Aerospace Diary

12 March 2020 – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and its members continue to support governments in their efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. At this time of extreme pressure on the industry, IATA urged governments to: ·         Prepare for the broad economic consequences of these actions, ·         Respond quickly to the financial frailty of airlines, and ·         Follow WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations. These calls come in response to the US government’s banning of non-US citizens, and individuals who are not legal permanent residents of the US, who have been in the Schengen Area in the past 14 days from entry into the United States. “These are extraordinary times and governments are taking unprecedented measures. Safety—including public health—is always a top priority. Airlines are complying with these requirements. G...

Neelam Mathews March 7, 2019 Embroiled in a quagmire of losses resulting in the grounding of 42 of its 114-aircraft fleet and the cancelation of some 200 flights a day, India’s Jet Airways faces a bleak future should stakeholders not accept a resolution plan to convert mounting debt into equity. The airline owes more than $1.25 billion, $300 million of which came from government-owned State Bank of India (SBI). The approval of the bank-led provisional resolution plan “is an important step” toward saving the country’s oldest private carrier, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal indicated in a statement late last month. Jet Airways vendors have called a meeting on March 11 with the carrier and representatives from minority shareholder Etihad Airways to ascertain and decide the way forward. “It is hard to say if there will be closure,” an airline official told  AIN . “The situation is very critical and any further delay will create challenges for Jet,” said CAPA Centre for Avia...

NeelamMathews Jan 28, 2019  IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac has urged Indian policymakers and aviation officials to follow global slot allocation guidelines to build more ........JAR subscription 

Neelam Mathews Jan 17, 2019 A s aviation infrastructure development lags behind India’s highly competitive and rapidly growing aviation market, the industry is getting a positive response from the international community looking for opportunities to invest in ground, air, and space infrastructure. Such feedback proved particularly evident at the first Global Aviation Summit in Mumbai on January 15 and 16, attended by a mix of more than 1,200 participants from 80 countries, including the chiefs of the International Air Transport Association, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and Airports Council International. “In order for India cope with surging demand in air transport, a clear plan for building critical aviation infrastructure is required,” said Angela Gittens, director general of Airports Council International (ACI) World. “With that in mind, it is good to see that the Indian government has moved to undertake a second phase of privatization.” Gittens’ call...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  September 5, 2018, 11:27 AM As Indian airlines’ operational costs rise and fares fall following an increase in fuel prices by 50 percent over the past year, industry leaders such as International Air Transport Association director general Alexandre de Juniac continue to express serious concern about their financial health. In Delhi on September 4 to attend the International Aviation Summit, co-hosted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, IATA, and Airports Authority of India, de Juniac called the current trajectory of Indian carriers “unsustainable.” “[Fuel] comprised 34 percent of India’s airlines' operational costs against an average of 24 percent for global airlines in January,” he said. “Any increase in fuel price is highly sensitive for India in particular more than in other countries due to its prevalent taxes and lack of competition at airports for fuel supply and fees and more taxes at different stages of fuel delivery.” He repeatedly...

Record Info hide Publication Jane's Airport Review Author Neelam Mathews , Delhi Ben Vogel , London Section Equipment Date posted 28-Mar-2017 The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to ban oversized cabin baggage on flights to and from certain "performance-limited" Indian airports. "Since oversized hand baggage can lead to overloading and create safety hazards, the operator shall ensure that size of the hand baggage is restricted as per the dimensions of the overhead bins or available space under the seats of an aircraft," BS Bhullar, head of the Indian aviation regulator, announced in a safety circular. ........In the absence of a global standard, passengers are encouraged to comply voluntarily with airline hand baggage policy by placing items into a simple metal gauge at check-in or at the boarding gate. This method is arguably insufficient - so Malaga-based Ie .....more on jane's air...

by  Neelam Mathews   and Vladimir Karnozov Aug 7, 2015 An August 3 ceremony at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, marked the handover of Transaero Airlines’ initial Airbus A321, delivered as part of the Russian carrier’s contract with China’s ICBC Leasing. (Photo: Airbus) With the Russian economy in retreat and as sanctions prompt airlines to turn from networks populated heavily with international routes to more domestically focused structures, managers have taken steps to decrease fleet capacity by handing back aircraft to lessors and deferring or canceling aircraft deliveries. Even Transaero—Russia’s second largest airline—has taken steps to cut capacity with plans to replace some larger Boeing types with Airbus A321s. The initial A321 delivery on July 28 at Moscow Vnukovo International Airport marked Transaero’s first experience with Airbuses since the turn of the century, when it leased a single A310 for a few...

