Aerospace Diary

Security Neelam Mathews, London   IHS Jane's Airport Review 05 March 2015 International flights to and from Nepal were cancelled after an arriving Turkish Airlines A330 skidded off the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Source: Turkish Airlines All flights to and from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the only international airport in Nepal, remain cancelled following a runway excursion on 4 March involving an arriving Turkish Airlines A330. Flight THY726 from Istanbul skidded off the shoulder of the runway and landed nose down in a grassy field in poor visibility. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft nose gear collapsed, and there was damage to the fuselage and engine cowlings, as well as a burst tyre. Indian agencies are assisting in the aircraft recovery mission, particularly the Indian Air Force (IAF) and national aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Acting on a request from the...

Neelam Mathews July 31, 2013 As media reports indicate, we hear there is frentic activity in SpiceJet's head office in Chennai to wind up a deal.  We are also hearing there is a private equity or a venture capital firm looking at a minority stake in the airline. Whether it is on behalf of an airline, is not clear. An analyst recently told AerospaceDiary that the carrier was even ready to sell out. Tough times when everybody is bleeding, some more than the others. Today the Rupee hit 61 to a dollar- an indication that interest by foreigners with deep pockets willing to look at the sector long term, might just see cash registers ringing as they expect to get good deals. Suitors for SpiceJet in the past (maybe future!) could be Hainan Airlines that was interested over a year ago, RAK Airways, a cash cow- not sure about its connection with Etihad and Turkish Airlines that has an eye to become a hub connecting the east to the west.