CH July 2016

ITQ ON PARADIGM SHIFT IN THE WAY TRAVEL IS BOUGHT AND SOLD

CRUISING HEIGHTS www.cruisingheights.in

JULY 2016 I `90

DOES THE NEW

CIVIL AVIATION POLICY FIT THE BILL?

Tony Tyler

IATA:

WHAT’S NEW FROM DUBLIN?

MC 21:

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE! CAN IT BREAK THE DUOPOLY? Alexandre de Juniac

Brexit: Implications for aviation Richard Branson

Hassan Rouhani

Iran: Selling aircraft to the enemy?

Make in India: First step for Boeing-TATA tie-up S Ramadorai

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S NOTE

FROM AI ONE TO AF ONE !

K Srinivasan

a modern fleet of large and small aircraft for the country’s top leadership, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar would have been better off letting the fleet be under the Indian Air Force.

At present The Communications squadron of the IAF has three close to a decade old Boeing Business Jets (BBJs) The BBJs – equipped with self protection suites — are used for domestic trips although the ones in the VVIP squadron can do well over six hours. The squadron also has five Embraer 135 Legacy executive jets used by the Defence, Home and External Affairs Minister apart from the three service chiefs.

Moving the aircraft back and forth between Air India and the Air Force with Air India maintaining and flying the aircraft and the Air Force maintaining the classified defence capabilities makes no sense. What happens to the shield when the aircraft is in commercial use? It is dead weight in a commercial environment and a drag on the aircraft.

I

ndia will soon replace the Air India one with Air Force One. The four-engine ageing 747-400s will be replaced by two spanking 777-200LRs.The call sign will change from Air India One to Air Force One. There is one little change though from the original plan: AF One will continue to be part of the Air India fleet and fly under the AI call sign unless pulled out for VVIP duties when it will be reconfigured and designated AF One. While it does make immense sense to have

PIB

The original plan was for the government to acquire two of these aircraft from the AI fleet and reposition them as part of the VVIP Communications Squadron.It would be permanently fitted to the VVIP configuration and if at all Air India would have anything to do with the operation of these flights it would be with respect to inflight services and maintanence. That would be the ideal arrangement. In any case, AI has not been overtly excited with the 777-200, a gargantun aircraft that requires some skill to fill on a continuous long-term basis.

Anyway, it is a sensible move to have a dedicated set of aircraft. Maybe the others bits of the template will gradually fall into place by the time the aircraft are ready to fly the VVIPs.

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

srini@newsline.in

3

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working with commercial airlines and pilots’ unions to improve mental health evaluations, and encourage voluntary reporting of pilot mental health issues.

An Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) comprising aviation and medical experts has made several recommendations about pilot medical fitness. “Safety is always our first priority and this includes making sure our nation’s commercial pilots undergo robust medical evaluations,” said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “The US commercial aviation community is working together to make sure pilots are able to report, and be treated for, any mental health condition.

We must be confident pilots are medically fit when they enter the cockpit.”

Certain medical conditions, such as a psychosis, bipolar disorder and severe personality disorder automatically disqualify a pilot from obtaining an FAA medical certificate and prohibit them from flying. However, many pilots have conditions that are treatable. Several US airlines already have reporting and monitoring programmes that provide pilots with a path to report their condition, be treated for it and return to the cockpit once the FAA has determined – through a thorough evaluation – it is safe to do so. The FAA addresses the medical certificates of those pilots on a case-by-case basis.

In fact, the FAA has charted out a programme to improve pilots’ mental health. In January this year, for example, the FAA began enhanced training for Aviation Medical Examiners so that they could increase their knowledge on mental health and enhance their ability to identify warning signs. In addition, the FAA will work with airlines over the next year as they develop programmes to reduce the stigma around mental health issues by increasing awareness and promoting resources to help resolve mental health problems.

4

contents

H C TIWARI

Off the cuff

Piloting mental health

TAKE-OFF – ONCE MORE

p28

The long-awaited National Civil Aviation Policy has outlined the path ahead for passengers and air transportation of cargo. The government’s aim is to provide an ecosystem for the harmonised growth of aviation subsectors and touch the furthest corners of the country. The policy states that providing safe, secure, affordable and sustainable air travel would be the government’s mission. Will the move succeed?

