Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews March 9, 2015 Neelam Mathews March 9 2015 Mention the words ‘Woman Pilot’ and the name of Amelia Earhart, stuck in history archives like an olive in brine, might be flung at you. Not so much in India, which has seen definite growth in the number of women serving as pilots, with percentages running into the double digits. By comparison, women account for a meagre 6% of pilots globally. And though it might be paradoxical that a developing country – which is under scrutiny for its treatment of women after a number of brutal,  high-profile assaults  – could well have the highest percentage of women pilots, India is also the second nation in the world to have had a woman prime minister in 1966 after Sri Lanka. Sanjiv Kapoor, COO of budget carrier SpiceJet, tells  RGN : “India is a complex country that operates at many levels. There is a professional class that is progressive and then, there is an u...

Neelam Mathews Jan 31, 2013 And, we thought it was only India undergoing an economic upheaval. "Singapore Airlines has taken the difficult decision to advance the planned release of 76 pilots who are employed on fixed-term contracts. The Airline had previously been releasing pilots only upon expiry of their contracts," says a statement. The pilots are expected to be released by 30 June 2013. The Airline will assist them to pursue employment opportunities within the SIA Group and with other airlines. "Singapore Airlines currently has a surplus of pilots to its operational requirements, as the global financial crisis of 2009-10 had resulted in excess capacity and slower than expected growth." By the looks of it, things are not very rosy for the immediate future. The Airline had earlier implemented other measures to address the surplus, such as voluntary no pay leave and the suspension of cadet pilot recruitment. Pilots employed on fixed-term contracts make up ...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Nov 15, 2012 We've all heard about designer uniforms for stewardesses, but now, India's budget IndiGo, says it is introducing  a new retro-style uniform for its pilots. Designed by  Rajesh Pratap Singh, 6E pilots will don a classic look inspired  from the classic Second World War bomber jacket. The uniform is made in wool-rich hopsack weave. Subtle style and graphic elements have been used. Style lines have been used keeping in mind comfort and stretch for the ease of movement. Various technical functional requirements of the in-flight environment have been incorporated. Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo , said: “I am confident that our passengers will love it too. It’s a reflection of the confident and trustworthy team of IndiGo pilots who have safely flown over 50 million Indians till date."

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  OCTOBER 29, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Kingfisher has lost the services of its Airbus A330-200s, one of which authorities impounded at London Heathrow Airport due to unpaid debts. (Photo: Airbus) October 29, 2012, 10:45 AM Striking pilots and engineers of India’s Kingfisher Airlines have accepted a three-month portion of their eight months of unpaid salaries and agreed to return to work, even as management struggles to get its suspended Scheduled Operator’s Permit   reinstated. Still, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh warned that paying salaries alone would not guarantee that Kingfisher would fly again.   “I think the Kingfisher problem is much bigger; even if they pay the salaries today, are they going to take off and fly? I don’t think so,” he said. “They have to give a very viable, financially sound plan, that they can maintain the schedule, pay the taxes, pay the oil companies, pay ...

Neelam Mathews Oct 25, 2012 That the way Kingfisher Airlines and the ministry of civil aviation are reacting to, and handling  the present  crisis, is something nobody is able to fathom. Give them that- they have kept the industry pondering and speculating.   Do they want to close the airline or not is the question. While we here at Aerospace Diary are a dot in this vast confused ocean of thoughts, we have believed for a year now that the carrier wants to bring its fleet strength to the five minimum to retain its license and slots. That would mean a staff strength of just 500 if they run on the Delhi-Mumbai route. This would also mean just having to retain 60 captains and copilots, 60 engineers,a crew of 100 and skeleton ground staff. So, all those employees in hope of getting their 8 month salaries and hoping to see crackers lit at Diwali, there may be some time time yet to open the bubbly. But, that’s just speculation………..

