Aerospace Diary

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...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS With removal from the EU’s safety black list, PAL can now fully justify its acquisition of Airbus A330s (below) along with A321s. (Image: Airbus) July 11, 2013, 12:28 PM Philippine Airlines ( PAL ) has become the Philippines’ first and only carrier removed from the  EU  air safety black list, an operating ban imposed three years ago within the 28-state European Union ( EU ). Meanwhile, the  U.S.  Federal Aviation Administration has begun to reassess the Category 2 rating it issued to  PAL  in 2009. Category 2 carriers cannot start new services to the  U.S.   FAA  safety inspectors arrived in the Philippines a few weeks ago, leaving  PAL  executives hopeful that they can soon proceed with plans to expand services into the  U.S. Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines ( CAAP ) director-general William Hotchkiss said raising safety standards had r...

What is Mittu thinking? (pix-neelam mathews) Neelam Mathews June 3, 2013 These days, when Tony Fernandes speaks, he makes news. Suspect the quiet guy sitting next to him in a suit, his new CEO for India, Mittu Chandilya, isn't as silent as he seems. Tony promises Mittu will have fewer hair on his head in a few years if he does things right! Given the challenges ahead, we suspect it'll take less than that. Add to that a red cap and t-shirt ofcourse! Of the the little we have heard, Mittu is working overtime to start India operations, we are told, will start in October. We are also hearing, the AA India Chennai hub has a few issues that need to sorted out. But Tony has clearly said he has no complaints about bureaucracy in India. For his sake and the sake of Indian aviation going through an upheaval at the moment, we hope he is right- particularly in the context of an impending change in the government.

Neelam Mathews May 12, 2013 Branson spills coffee on Fernandes................pay back time! The ways to market an airline are getting innovative to the point of being funny, some would say, wierd. Since humor is not found as much in the domain of aviation - take this! Donning his famous beard  and sporting an AirAsia uniform, Sir Richard having lost a bet to Tony Fernandes 'served" as a flight attendant on an AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur from Perth International Airport early today. Credit-Getty Images Being poiltically incorrect, I was wondering how Rohit Nandan, Chairman of Air India would look donning an IndiGo uniform if he ever lost a bet to Aditya Ghosh! While there are mixed feelings on these antics, time somebody brought a smile to passengers. I can almost hear the opposition yelling on how this taints our culture. Guess we're cocky enough to think the other (countries) have none! Though personally I did feel the kissing competition on Scoo...

Neelam Mathews March 27, 2013  An industry person told me the other day, my blog posts had recently been covering a lot of AirAsia. For a person who believes in being fair, that came as a surprise. However, looking back, I must confess the person was right, I must clarify- this isn't because of any  agenda, but simply, because, like it or not, founder of AirAsia Tony Fernandes always manages to stand out bigger than life! By the looks of it, Indian aviation media will keep pretty busy in the time to come! As a member of the fourth estate, I welcome all  competitors in the airline business to scream your hearts out. A promise- your voice will be heard and noted!         Tony tweets-   The Apprentice. Crew who are going to be in the show .             All we can see is the face on the plane. Hell of a way of making a point!

Neelam Mathews April 25, 2013 Watch out India- we're headed your way soon , tweets the Asian Budget carrier Tsar  Tony Fernandes Tony Fernandes Tweets We're hiring soon... India here we come Look out for dates soon at this space...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews March 7, 2013 FYI- Wikipedia's explanation of the Harlem Shake- The  Harlem Shake  is an  Internet meme  in the form of a video of various groups of people performing a  comedy sketch  accompanied by a short excerpt from the song " Harlem Shake ". As a meme , the video was replicated by many people, using the same concept, and this rapidly led to it becoming viral in early February 2013,  with thousands of "Harlem Shake" videos being made and uploaded to  YouTube  every day at the height of its popularity.

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  FEBRUARY 25, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Malaysia-based AirAsia has announced plans to launch a new domestic airline in India before year-end. (Photo: Airbus) February 25, 2013, 1:52 PM Malaysia’s AirAsia has unveiled plans to launch a new domestic airline in India by the fourth quarter of 2013. Under the terms of a deal announced on February 21, the largest low-fare carrier in Asia will hold a 49-percent stake–the maximum holding permitted by the Indian government for a foreign investor–in the new airline. AirAsia is partnering with major Indian industrial groups Tata (to carry a 30-percent stake) and Telestra Tradeplace (21 percent). AirAsia chairman Tony Fernandes has decided against buying into an existing Indian domestic airline, as he could have done under foreign investment rules revised last year. By contrast, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways recently confirmed plans to buy 24 percent o...

Neelam Mathews Feb 24, 2013   Before the rumor mill goes amuck, we at AerospaceDiary learn from a pretty reliable source that the new CEO of AirAsia India (I like the sound of that!) will not be from the airline industry. Again, we cannot confirm this and just reporting a strong tailwind. However, we do know from past history of the airline, there were few airline-associated top guys, starting with founder,Tony Fernandes, who refers to himself as a ‘dreamer’ in his twitter profile, while Azran, the CEO of AirAsia X calls himself a “madhatter running AirAsiaX, or sometimes just running aimlessly. Outdoor freak.or sometimes just freaking out randomly. On a plane!” Azran in Paris It is becoming increasingly clear the new guy will also be out of the aviation space, bringing in fresh ideas while the Tatas strive tirelessly with the regulator making it possible for Tony's dream to become a reality.