GLOBAL DIGEST

p12

While Brexit has ushered in a confused Britain and an even more confused aviation scenario, the EU has permitted a number of Iran's passenger planes to fly in European airspace. Mallya loses his homes; Air Canada chooses Bombardier's C Series and Dassault's Falcon 8X takes one more step to flight and more.

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

BIZJET

p36

The predicted business jet delivery in the next few years for southern Asia and the Asia Pacific region will be 200 each, although the latest forecast by airframer Bombardier has pointed out that nearly half the aircraft deliveries would go to North American operators. Plus: news from the business aviation sector.

contents ARTICLES NEWS VIEWS EDITS INTERVIEWS CLIPPINGS PROFILES NEWS DIGEST

CHOPPERS

p40

Pawan Hans has firmed up plans to launch regional flights with fixed wing aircraft, including seaplanes. The helicopter operator plans to lease three choppers with 20 seats to operate on regional routes that will attract government subsidy. Plus: European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) grounded fleet of Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L2 rotorcraft.

NET EXPRESS

p44

CRUISING HEIGHTS VOLUME XI n NO 2

Editor-in-Chief

K SRINIVASAN Managing Editor

TIRTHANKAR GHOSH

Group Consulting Editor

Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Commercial Officer, InterGlobe Technology Quotient speaks about the paradigm shift that revolutionary products are bringing in the way travel is bought and sold today. Plus: Wi-fi is the first choice for fliers scoring over in-flight entertainment, meals or duty free.

SNIPPETS

p54

R KRISHNAN

Consulting Editor

M MURLIDHARAN Senior Proof Reader

RAJESH VAID Correspondent

NIDHI SHARMA, NAYANTARA SRINIVASAN, SUBHASH YADAV Designer

NAGENDER DUBEY Picture Editor

PRADEEP CHANDRA

Photo Editor

H C TIWARI

MC-21

p32

The Russians rolled out the MC-21 recently challenging Boeing’s B737MAX and Airbus’ A319 and A320. The aircraft promises to have all that its competitors have – from plush interiors to the latest fly-by-wire tech. Will the Russians be successful in selling the product?

Staff Photographer

HEMANT RAWAT

Director (Admin & Corporate Affairs)

RAJIV SINGH

Director (Marketing)

Vistara recently crossed the milestone of flying two million customers even as it started operating double daily flights on the Delhi-Guwahati route. In the international section, British Airways and Virgin have announced their annual offer for students travelling from India to the UK, Europe, US and Canada.

ITQ ON PARADIGM SHIFT IN THE WAY TRAVEL IS BOUGHT AND SOLD

CRUISING HEIGHTS www.cruisingheights.in

JULY 2016 I `90

POLICY:

DOES THE NEW AVIATION POLICY FIT THE BILL?

Tony Tyler

IATA:

WHAT’S NEW FROM DUBLIN?

BACK PAGE

p58

In a bid to remember aviation history, refurbishers have joined hands with artists to create furniture using reclaimed, authentic aircraft parts, from both military and civilian aircraft.

6

MC 21:

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE! CAN IT BREAK THE DUOPOLY? Alexandre de Juniac

Brexit: Implications for aviation Richard Branson

Hassan Rouhani

Iran: Selling aircraft to the enemy?

Make in India: First step for Boeing-TATA tie-up S Ramadorai

COVER DESIGN NAGENDER DUBEY

The total number of pages in this issue: 60

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

RAKESH GERA

Legal Advisor

VASU SHARMA Subscription

ALKA SHARMA Distribution

PANKAJ KUMAR, BHUSAN KUMAR

Executive Director

RENU MITTAL

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PERISCOPE No way “I don’t think (India needs Open Skies)…I think Indians should get advantage in India.

How many destinations do the countries with which we have an air service agreement give us? Just look at how many destinations India is offering them.”

ASHOK P GAJAPATHI RAJU, Civil Aviation Minister, on whether India needs ‘Open Skies’

Just not cricket!

“We do not like the idea of auctioning unused Indian bilateral traffic rights to foreign carriers.

This is something which does not happen anywhere in the world. It is a very strange idea…If you want to change the system… fine... change the system but auctioning is a very strange way to go ahead”

LETTERS TO EDITOR The cover story, 10 on 10 (June 2016) about the tenth anniversary of the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi brought home one important point: not only do we have the capability to do things right but we can be the best. Hats off to the Delhi airport team for the double whammy – being recognised as the top airport in its class in the world for two consecutive years. Indeed, what a feat!

