Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Oct 5, 2014 It is that time of the year again when exhibitors and guests start to schedule their calendars, start to tear their hair, grit their teeth, and down an upper or a stiff swig. Why, you ask me? Time to look at the aero india website and hope like hell everything is in order, that rates have not gone up again just because the dollar has, and visas will not be a pain as they usually are. Hate to disappoint you, but by the looks of it, you, dear guests better brace once again for tough times to attend the mega event from Feb 18-22 2015. Yes, the site looks sexier, has a whole lot of links to government sites, which I suggest you look at later as they will take you on a roller-coaster journey as they are meant to. An exhibitor luckier than I was, managed to access the Rates and was flabbergasted. “This is more expensive than the Singapore Air Show where we get a lot of business done. If India wants to attract investment, they should stop making th...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS A KPMG report suggest India needs more service to secondary markets, such as that SpiceJet now provides with its Bombardier Q400s. (Photo: Bombardier) March 18, 2014, 10:33 AM India’s next government needs to press ahead with the development of domestic air routes, according a new report published by consultants  KPMG  last week. India’s Five-Year Plan for the period from 2012 to 2017 included a policy to improve flight connections between second- and third-tier cities, but progress all but stalled due to the political inertia that has gripped government ahead of elections to be held in April and May. At the same time,  the recent downgrading of the country’s aviation authorities to Category 2 by the  U.S.   FAA  has compromised India’s ability to develop further international air service. According to the  KPMG  report, “Enhancing Air Connectivity,” high fixed co...

Neelam Mathews Feb 23, 2013 Wonder of wonders, I don't know whether to laugh or cry ( tears of joy) that FICCI has released the dates for the Hyderabad India Aviation show! So before I start to get disrespectful, I think a  a record may have been broken in our country. Unlike in the past- disdainful to the needs of visitors and exhibitors- rarely do organizers announce dates for an event so much ahead of time. Oh yes, the dates are March 12-16, 2014 at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad. Hope to see one and all there. Hopefully, memory of the present bombings will be behind us and FICCI will be in a position to attract many more exhibitors and a good mix of participants. Now, one can hope that the agenda too will come on time, unlike Aero India, where interviews were fixed at the last minute and one was moving around like a headless chicken.

Neelam Mathews Feb 19, 2013 AAIs twice released bid for the Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) at ten airports is moving, according to an AAI spokesman speaking to Aerospace Diary today. The tenders are now under technical evaluation, and "hopefully by the third week of February, we will open the financial bids and then go for the approval process." The AOCC will bring together the diverse processes relating to the passengers, cargo and baggage through an improved coordination through integration and optimisation of existing  resources.  Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was the first to set up AOCC in the country followed by Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and later in Bangalore.

Neelam Mathews,  Nov 18, 2012                                                                                                                                    Starting Dec 2, Cathay Pacific Airways will launch a new weekly freighter service to Colombo in Sri Lanka (subject to government approval). The new service will expand Cathay Pacific’s cargo presence in the South Asia region and give shippers in Sri Lanka greater choice and flexibility for connecting to the airline’s international cargo network through the Hong Kong hub. The Colombo freighter service will be operated on a Hong Kong-Chennai-Colombo-Hong Kong routing every Sunday using one...

Neelam Mathews Aug 23, 2012 Starting Sept 16, Thai Smile, a subsidiary of Thai Airways (Thai) will be starting daily services to Hyderabad from Bangkok on brand new A-320 aircraft. “Thai Smile started twice daily non-stop service Macau in July and now the airline will connect India conveniently to Macau,” said Ravinder Talwar, Area Sales Manager, India Thai to Aerospace Diary. The service will replace the four flights a week of Thai to Hyderabad   to seven. Thai Smile is a new service by Thai with a fleet of all new Airbus A320 aircraft configured with 2 classes of service; ‘Smile’ Economy Class and ‘Smile Plus’ short haul business class service. Thai Smile will operate under the same Airline Operator Certificate, TG, to selected international destinations within 1-3 hours flight time from its hub at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok. Travel with THAI Smile is designed to be vibrant, fun, speedy, trendy and while the airline is not a budget carrier like N...

