Aerospace Diary

AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS  »  JULY 2014 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Operating largely to and from unimproved airfields, Cinnamon Air’s Grand Caravans sustain significant wear and tear, particularly to their landing gear. Operating largely to and from unimproved airfields, Cinnamon Air’s Grand Caravans sustain significant wear and tear, particularly to their landing gear. July 1, 2014, 12:30 AM Sri Lankan regional airline Cinnamon Air expects a significant boost from traffic resulting from the recent move by its codeshare partner, SriLankan Airlines, to join the Oneworld alliance. Owned by the Saffron Aviation joint venture among John Keels Holdings,  MMBL Leisure Holdings and Phoenix Ventures, Cinnamon operates scheduled domestic services in the South Asian country, as well as charter flights. According to Saffron Aviation director Romesh David, Cinnamon’s traffic could grow “exponentially” as a result of the connection bet...

Paris Air Show  »  2013 by  Neelam Mathews The AS350 B3e is ideal for passenger transport, EMS, aerial work, law enforcement and disaster management. June 14, 2013, 1:10 PM India’s small-but-strategic South Asian neighbors, including Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, will procure around 30 helicopters in different categories in the next five years, according to an internal study conducted by Sikorsky. While Indian military helicopter procurement plans are for more than 1,000 helicopters by 2020, including light utility, attack, Mi-17 medium transport, heavy-lift and multi-role platforms, even as its GDP grew by over 6 percent last year, Bangladesh has the largest budget for procurement in the Indian periphery. With no helicopters of its own, the disaster management and...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  APRIL 15, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Thanks to Chinese funding, Sri Lanka now has a second international gateway, Mattala Rajapaska International Airport, and Sri Lankan Airlines is among the first carriers to commit to operating there. (Photo: Sri Lankan Airlines) April 15, 2013, 2:15 PM Sri Lanka’s second international airport–the $200 million China Exim Bank-funded Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport ( MRIA )–opened last month and has already attracted national carrier SriLankan Airlines and its subsidiary, SriLankan Cargo; Sharjah-based budget carrier Air Arabia; and flyDubai. Emirates Airlines, Korean Airways and Sichuan Airlines all plan to start services soon, while British Airways and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways have also “committed” to establish a presence at  MRIA , located in the district of Hambantota, some 100 miles southeast of the capital, Colombo. Looking to attract ...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  MARCH 11, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Air India, which is among the early operators of the Boeing 787, is set to receive a further capital injection of almost $1 billion from its government shareholder, but it is about the only Indian carrier with any grounds for optimism from the country’s new budget. (Photo: Boeing) March 11, 2013, 1:20 PM The Indian government’s new budget, released on February 28, brought little relief for the country’s  ailing air transport sector , although the industry awaits a possible announcement of some reduction in high aviation fuel taxes. In particular, the budget documents made no mention of hoped-for fiscal support for India’s emerging regional airline industry. High fuel prices and other rising operating costs combined with declining passenger traffic have resulted in mounting losses for Indian carriers and represented a severe constraint to the growth ...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Aug 29, 2012 Bookings for tickets is now open for SpiceJet flights starting Sept 20 from the newly inaugurated Madurai Airport to Colombo on its Q400.   Madurai is SpiceJet’s second destination connecting to the Sri Lankan capital. Presently, it operates direct fights between Colombo and Chennai. T he Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft can accommodate 78 passengers and is widely accepted as the best short-haul plane globally.  “We are committed to provide an affordable air journey to the people without compromising ….,” SpiceJet CEO, Neil Mills said. SpiceJet Delhi-Kabul service started on August 14. 

ASIAN AIRLINES & AIRPORTS MAY / JUNE 2012 With air transport operations ballooning throughout Asia, it is little wonder that OEMs and third-party  providers are expanding MRO facilities across the region. In fact Asia’s MRO market is projected to reach  parity with that of the Americas and Europe by 2021. But which are the real growth zones? Neelam Matthews reports Things are moving in Asia. Rolls-Royce opened its first ever purpose-built field services hub at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to support the company’s growing civil aerospace customer base in South East Asia including Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia X. It’s just part of a global MRO trend to be close to growing Asian customers. “The facility (at KLIA) will be the focal point of all our civil large-engine support in Malaysia,” Mark McGuinness, Chief Service Representative, Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, said. "And it will play an increasing important role in the surro...