Ten years after privatization, the GMR-led airport has created quality standards that are at par with the best anywhere. A visit to the airport reveals how perfect the system is. Everything works like clockwork. It is no wonder that I Prabhakara Rao, the CEO of the airport, mentioned in his interview that the GMR staffers are hardly seen – and that means that the airport is operating at its best. The government-controlled Airports Authority of India would do well to take lessons on how to run airports from Delhi Airport.

A K Basu, Delhi R-R gets the TEN ready (June 2016) took us right into the intricacies of plane-manufacturing. The story has gone into the history of the making of the TEN (Thrust, Efficiency and New Technology) engines. While the venerable company, RollsRoyce, has created an engineering marvel -- the TEN engine has been designed to improve fuel burn by 2 per cent – it has a lot of work to do before the engine is offered on the -8 and the -9 versions in the run up to the debut of the 787-10. Now, we know how much work goes into the making of an engine for a plane. It was an informative read.

R Chandra, Mumbai It was great to know that flying in private jets will become easier.

The story, Affordable business jet flights with EMIs (June 2016) made it clear that the Bengaluru-based Jetsmart has rolled out plans to fill up the empty leg flights with those willing to shell out a bit more money for flights than the usual paid for air tickets.

Now with the new aviation policy in place, the government should encourage private jet operators to fly to cities and towns that are yet to be connected by air. Only then will regional connectivity improve.

SN C Suresh, Bengaluru All correspondence may be addressed to Editor, Cruising Heights, D-11 Basement, Nizamuddin East, New Delhi -110013, OR mail to cruisingheights@newsline.in

8

TONY TYLER, IATA Director General and CEO, on India’s plans to auction bilateral traffic rights

Keeping pace “Demand in Asia-Pacific and Africa is increasing, but airport infrastructure cannot accommodate this demand. There is a slot problem in these regions. We need to stimulate investment in adequate airport infrastructure” TEMEL KOTIL, CEO, Turkish Airlines

Bring it on “Every airline wishes for a monopoly in its home market. But life doesn’t work like that.

Competition is good. Level competition is healthy and it stimulates the marketplace and we respond accordingly.”

STEPHEN KAVANAGH, CEO, Aer Lingus on competition from lowcost, long-haul carrier Norwegian that has plans to start services to the US from Ireland

No hasty decision “For somebody that is running a business that has very, very high demand in our European countries and cities, to see destabilization (if Britain quits the EU) wouldn’t serve any purpose at all.”

TIM CLARK, Emirates’ President on Brexit

Same coin “In India, like in France, you have too much bureaucracy. So we are equal at least on this one. Indian bureaucracy and French bureaucracy are probably among the top two or three in the world” FABRICE BREGIER, CEO, Airbus

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

Low-cost; high numbers 2007

2008

Southwest Airlines (US)

88.5 mn

144.6 mn

Ryanair (Ireland)

58.6 mn

106.4 mn

EasyJet (UK)

37.6 mn

68.6 mn

Gol (Brazil)

25.7 mn

38.9 mn

JetBlue Airways (US)

21.9mn

35.1 mn

IndiGo (India)

4.7 mn

31.4 mn

Lion Airlines (Indonesia)

7.5 mn

31 mn (Estimate)

Norwegian (Norway)

7.5 mn

25.8 mn

Vueling (Spain)

5.9

24.8

AirAsia (Malaysia)

11.8

24.3

COLD STATS

India’s IndiGo is among the top ten low-cost carriers in the world that has shown strong growth in 2015. According to the latest Flightglobal/Airline Business Low-cost Carrier Survey, passenger numbers among the top 100 low-cost and leisure carriers in 2015 topped 1.1 billion: an increase of almost 11 per cent on the previous year. The low-cost and leisure carrier traffic rankings show that in 2015 the 20 biggest operators in the sector carried 713 million passengers; in 2008, the 20 biggest operators in the sector handled 420 million passengers. The largest share of passengers for low-cost and leisure carriers among the leading 100 operators came from Europe followed by the Asia-Pacific and the North American markets.

