Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Nov 4, 2015 Indian domestic carrier Vistara wants to expand its existing fleet of nine A320s to begin international services. A report by the Center for Aviation (CAPA) commissioned by Indian domestic carrier Vistara has called on India’s government to take a long-term view of the air transport industry’s needs as it finalizes long awaited  new legislation. “The report, we hope, will form one of the significant inputs the government will take on board before it finalizes what is currently a draft civil aviation policy,” said Dr. Mukund Rajan, a board director with Vistara’s parent company Tata-SIA Airlines at a press conference in Mumbai on October 30. Vistara’s main concern is that its expansion plans will be undermined if the government does not abolish the so-called 5/20 rule, which obliges airlines to have a minimum of 20 aircraft and five years of domestic operational experience before they can launch international routes. This rule has been in place s...

Neelam Mathews Oct 13, 2015 Facebook Twitter DELHI: As airlines get a breather from plunging oil prices and tech-savvy, mid-level managers accept the fact that their ‘road warrior’ status doesn’t always come with first- or business class benefits, some sage upgrades by airlines are being implemented. Arguably chief among them is the introduction by non-US carriers of premium economy – a class of product that can give regular flyers on a budget a reasonable shot at affordably avoiding the economy class crush. Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the latest carrier to join the premium economy bandwagon; firstly on its A380s. But will SIA extend this new product to the new ultra long-range Airbus A350-900ULR, which  after an amendment to its A350 order is now poised to enable the reinstatement of all-premium, non-stop service from Singapore to the US from 2018? The airline, which  pushed for the ULR , isn’t saying explicitly. “We ...

ATC Neelam Mathews   - IHS Jane's Airport Review 30 April 2015     A380-800 in Singapore Airlines (SIA) livery. SIA and Malaysia Airlines are the first carriers to adopt the SITA OnAir AIRCOM Flight Tracker. Source: SIA Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) will implement global flight tracking using SITA OnAir's AIRCOM Flight Tracker, starting in mid-2015. The system will be rolled-out across their entire fleet. SITA made a conscious decision to focus only on a couple of airlines for the trials in order to bring the solution to the market quickly. In pursuit of this objective it worked closely with SIA and MAS,  IHS Jane's  learned. The trial period helped overcome challenges in collaboration and coordination between the two partners and in the two airlines identifying their specific requirements. While SITA is in talks with other airlines in the region, the decision to identify Asian carriers was a natural corollary to ...

Neelam Mathews Dec 19 2014 Read full story on- http://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2014/12/19/star-alliance-sees-unity-in-diversity-of-culture-and-product/ NEW DELHI: In an era of globalization, increasingly there is a tendency to standardize culture. In this rush to be part of an international cluster, one could easily lose track of the city one is visiting given the disappearance of the national dress and to an extent, local cuisine. It comes as a breath of fresh air when airlines take that extra step to retain a whiff of the best of their national identity. This is apparent in Star Alliance, a membership club of 28 airlines that propagates unity in diversity. Easier said than done? “Not so,” said Star spokesman Christian Klick this week during the alliance’s CEO board meeting in New Delhi. Klick firmly believes that each member airline projects its attitude in service, food, cabin interiors, and crew uniforms, and each makes a big effort to project its ...

Neelam Mathews Dec 3, 2014 Steeped in the heat of intense competition, Asia-Pacific airlines must now confront additional challenges related to safety and health pandemics. With the loss of Malaysia Airlines flights  MH 370  and  MH 17  earlier this year, it came as no surprise that safety became the prime focus at the recent 58th Assembly of Presidents of Association of Asia Pacific Airlines ( AAPA ) in Tokyo. The 16-member  AAPA , which recently added Air Astana to its membership base, articulates views on common areas of interest of airlines in the region that jointly fly 5,911 aircraft, carrying 31 percent of global passenger traffic and generating $163 billion in annual revenues. “ AAPA  urges governments to improve efforts in the sharing of accurate intelligence and information related to flight safety on a global basis and to support the development of an augmented distribution system for the enhanced sharing of conflict zone ri...