Neelam Mathews Oct 15, 2012 AirAsia plans to acquire ailing Indonesian carrier Batavia Air and its Flying School with a $40 million debt and aging fleet announced in July, has been called off. “This is not the end of the world for Batavia because we will still continue our business without the acquisition,” a senior representative of Batavia Air was quoted saying.   At singing of MoU in July Group CEO AirAsia Tony Fernandes said: “Our aggressive focus in Indonesia remains and we will push our Indonesian IPO plans while still maintaining close co-operation with Batavia Air….. In our minds, the timing was perhaps not appropriate as it would have induced too many risks and would ultimately be earnings dilutive to our shareholders.” “With all that is happening, we are happy and do not want management to be bogged down as an acquisition of this nature can be very time consuming. We felt it is best to spend time doing other things,” Fernandes was quoted saying. T...

Neelam Mathews Oct 5, 2012 Viewing the ND TV Profit program on Kingfisher, about people not getting paid salaries and how it affects mental health,  I'm getting a painful banging in my head. It   has become very clear, as Capt Minoo Wadia said, "the minister does not understand what is aviation safety." This followed the mantri's remark on "it is the pilot's job to know....does he (pilot) not want to be safe himself?" I am afraid I have to disagree. How does a person who is depressed realise the state of his mind when he is not in a position to do so? Many years ago, I asked the then DGCA on whether health checks for pilots included mental health. I cannot forget his facial expression-it was as though I had dropped in from Mars. It was then that I realised we were in big trouble. "Safety is a major concern and if the minister can say, we haven't had a crash, this is a major concern," says  Wadia. "India's regulations ar...

Neelam Mathews Oct 1, 2012 Just an update on my earlier post for those of our readers looking at travelling on Kingfisher. We hear all AMEs are on strike. Pilots too, have joined them. Mumbai airport terminal, where Kingfisher shares space with Air India,  is totally abandoned and wears a forlorn look. Even flights that had 75% load factors have been cancelled. As the management tries to rustle up engineers to operate some 14-15 flights, a staff member told us: “Nero fiddles while Rome burns......Mr Mallya is in France and the CEO is on vacation from Friday till Monday.” Source-Carnage and Culture

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Letter written by Vijay Mallya to the people who have kept his airline going. Dear Colleagues As you may have read in the media, I have said that our Company will be re-capitalised whether the Government changes the current FDI policy or not. I have also expressed my anguish and sadness publically about unpaid salaries. If I was not confident about the future of our Airline, I would not make public statements nor arrangements to raise funds. I appeal to all of you to try and understand the extreme hardship that I am going through to keep our Airline flying to the highest safety standards. Every day, I have to write cheques to various vendors and service providers irrespective of the revenue inflow. We have continuing issues with the tax authorities with frozen bank accounts. As if that is not bad enough, some of our own colleagues are ensuring, by their actions, that our revenue prospects fall down further due to shaky guest confidence a...

Neelam Mathews July 27, 2012 Now that the striking Air India pilots are being taken back, so much for the 'gutsy' minister of civil aviation who "refused to bend to the Air India pilots demands'! Aerospace Diary learns that the AI pilots may have got their way and it'll be back to training just Air India pilots and not the erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots on the 787s. Which, to most in the aviation sector, makes a lot of sense. It is also likely that all the Airbus-trained  (IA) pilots who trained on the 787, will return to where they came from. So much for spilt milk ...er ...I mean money. Why then, was this drama enacted? And for whom? Air India in the past two traumatic months of a country's lifetime, has managed to further lose its image in the international market and given its customers a treatment they hardly deserve for being loyal to the carrier. It certainly brought a smile on its competitors lips who saw their yields spiral as customers frown...

Neelam Mathews June 5, 2012 Kingfisher Airlines pilots are planning to demand their salaries that backdate to four months. "If we do not get our pay by this Friday, we will ground the airline,” warns a pilot. Even as we pen this, the unions are in a closed door meeting, Aerospace Diary learns. It remains to be seen what crumbs are handed to them by the management and how far they will be satisfied. In mid may when the pilots threatened to go on strike, it ended up with a drink at the house of the founder Vijay Mallya who is said to have charmed them out of their intent. How many times can one cry wolf, is to seen. Safety experts have shown concern that demotivated pilots and a depressed maintenance crew could lead to slipups that could be fatal.