The top ten with the number of passengers carried (in million) in 2008 and 2015: (see table)

LOOKING GLASS

So, all of you thought you would all fly in widebodies

Top of the agenda “I understand how governments operate, but let me reassure you I am very far from patient with the speed at which they work and I shall be a tireless advocate for government policies to keep pace with the challenges that you, IATA’s members, face.”

ALEXANDRE DE JUNIAC, CEO, Air France-KLM Group, on his task as the next IATA Director General and CEO

Straight from the hip “He (de Juniac) has been the architect of the (expletive deleted) that has been thrown on us. If we find that he is biased, we will raise an issue. No one’s job is permanent” AKBAR AL BAKER, CEO, Qatar Airways, member of IATA board of governors, and s part of the team that interviewed de Juniac for the IATA CEO’s post

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

9

NEWS DIGEST/ALLIANCES

oneworld no longer one world A

number of carriers belonging to the oneworld alliance have decided not to transfer checked luggage onto connecting flights if that onward flight has been made under a separate booking.

The changed rules – according to fliers, are not being communicated – have started causing connection chaos for those who are used to having their baggage routed to their final destination on an itinerary involving oneworld airlines. A recent report in Australian Business Traveller pointed out that the revised rules extend to the 15 members of oneworld comprising some big names like American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific. Oneworld, however, requires all its members to ‘through-check’ baggage when all tickets are in the same booking or 'PNR'. If the flights are in separate bookings, the ‘through-check’ of baggage is not mandatory. oneworld communications chief Michael Blunt told Australian Business Traveller that “individual member airlines are free to offer service above and beyond the (oneworld) alliance minimum standard if they so choose, so some may continue to offer through check-in for customers travelling on separate bookings”. Fliers travelling on American Airlines (AA) will, for the time being, not be inconveniences. AA’s Director of Corporate Communications was quoted saying that AA was “not changing anything at this time, and we will continue to through-check bags on multiple PNRs with oneworld carriers”. In fact, Malaysia Airlines has also decided to do the same and “will accept bags and issue boarding passes through to a passenger's final destination providing they are travelling with a oneworld or codeshare partner airline" even if the tickets were on separate bookings.

Cathay Pacific, instead, has adopted oneworld’s new

through check-in policy since June 1, 2016. A spokesperson for the airline said that it would continue to honour and support separate ticket through-check for passengers travelling between Cathay Pacific and Dragonair flights or passengers flying with member carriers on separate tickets – “as long as the separately ticketed segments are in the same PNR record”.

Qatar Airways has decided to implement the June 1 rule and “where tickets are issued under separate bookings, passengers will need to collect their luggage during transit to minimise impact of itinerary changes outside of Qatar Airways control”. Finnair too will be following the rule and has pointed out that where there are separate tickets in separate bookings and no interline agreement exist, each carrier will have to look after its own fliers. On its part, Australian airline Qantas has said that “from July 1, Qantas check-in agents will be informing customers checking in on separate oneworld tickets that the policy has changed and that for travel from September 1, they will need to book connections in a single booking to be eligible for through check-in to their final destination”, according to a Qantas spokesperson.

Star goes for new tech to facilitate fliers

T

he Chief Executives of the Star Alliance member airlines recently gave the go-ahead for new technology investment and wide-ranging enhancements to operational processes to meet the evolving demands of ravellers.

“Serving our customers with high standards, consistently, on a global scale has

10

always been at the centre of our Alliance strategy”, said Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu, who chairs the Alliance’s Chief Executive Board. “We are clearing the way to better align our industry’s complex back-end systems with the rapidly changing demands of our customers,” he said.

As a direct result of the

decisions, Star Alliance will invest in multi-million dollar technology projects, which will include a new Alliance IT hub for baggage. This new IT hub is scheduled to go into operation by the end of 2016 and is the latest in a series of similar “plug and play” applications which are supporting the member airlines behind the scenes.

Baggage processes are currently complicated by the fact that the relevant information resides in many different systems. In addition to those operating at the individual Star Alliance member airlines, each airport is running its own baggage system, thus making it highly complex to retrieve the current status of bags, to locate bags within the

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

systems and to take effective remedial action if bags are mishandled.