Neelam Mathews Feb 23, 2013 timescontent.com India's first budget airline Air Deccan made  its first flight in Aug 2003. It was no cake-walk for founder G.R Gopinath, who showed a similar grit asTony Fernandes- who already  two years into the business, had started shaking up everything that was previously sacrosanct.  Today, AirAsia is making making an entry into India and dare I say, we'll have our hats truly off to Fernandes if he manages to shake our moth-ridden system with fresh concepts.  Take the airports for instance. Many years ago, in an interview during Formula One in Bahrain with me, Tony called airports in India, "vultures." They still remain that and AirAsia is rather sagely keeping away from Mumbai and Delhi for the moment. Tony said during a press concall he hopes to convince them to relook at costs. At AerospaceDiary, we have our bubbly ready to cork if that happens! Tony also hopes that the five-year minima for Indian carriers to fly ...

Neelam Mathews Feb 21, 2013 Tony Fernandes will start filming the series of 'Apprentice' (Asia) (remember Donald Trump?) starting this monday, he told Aerospace Diary during a telephonic press conference a few minutes ago. "The response from India has been tremendous," said the low cost airline Asian tsar who added that the series would help in enhancing the AirAsia image in India. "But, lets not kid ourselves," the product needs to deliver what it promises, he added. On whether AirAsia was likely to put some airlines out of business, he said: "Businesses put themselves out of business provided they capitalize and have the right business model."

Neelam Mathews Jan 5, 2013 Specially-designed livery was launched by Prime Minister of Malaysia to commemorate the start of ‘Program Integrasi 1Malaysia’ with AirAsia to promote the diversity of Ithe country. What a way to flaunt it! Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia commented, “I am very proud to be Malaysian and I am sure my extended family of AirAsia Allstars (our staff), whether they are Malaysians or not, are also proud to embrace the concept of 1Malaysia – which personifies the true identity of our country. The success of AirAsia is also attributed to Dato’ Sri Najib’s decision to open up our skies before year 2015, when the Open Skies policy will be implemented throughout the Asean region and I would like to applaud him for that move." Fernandes stressed the reduction of airport tax was also a catalyst that propelled AirAsia “to what we are today. And having this special 1Malaysia aircraft livery is just a small gesture for the support the government has gi...

Neelam Mathews Dec 20, 2012 Virgin Chief Richard Branson is a sport and even winner of the bet Tony Fernnades, acknowledges this. Branson, after losing a bet on F1, will wear a red skirt and serve as a stewardess on AirAsia in May. The two had agreed in 2010 that whichever of their teams (then Virgin and Lotus) finished lower in the constructors’ championship in their debut season, the losing owner would serve on the other’s airline. The tickets for the flight will be auctioned off for charity. Wouldn't we all love to be on that historical flight!

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  DECEMBER 10, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS The failure of Kingfisher Airlines to meet deadlines for repaying debts accounts for one of several factors that have discouraged investment in India’s air transport sector. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) December 10, 2012, 10:00 AM Policy-making paralysis over much-needed reforms and liquidity concerns raised by the grounding of Kingfisher Airlines has deterred investors, vendors, lessors and suppliers from doing business in India’s air transport sector, according to delegates attending last month’s Asia-Pacific Airlines Association Assembly of Presidents in Kuala Lumpur. “Airlines in India are scared of rising fuel prices and airport charges, and are waiting for the regulatory environment to pan out,” a senior  AAPA  airline executive told  AIN , speaking on condition of anonymity. “Besides, we do not expect much to move in India until t...

Neelam Mathews Nov 26, 2012 In typical Tony Fernandes, no-nonsense style, the LCC tsar put media speculation to rest with a statement- AirAsia would  like to enlighten the public and its shareholders on the  speculation that has been actively spreading in regards to the purchase of an Indian budget carrier.   AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer   Tony Fernandes said: “AirAsia rejects the speculation surrounding our possible expansion in India. These reports are completely incorrect. AirAsia has not submitted a bid for the Indian budget carrier, and has no intention of doing so." Hopefully, the Indian government will question  its ill-conceived aviation FDI policy that is restrictive and insular, and one that permits only existing players- many in the pits- to tap foreign investment. 

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Oct 10, 2012   AirAsia Japan, is starting flights to Seoul (Incheon), Korea. In conjunction with the international flight debut celebration, AirAsia Japan is having a special promotion with seats from as low as KRW2,000.  The Narita to Seoul (Incheon)  daily route will begin operations on October 28 . Air Asia's founder Tony Fernandes   said: “This is a great day for all of us, and an even greater day for the consumers & air travelers in Korea. With AirAsia’s low fare, everyone can now travel to more places more often. AirAsia Japan’s announcement of this international route today is a dream come true for us..."