Aerospace Diary

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW  »  2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Budget carrier IndiGo, an IATA member, is being courted by Qatar Airways to participate in a code-share agreement. February 8, 2014, 5:00 PM New relationships are changing the Asia Pacific’s airline landscape as it enters a new stage of maturity  with once-fierce opponents forming partnerships  for reciprocal gains. Overcapacity in fleet numbers has fueled competition and compelled budget carriers to look at cooperation initiatives despite the budget airline industry’s penchant to avoid complexity. The 47 budget carriers in the region–with 10 startups to be launched this year–have in hand more than 1,600 fleet orders, with around 1,000 aircraft already in their collective inventory. “There will be no turning back as the momentum that low-cost carriers have steadily built up in Asia over the last decade continues to gain steam,” said a 2014 report by the  CAPA ...

Neelam Mathews April 14, 2012 An application has been filed with the Ministry of Civil Aviation by the tsar of low cost airlines, Capt Gopinath of Deccan Charters Ltd., to start a scheduled carrier with Airbus 320s and ATR-72s, Aerospace Diary learns. Having sold Air Deccan to Kingfisher, the no-compete clause will end by the end of 2012, giving him enough time to get his finances and infrastructure in order. Not disputing this, Gopinath chose to talk to Aerospace Diary on the vacuum created by the “sudden collapse of Kingfisher” likely to leave a big hole in the market. “Air India is in a mess and Jet is in losses and is not expanding. Even IndiGo is not doing what RyanAir did…..” says Gopinath, not willing to expand the statement further. We hear Gopinath wants to fly to destinations with a large base in the south.  A presentation to MOCA  is said to include 21 destinations including Mumbai, Delhi, Coimbatore, Madurai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Goa. Times...

Neelam Mathews Feb 10, 2012 Singapore IndiGo has taken delivery of its 50th A320 aircraft from Airbus. Presently the carrier serves 26 domestic destinations and 9 international destinations with 313 daily flights. In a presentation made by IndiGo at the Low Cost Airlines World conference here, the spokesman said: “We are targeting five more domestic and three international routes in the short term.” This month, Chennai and Mumbai will be connected. “Starting March 24, IndiGo will become the largest operator from Delhi.” The airline has signed on 1300 corporate clients and now has 45% of its traffic from corporates on its network. Recent developments include selling cabs, lounge services, Visa, Hotels, Mobile cards and Meet and Greet services.

News Asia’s Airports Vie For Service From Burgeoning Budget Carriers Aviation Daily Jan 28 , 2010 , p. 09 Neelam Mathews Asia’s regional airports are exploring new ways to attract budget carriers that are on the road to expansion as legacy carriers continue to limp back to normalcy. While each airport has a different approach, Viva Macau Acting CEO Reginald Macdonald said at the Regional Airports World Conference in Singapore this week that “landing charges are the key. It is flexibility of the airport team and a mindset to route development that is important.” Given that budget carriers are volatile, the Civil Aviation Authority in Macau signed 10-year agreements with budget carriers in 2004, but is no longer signing any long-term agreements. Macau has five budget carriers flying to it and has plans to announce another one soon. “Our incentives are good,” said Antonio Rato, director of marketing at Macau International Airport. Macdonald praised Melbourne Airport for its flexibility an...