The Chief Executives also endorsed the development of standardised processes for off-airport / self-service check-in, for fast bag drop technology at airports, for baggage selftagging and for automated travel document validation.

Once implemented, these standards will not only provide smoother service to the Alliance’s customers but also reduce infrastructure requirements and handling costs at all of the 1,300 airports the Alliance is serving today. “This initiative represents another industry first and is created in full support of the IATA Fast Travel mandate”, Schwab said.

Fo

Jeffrey Goh to head Star from 2017 T

he Chief Executive Board of Star Alliance has appointed Jeffrey Goh as the Alliance’s Chief Executive, effective January 1, 2017, to succeed Mark Schwab, who will retire at the end of the year.

“This early decision lays the groundwork for a smooth leadership transition at the top of the Alliance`s management company,” said Calin Rovinescu, Chairman of the Chief Executive Board. “With Jeffrey, we have selected an experienced aviation professional who is well-known and respected by our member airliners and will be able to lead our Alliance organisation through the fast-moving developments in this highly competitive global aviation environment in the coming years.”

Jeffrey Goh is currently Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Star Alliance, with responsibilities including strategy and membership development, human resources, joint sourcing and fuel-related projects, as well as legal, finance and project management. Goh joined Star Alliance in 2007 from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

SkyTeam app for customer feedback

S

kyTeam has launched an industry-first customer feedback initiative: the SkyPriority Audit App. The App allowed premium customers to rate their travel experience, in an effort to ensure the highest consistency in service delivery across the globe.

Following a successful ninemonth pilot phase involving over 8,000 top frequent flyers, the SkyPriority Audit App was launched worldwide. All eligible SkyTeam customers can provide feedback on SkyPriority services at every step of their journey at more than 1,000 airports. Free to download, the App is available in English, Spanish and Simplified Chinese, with a further 11 languages being rolled out through summer 2016.SkyTeam CEO and

Managing Director Perry Cantarutti said that SkyTeam was the first alliance to deliver aligned, branded priority airport services network-wide.

“In order to ensure we are providing a consistently high level of service, our SkyPriority customers are now empowered to give us direct feedback when they are travelling. We are committed to our promise of caring more about customers and by listening to what they have to say and using the data from the customer audit, we can identify areas for improvement to deliver a more seamless travel experience.”

Cantarutti also mentioned that intra-airline code-sharing and collaboration between SkyTeam members grew by more than 7 per cent year-over-year to March 2016.

CODESHARE

Air India, Flybe tieup Air India recently announced that it has entered into a codeshare agreement with European airline Flybe.

The codeshare partnership will enable travellers using Flybe's multi-frequency Birmingham services from Belfast City, Edinburgh and Glasgow to book seamless flights onward to New Delhi.

Etihad Airways and Avianca Brasil Etihad Airways and Avianca Brasil recently announced a codeshare partnership. Under the agreement, Etihad Airways will put its 'EY' code on domestic flights operated by Avianca Brasil, while Avianca Brasil will put its 'O6' code on Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo. Travellers on Etihad Airways flights between São Paulo (GRU) and Abu Dhabi (AUH) and beyond will benefit from convenient connections to and from eight other Brazilian destinations on Avianca Brasil.

Air Vanuatu resumes arrangement with Qantas Air Vanuatu recently announced that it had resumed its codeshare arrangement with Qantas, but only for flights between Brisbane and Santo.The codeshare was suspended in January this year after Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia suspended services to Port Vila over the condition of the airport runway. Air Vanuatu continued to operate flights, but the Australian airline suspended its codeshare arrangement.

CRUISINGor HEIGHTS 2016 For more information call 1800 102 3000 visit July vsflyinghub.com

11

GLOBAL DIGEST/BREXIT

Brexit could break Britain

FERVENT PLEA: Former British Prime Minister David Cameron urging easyJet employees to vote to stay in the EU before the Brexit referendum

A confused Britain and an even more confused aviation scenario: that is what the Brexit referendum result has brought in its wake. Till Britain invokes the Article 50 clause that will trigger its exit from the European Union, the scenario will remain muddled – to say the least. A close look at what could happen.

A majority of the British rejoiced at the proposed divorce from Europe – the first country to cut off links with the European Union (EU) since its birth in 1973 – but the shockwaves were felt around the world. Life, most Britishers commented, would not be the same again.