India’s new domestic carrier to be well connected 20-10-2014   |   By Neelam Mathews Tata-SIA owned domestic carrier Vistara, set to be take-off soon, has signed an agreement with air transport IT company SITA for aircraft communications, operations and network connectivity. Vistara will use SITA's integrated suite to manage air-to-ground communications among the flight crew, airline operations and air traffic controllers. SITA's VHF network, the largest in India, will provide the connectivity for these services. The airline will initially use the IP Network to connect its back offices, ticketing desks and check-in counters at 10 airports across India. “We need a network infrastructure that is cost-effective, resilient, easily deployable and scalable….SITA has designed a comprehensive network solution to fit our specific requirements against a very ambitious rollout schedule,” said Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO TATA SIA Airlines Ltd. SITA is also wo...

Neelam Mathews June 19, 2014 JRD might be smiling benevolently from where  he is resting. A picture released on twitter shows perhaps the very first look at India's Tata (Airlines) (Tata-SIA), the new name as it appears on the aircraft in blue and white colors? As somebody remarked: "Looks like their corporate jet colors." So unless they have bought an A320 as a corporate jet, this could be the new face of the airline. The decision on the name - if it is so- is a move away from SIAs trend to brand its subsidiaries with names like SilkAir and Scoot. But then, Tata Airlines is no subsidiary! The branding is clear- you can identify it from as far as the eye can see. And history repeats itself, except that the choice of aircraft is different from the time the Tata's ran a postal service in the last century. Congratulations, either way! We as Indian citizens have a lot of expectations. Hopefully, they won't be misplaced.

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS Established Indian carriers like SpiceJet and Air India will now face tougher competition on both domestic and international routes. [Photo: Neelam Mathews] May 13, 2014, 3:00 PM Indian airlines are facing stiffer competition and downward pressure on air fares with 40 new aircraft due to join the country’s fleet, taking the total capacity to around 400 jets by year-end. Existing carriers are now facing new competition in the shape of AirAsia India , which has just received its air operator permit ( AOP ) for domestic services. The new joint venture between Indian group Tata and Singapore Airlines ( SIA ) is hoping to get its  AOP  ready to start service to nine Indian cities with 87 flights from the capital Delhi in September as a prelude to planned international routes. Further competition is coming from the new A380 service into India by both  SIA  and Emirates Airlines. The increa...

by    NEELAM MATHEWS February 12, 2014, 3:44 AM India’s newest domestic startup, full-service Delhi-based Tata SIA  Airlines, could have an advantage over newcomer budget-carrier AirAsia India as the latter is forced to wait for its air operators permit ( AOP ), which has been delayed by the decision of the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) to issue a public notice requesting comments. This could put on hiatus AirAsia’s plans of launching before summer. Tata  SIA , for its part, “expects to start operations by mid-2014,” a spokesman told  AIN . AirAsia India was due to have started operations by the end of 2013; investment company Tata Sons holds a 30-percent share in the budget carrier, while also holding an interest in Tata SIA –a potential conflict of interests it has refused to comment on. Somewhat surprisingly, India’s Competition Commission seems to have no objection to this, saying one carrier is ful...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS Emirates Airline, the largest A380 operator in the world, cannot fly its superjumbos to India in the absence of a new bilateral air services agreement. (Photo: Airbus) January 27, 2014, 12:00 PM India has lifted restrictions on the Airbus A380 airliner to land at four Code F compliant airports, the country’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) announced Monday. But while the industry has applauded the move, the government has not made it an effortless exercise, as major carriers wanting to fly their A380s to India run short on service entitlements. “Bilateral air service agreements ( ASA s) that prohibit operation of A380s to India will need to be amended before permission is granted,” the MoCA said in a statement. “Rationalization of traffic rights from services per week to seats per week shall be done through mutual negotiations through memoranda of understanding.” Airports will require Directora...