Aerospace Diary

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS March 12, 2014, 2:25 PM Embraer says the slowdown in the Indian economy has done little to stop its strong business aircraft sales in the country. India is the first country from the Asia-Pacific region to have a complete portfolio of Embraer aircraft, ranging from the Phenom 100 very light jet to the large-cabin Lineage 1000. According to Embraer Executive Jets market intelligence vice president Jose Eduardo Costas, the Brazilian airframer now has 20 business aircraft based in India, which he said represents a 15-percent market share. In January 2014, a Phenom 300 was delivered to Kerala-based charter operator Joy Jets, which also operates a Phenom 100. “Such repeat orders reflect the broad acceptance of our portfolio in the market,” Costas told  AIN   at the India Aviation show in Hyderabad. Now Kalyan Jewellers, also based in the southern state of Kerala, is acquiring a Legacy 650 executive ...

AIN NEWS LIVE FROM AEROINDIA  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS February 5, 2013, 9:02 AM India is becoming an important market for Embraer, which is promoting its entire line of products at this week’s Aero India show. According to the Brazilian airframer. Its  business  jets comprise just over 10 percent of the current Indian flee, with at least one example of its Phenom, Legacy and Lineage models in service today–all of which are on the Aero India static display. Of the 165 business jets in India, Embraer has 17 in service. Embraer spokesman Shorbani Roy told  AIN  it is hopeful of adding to its market share if Indian customers follow trends previously seen in other developing markets where early adopters ‘graduate’ from smaller to larger aircraft as their needs change. “We definitely hope our customers will consider moving from the smaller, to the larger aircraft in time, as their familiarity with the a...

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...

Aviation International News » May 2012 by  Neelam Mathews May 5, 2012, 5:51 AM Invision Air is seeking to bring economies of scale to kick-start India’s executive charter sector. For the most part, the industry consists of small operators with no more than two or three aircraft each. But the Mumbai-based start-up has a 12-aircraft order with Embraer for a mix of Phenom 100 and 300 light jets. Last year, Invision tested the market with two Phenom 100s and the results were sufficiently encouraging for it to take the next step. However, it did adjust its original order from 18 of the four-passenger Phenom 100s and two of the eight-passenger Phenom 300s to just six of each type. “We want to [offer] the entry-level segment [a price of] $3,000 an hour [rather than] the present $4,500,” Invision cofounder and managing director Vinit Phatak told AIN . “We expect this segment to gradually move up as the ma...