The repercussions of the ‘Leave’ vote have already left everyone – including those who led the Brexit move – fumbling for answers.

Indeed, the effects will be so widespread that no one will be spared. Among the first to be affected will be aviation that is international in its scope and will certainly undergo a transformation.

Tony Tyler, International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Director General and CEO voiced the international community’s concerns when he pointed out “That the Brexit vote has triggered much uncertainty – financial and otherwise. As leaders in the UK and the EU work to establish a new framework for their relationship, one certainty to guide them is the need and desire of people on both sides of that relationship to travel and trade. Air transport plays a major role in making that possible. There were 117 million air passenger journeys between the UK and the

before the issues Tyler mentioned were fully resolved. That prolonged uncertainty will have an impact on the “magnitude and persistence of the economic impacts”.

That uncertainty will continue till UK invokes the Article 50 clause that is the signal for an EU member country to begin exit negotiations. And, now with some of the pro-Leave campaign leaders saying they would take time to invoke that clause, the existing trade agreements will remain.

That uncertainty for aviation will remain. For a start, airlines operating between Britain and the EU will have to do quite a bit of restructuring. Carriers from the EU and those based in EU-member nations today fly between airports located in the EU and surrounding areas taking advantage of the agreements that provide a virtually open door. Britain will have to rework agreements with the EU member states to enable its carriers to fly in.

Perhaps, the worst hit will be low-cost carriers like easyJet that took full advantage of the EU’s aviation policy. EasyJet, based at London Luton Airport, has been operating intra-European flights. That will not be possible when Britain quits. In fact, there are reports that easyJet could shift out of Luton though Carolyn McCall, easyJet’s Chief Executive, said the company was “confident” in the strength of its business model after Britain voted to leave the EU. Even so, she went on to urge the European Commission to ensure that British airlines

LUTON OR OUT: Carolyn McCall, easyJet Chief Executive is confident of her carrier’s business plans

STAY ON: Michael O’Leary, Ryanair CEO poses for a ‘Yes to EU’ photo

12

EU in 2015. Air links facilitate business, support jobs and build prosperity. It is critical that whatever form the new UK-EU relationship takes, it must continue to ensure the common interests of safe, secure, efficient and sustainable air connectivity”. IATA emphasized that uncertainty will remain regarding the precise detail of the exit: It could be two years or more

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

remained a part of the EU aviation area “given its importance to trade and consumers”.

Industry analysts believe that Britain and the EU will work out some form of agreement that would allow airlines to have continued access; the agreement, however, would not be automatic and many fear that British airlines could be stopped from operating intra-Euro-

pean flights as freely as they have been doing. The immediate effect, according to IATA’s preliminary estimates, would be on passenger growth. The number of UK air passengers could be 3-5 per cent lower by 2020, driven largely by the expected downturn in economic activity and the fall in the sterling exchange rate. “The near-term impact on the UK air freight market is less certain,” IATA said, “but freight will be affected by lower international trade in the longer term.”

Britain’s aviation relations with the US too could be affected. The US-EU Open Skies agreement, signed in 2007, permits any airline in the EU to fly to any point in the US and vice versa. What was significant for Britain was the start of trans-Atlantic flights to London Heathrow. Pre-2007, bilateral rights provided only American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic to fly between London and the US. The US-EU Open Skies agreement brought in more competition. Karen Walker writing in ATW commented that, “In theory, that door could close once the UK is no longer part of EU and, by extension, no longer party

Warning bells Post-Brexit, air travel will go down, according to analysts. While European airlines will face a hit, those based in the US too would see fewer passengers. This has led British Airways’ parent, International Airlines Group (IAG), to issue a profit warning almost soon after the UK referendum to leave the EU. IAG owns BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling. It said that in the run-up to the vote, it had seen “a weaker than expected trading environment” and went on to say that “following the outcome of the referendum, and given current market volatility”, it would not be able to generate an increase in operating

Virgin Chief Richard Branson

CHANGES COMING: A UK Border control showing UK/EU Passports in one counter which will change when Britain exits the EUplans

to the transatlantic Open Skies treaty.”

Walker hoped that a new treaty would not take place. Even if a “US-UK agreement has

profit this year as it did in 2015.

