah our hub,” Aurora CEO Ammar Kutait told AIN . Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, and the only one on the Gulf of Oman on the country's east coast instead of on the Persian Gulf. A new highway connects it with Dubai. “We see a huge demand [for business aviation] as the UAE has the second largest fleet in the region after Saudi Arabia,” said FIA general manager Khaled Almazroui. “We see good growth prospects for Fujairah, so decided to build an FBO here. We are very competitive. Our landing and parking charges...

by  Neelam Mathews BAOA is advocating the adoption of clear guidelines on access to Indian airspace and airports for foreign-owned business aircraft. February 4, 2012, 6:00 AM India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) is urging the nation’s government to abandon plans for new restrictions on flights by foreign-owned aircraft. The campaign comes as the country’s tax authorities are probing 15 Indian companies that they believe have registered corporate aircraft offshore with the intention of avoiding customs duty and taxes. BAOA is advocating the adoption of clear guidelines on access to Indian airspace and airports for foreign-owned business aircraft. Under current rules, operators face a frustrating maze of bureaucracy resulting in delays and restrictions that negate the case for this mode of transportation. “Arduous regulatory directives are restrictive for growth. There is no plan or policy, no FBOs...