Neelam Mathews March 1, 2015 ATEM pages 14-21 edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?eid=4a23d1fb-bf2f-4d6b-9602-1681cc2bcacc&skip=true

Neelam Mathews A lot of water has flown with speculations galore since the unfortunate crash of AirAsia A320-200 QZ8501, an airline with a decade-old accident-free record. However, it has stirred up long-standing issues that are unfortunately only raked up when attention is drawn by tragedies such as this. One such issue is the urgent need for tracking guidelines that seem to be caught in a quagmire of vacillation by world bodies responsible for aviation health. This nightmare has also exposed the insularity and arrogance of governments. Why, for instance, were SAR operations not started immediately once the plane went off the radar? Yes, the weather was bad and still is. As an aviation safety expert said,this attitude “is unpardonable.” Having faced the nightmare of MH370, one would have thought that as soon as contact was lost with the aircraft, there would be alarm bells ringing. Call it geo-politics or egos, everybody seemed to be waiting for the other to ask or offer hel...

Neelam Mathews Nov 19, 2014 The AAPA 2014 Annual Assembly of Presidents in Tokyo was a delight in more ways than one- am referring to the Sake ofcourse! But seriously, following a host of mostly useful sessions, come night and added to the fantastic Imperial Hotel food and drink was a brilliant performance by Japanese artistes who then asked IATA DG to come and try his hand. Tony Tyler is a great sport-have seen him dancing to the beat of the Beach Boys in Hong Kong , to playing a guitar in Astana and now this! His talents seem to know no bounds. Nice to see CEOs- ANA and Garuda CEOS also followed him exhibit the spirit of our industry. Enjoy!

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  JANUARY 6, 2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Air Astana plans to take delivery of a third Boeing 767-300ER this year. (Image: Boeing) January 6, 2014, 1:30 PM Resolved on tapping the booming Central Asian market, global alliances SkyTeam, OneWorld and Star Alliance have approached Kazakhstan national carrier Air Astana with offers to join their ranks. In response, the airline recently commissioned U.S.-based Seabury Group to prepare a report on whether it should enter an alliance “and which one, because all alliances want us to join them,” Air Astana president Peter Foster told  AIN  in Astana recently. “The year 2014 will be a big year for us as we will decide how to structure our medium-haul fleet,” said Foster. “Our first consideration will be range and then costs when we evaluate our options.” Over the past two years Air Astana rolled over virtually its entire fleet, replacing all its...

Neelam Mathews May 4, 2013 cr-hindubusinessline   Always one to call a spade a spade, we caught up with SpiceJet CEO Neil Mills at the launch of India Aviation 2014. Couldn't spot any other domestic airline CEO at the event. While Mills was very clear in saying there was no FDI planned "for now," he wasn't saying 'never.' Which leads us to believe, there's a pot boiling in the kitchen. Because, can it be a coincidence that there is sudden spurt in buying of the carrier's shares? Word has it that once media-shy Maran picks up 51%, announcements will be made. Who could be SpiceJet's partner? Qatar has denied they are interested- but then, Qatar also denied they were joining OneWorld alliance a day before the announcement. We, at AerospaceDiary, wonder how a budget-full-service alliance would work given the logistics including the FFP and the IATA membership issues. But then, the times they are a changing. ANA, that was said to be in talks ...

Neelam Mathews March 26, 2013 At the Aviation Day organised jointly by IATA, GMR and CII today, even as Tony Tyler, DG and CEO of IATA - his third speech in India in less than a year- spoke about the need for infrastructure and a cut in high taxation rates, there was many a slip between the cup and the lip of our civil aviation minister, Ajit Singh.  I'm trying not to be cynical, but cetainly noticed some urgent issues dodged. "Navi Mumbai development may not be done as envisaged...." Really? That should be news to those waiting for years for it to happen! "Juhu Airport Upgradation (is being planned)." Since when? Given that the runway size has been decreased, now being used only by helicopters (possibly due to lobbying by the land lobby? We could not confirm this). And the always-soon-to-be released Civil Aviation Policy? Mr Tyler, however noble your thoughts may be, the question is, does this minister, or even the minister before him, really wan...

Peter Foster, President Almaty, 23rd March 2013 To misquote an old sporting cliché, 2012 was a year of two halves. The first half was seriously affected by sluggish demand and high fuel prices, causing year on year profit for the period to drop by 80%, in contrast to the second half which was our best on record, driven by demand recovery, non-fuel savings and greater efficiency of aircraft and crew utilisation. The full year net profit of $61.1 million was identical to that of 2011, marginally ahead of budget and in our view a good result given the pressures on the industry from high fuel prices and weak demand in Europe. Routes to and from the European Union make up 18% of the airline’s international capacity. Total airline revenues grew 15% to $875.5 million on capacity growth of 11%. We carried 3.3 million passengers, an increase of 10%. Whilst net margin slipped from 8 to 7%, it is likely that we will continue to place amongst the world’s 20 most profitable airlines, as we hav...