In fact, shares of London-listed travel companies went down after the referendum results. Thomas Cook’s and Tui’s shares dropped by 16 per cent and more than 8 per cent, respectively while shares of Air FranceKLM dropped almost 10 per cent and those of Lufthansa by 7 per cent. The shares of US carriers that have ties for transatlantic flights also went down: American Airlines which has a partnership with BA, dropped 8 per cent while Delta Air Lines, which has a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic, saw a drop of 6 per cent.

Virgin founder Richard Branson said that his company had already started feeling the effects of Brexit when a deal worth 3,000 jobs had to be called off. Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he said: “I don't believe the public realised what a mess their vote would cost…Bank shares, some of them have gone done by as much as 50 per cent, two trillion got wiped off the global stock markets, the pound has collapsed to its lowest level in 30 years, and we will go into recession unless we can actually send signals to the world very quickly that we’re going to do something about it.”

He told the presenters of the show that Virgin was “about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and that’s happening all over the country …All I’m saying is, look, this country is going to go into recession, two of the worst days ever, banks being pounded means they’re not going to lend money, we’re going to go into recession…”

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

to be forged, the expectation is that it would be a liberalized, Open Skies treaty,” she wrote.

In fact, an agreement like that would not even be necessary if UK became a member of the European Common Aviation Area of which Norway and Iceland are and that provides carriers from those countries access to the Single Aviation Market in the EU. Norwegian Air Shuttle has set up a low cost carrier unit in Ireland – an EU country – and can fly between Ireland and the US under the US-EU Open Skies agreement. That the US regulatory authorities have delayed the whole process of giving a nod to Norwegian Air is another issue altogether.

Regarding air safety, Britain, as a voting member, has been in the forefront in the development of the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) rules and regulations since its establishment in 2003. Brexit will end Britain’s voting rights (Article 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Management Board of EASA describes “members with voting right” as “a representative of a Member State of the European Union” and then lists various non-EU member states who are members of EASA as “members without voting rights”). Britain could renegotiate with EASA and retain its voting rights as a special member, but will EASA listen?

Everything depends on the post-Brexit exit agreement that Britain and the EU will get into.

On their part, the EU’s leaders want Britain to leave the union “as soon as possible, however painful that process may be”. They want Britain’s exit immediately as it would “unnecessarily prolong uncertainty”. However, that will not happen since the exit process will take quite a few years. Till such time, Britain will have to follow the EU laws. For the present, uncertainty reigns supreme in the aviation market and will continue to do so till the exit agreement starts to take shape.

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GLOBAL DIGEST/AIRLINE

Malaysia gets a new chief and mulls narrowbodies Outgoing Malaysia Airlines CEO Christoph Mueller has said that the airline was considering whether to add new longrange narrowbody aircraft to its fleet.

The details of the expansion plan are to be revealed later this summer. Speaking on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Dublin, the turnaround specialist said, “We are currently looking into whether we source some long-range narrowbody aircraft.”

The restructuring will now be taken over by Peter Bellew, who was the carrier’s Chief Operating Officer.

He became the new group Managing Director and Chief

Mallya loses his homes

The special agency that investigates suspected money-laundering cases, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), has confiscated two residential flats in Bangalore and Mumbai, coffee plantation land in south India and commercial property owned by Kingfisher Airlines’ Vijay Mallya and UB Holdings, his personal holding company.

Mallya is presently living in what he has described as “self-exile” in London as pressure mounts on him to repay $1billion in debts and accumulated interest as a result of Kingfisher Airlines’ collapse. A statement from Mallya said the Indian authorities’ campaign against him was hindering his efforts to raise revenues to repay Kingfisher’s creditors, mostly a banking consortium led

by State Bank of India. “It surely appears as if these agencies are pursuing a heavily biased investigation and are already holding me guilty without trial after which I need to prove my innocence,” Mallya said. ED, which has filed criminal charges against the tycoon in India’s special anti-money-laundering court, has accused Mallya of diverting funds from a £90million loan granted to Kingfisher by state-owned IDBI Bank in 2009, when the airline was struggling financially.

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Executive Officer, replacing Christoph Mueller effective July 1.

“Mueller will remain available to the company until the end of his notice period to help ensure a smooth leadership transition. “Bellew’s appointment follows a comprehensive search for a new chief executive officer conducted

by Khazanah and the Malaysia Airlines Board,” it said.