Neelam Mathews June 1, 2012 Even as Air India's pilots strike crosses the 25 day mark with the government unable to solve the crisis, Ajit Singh, minister of civil aviation told Aerospace Diary Air India would look at foreign commanders to fly its wide bodies.Air India has 20 777s of which 5 are to be leased. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed expatriate pilots to operate Indian aircraft only till 2013. Of the striking pilots, around 70 are commanders. How this mammoth task will be achieved at the cost of very dear foreign exchange, is left to be seen. Also Aerospace Diary learns the security clearance for foreign pilots is being reduced from 4 months to 2 weeks to accommodate the foreigners. “Will this not cause possible problems?” queries an official. There is also a concern regarding safety given that the time span to check the antecedents of the foreign pilots is short.The shadow of the recent Mangalore crash remains a shroud over us. The Ai...

Air India Pilots Continue Brawl over 787 Flying AIN Air Transport Perspective » May 21, 2012 by  Neelam Mathews The first Air India Boeing 787 rolls out of the manufacturer’s Charleston, S.C., factory. Some 200 of Air India’s pilot have struck over the right to fly the new widebodies. (Photo: Boeing) May 21, 2012, 1:25 PM Cash-strapped national carrier Air India, beset by a two-week strike by more than 200 pilots, has canceled service to more than 20 international destinations and is suffering losses of approximately $2 million a day. The strike, which resulted in the termination of 71 pilots, has not affected domestic and short-haul international flights, said a spokesperson. An ongoing confrontation between the pilots of the former Indian Airlines, which flew domestic destinations until its merger with Air India, and those of the erstwhile Air India, which ...

Neelam Mathews March 12, 2012 Many Kingfisher Airlines pilots that gave an ultimatum to the management that they would no longer fly the carrier if they were not paid for their services, stuck to their word. Aerospace Diary learns that 20 percent of KFAs flights were pulled out last night and by the looks of it, passengers can expect more cancellations today. 40 more flights have been cancelled over the curtailed schedule. Kolkata operations have been stopped today. In this background of bankruptcy looming over Vijay Mallya,  UK publications report that a further £20 million has been pumped into his Formula One team ahead of the start of the motor racing season in Australia next week. While Force India has improved, profits still elude the beer tycoon. “Silverstone-based Force India team’s accounts show Watson Limited, Mallya’s personal investment vehicle, loaned it £6.85 million, while his Kingfisher Airlines and beer and spirits businesses provided it with £13 million in sp...

Neelam Mathews Feb 29, 2012 It’s that time of the month again. Aerospace Diary learns pilots of ailing Kingfisher Airlines have threatened not to come to work from tomorrow March 1, if the backlog of their 3-month salary is not cleared. We also hear the airline is caught again with dues yet to be paid to IATA. This follows a recent default when Kingfisher had come close to being blacklisted by IATA for non payment. Bad luck seems to come in 3 or 4s for the airline. An official told Aerospace Diary lessors are demanding the return of two AOGs, not under proper care. It is not clear if they are A330s or A320s. If the former, it could be likely the carrier’s operations to London and Hong Kong could be hit badly. Already, Kingfisher counters are manned with a skeleton staff taking care of a handful of passengers. Is the media to blame for this as Vijay Mallya’s recent note to his employees claim, one wonders.

Posted by- Neelam Mathews July 7, 2011 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should take steps to reduce the likelihood that pilot commuting practices will pose a safety risk, says a new report from the U.S- based National Research Council. With fatigue issues plaguing Indian pilots, the DGCA could use a few chapters from the report. The study was sponsored by the FAA.  The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies.  They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter.  The Research Council is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.   Some highlights: With insufficient data to determine the extent to which it poses a safety risk or whether commuting should be regulated, the FAA should support a study to gat...