Posted- Neelam Mathews Aug 6, 2012 Starting August 7, IndiGo is starting its new daily and direct flight between Hyderabad and Dubai and second daily between Delhi and Dubai. The carrier’s 57 new Airbus A320 aircraft fly daily 357 flights connecting to 32 destinations.  Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo said, “We are looking at providing affordable fares on these new routes for 6E travelers.  It is our constant endeavor to provide more flexibility of choice for our customers as IndiGo continues to offer them on time, hassle free and always affordable flying experience.” Flight schedules for new routes are:                        Flight Origin Destination Departure Arrival Frequency Fare* 6E 26 Hyderabad Dubai 1:20 PM 3:45 PM Daily Rs 5600 6E 25 Dubai Hy...

Aviation International News » May 2012 by  Neelam Mathews May 5, 2012, 5:53 AM   Judging by the dominance of business jets at India Aviation 2012, held at Hyderabad in southern India from March 14 to 18, predictions of double-digit general aviation growth in the country have inspired manufacturers and service providers to boost their presence in the market. India’s ailing airliner sector was conspicuous by its absence from the third biennial show, barring a static display of the Boeing 787 in Air India’s colors and a mock-up of the Russian Irkut MC-21 airliner. Instead, a spurt of announcements relating to India’s business aviation sector lifted spirits. AgustaWestland and Tata Sons inaugurated the final assembly line for the AW119 helicopter at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airpo...

Neelam Mathews April 17, 2012 Cathay Pacific Airways today announced that it will further expand its presence in India with a new twice-weekly freighter service to Hyderabad, making it the first airline to offer an air cargo service linking India’s fourth most populous city with East and North Asia, says a press release.  In addition, a third weekly freighter flight to Bengaluru will be added to meet high demand to and from India’s leading information technology hub. Both services will commence on 17 May 2012. The launch of the new Hyderabad service and the added frequency to Bengaluru will give shippers more choice and flexibility for connecting to the airline’s international cargo network through the Hong Kong hub. Cathay Pacific Director Cargo Nick Rhodes said: “India is an increasingly important market for our cargo business. Hyderabad is one of the major hubs for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals in India, accounting for around one-third of the country’s drug production...

Neelam Mathews March 17, 2012 The Russians are breaking past myths about their lack of interest in customer care and design. In the past as long as the equipment worked and was hardy, design had no place in civil planes. I was fortunate enough to be shown the mockup at the Hyderabad show and wow, seriously think if the marketing is right, this is going to give the OEMs some serious sleepless nights. By the way, Lufthansa Consulting has been appointed by Irkut to do marketing for the MC-21 that has over 75% western suppliers including avionics and engines. One enters the aircraft and its all about space. Look at the bins on top and they are digital and designed for short people like me. Gone will be the days of looking feverishly around for a tall well built passenger to ask if he could help stack my trolley in a bin designed for those above 6ft tall! The fuselage is much larger giving more space for even the well endowed to pass through as the food is distributed. The econom...

  As big as life! Inauguration of MAS GMR MRO DC and Vivek Gour look to designer times Getting crowded at the top!

Neelam Mathews March 15, 2012 Hyderabad Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh’s press conference was as tepid as expected at the India Aviation 2012 air show held in Hyderabad. Besides an announcement that India would open up some international routes, without any clarity on how the decision would be implemented, there was nothing else. A query by Aerospace Diary on the timeline for the release of the civil aviation policy was met by the response: “We are looking at a civil aviation authority. We are in discussions on it.” So what’s new? Discussions have been on for over three years on the draft policy that has gathered dust even as infrastructure falls at its edges and investors returned home. I am sure all the foreign and Indian participants would have liked to hear some solid plans with timelines on India looking ahead and keeping pace with China that it always manages to find a comparison to. As usual, it was all generic. Think the time has come to face reality that we h...