With over 20 years of experience in the aviation industry, Bellew has been a member of Malaysia Airlines’ senior management team since the first day of its full operations on September 1 last year.

Boeing to celebrate 100th anniversary at Farnborough Boeing will celebrate its 100th anniversary at the Farnborough International Airshow, display its advanced commercial platform and present a unique exhibit to commemorate its first century and look ahead to the future.

The first jetliner of Boeing’s second century — the 737 MAX — will make its air show debut with flying displays from July 11-14, 2016. Boeing expects to deliver the first 737 MAX 8 in the first half of 2017, ahead of schedule.

A 787-9 Dreamliner to be delivered to ANA, Japan’s largest airline, will also participate in the flying display. The airplane will be the first ever

in a Japanese airline livery to participate at the Farnborough Airshow.

Other Boeing commercial airplanes on display will include a new CargoLogicAir 747-8 Freighter.

Boeing is marking 100 years of innovation with a special pavilion that will be open throughout the show. In addition to interactive displays showcasing the company’s past, present and future technologies, the Boeing Centennial Experience will also feature kiosks with access to the digital archive of every issue of “Aviation Week & Space Technology”, which is also celebrating its 100th year.

Southwest crew: Ready for a change Southwest Airlines’ will soon complete the first overhaul of its work attire since 1996. The airline recently unveiled its new employee-designed uniforms for its flight attendants, ground workers and gate agents that feature gray shorts, pants or skirts for workers paired with blue and red shirts.

The Dallas-based carrier also revealed its new Boeing 737800 “Heart” interior design that matches the livery scheme it revealed in 2014.

The two-year effort was overseen by Sonya Lacore, who began working as a flight attendant 15 years ago but is now the carrier’s Vice President, Cabin Services.

It also involved more than 40 workers from all uniform-wearing employee groups. “Introducing our new uniform designs and fully branded 737-800 Heart interiors into the fleet is an accomplishment directly resulting from our hardworking employee design teams,” said Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly in a statement.

The new uniforms were designed by employees and then tested at 37 cities for performance and durability. All employees will begin wearing the uniforms in June 2017. In fact, of the variety of options being offered to the airline’s 40,000 workers in uniform, they have the flexibility to choose pieces that match their personal taste.

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

No gate for Qatar Superjumbo at Atlanta The global fight between Qatar Airways and Delta took a new dimension recently. The US airline has been opposing subsidised Gulf carriers, including Qatar, that are fast expanding in the United States. The tension escalated further after Qatar Airways announced plans to launch a route from Doha to Atlanta, right at Delta’s doorstep.

Finally, when Qatar’s first A380 flight reached Atlanta from Doha with 500 passengers onboard, the super-jumbo jet was not allocated a gate at the world’s busiest airport. Result: Passengers were forced to disembark via mobile stairs and shuttle buses. With seven concourses and more than 200 gates, Atlanta’s airport has only one gate that can accommodate the A380, the world's largest airliner.

While many wanted to know who to blame, Qatar Airways received flak from the

airport and Delta that it did not provide the required notice time for the Super Jumbo flight. Atlanta Airport Spokesman Reese

McCranie told mediapersons that advance notice was a part of the common use lease agreement. “We have to be given a certain amount of time when there is an equipment

swap. Four to six Delta aircraft needed access to the A380 gate at the time the Qatar Airways plane requested access… there wasn't anywhere Delta could put them,” McCranie added.

In a written statement, Delta said that it offered as a ‘solution’ a scenario that included parking the A380 on a remote stand near the international terminal. According to several widely published reports, the A380 was scheduled for the flight at least a month in advance.

While Gunter Saurwein, Vice President for the Americas, Qatar Airways’ said that “We as an airline don't finger point”, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker branded Delta Air Lines “wicked" over what he said was the US carrier’s part in ruining the Middle Eastern carrier’s first flight from Doha to Atlanta.

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

15

GLOBAL DIGEST/AIRLINE

EU’s nod to Iran Air The European Union has lifted most of its restrictions on Iran Air. The national carrier of Iran will now be allowed to use all its aircraft except Boeing 747s and Fokker 100 planes when flying in the 28-nation EU, the European Commission recently informed.

According to the ‘EU Airline Blacklist’ released on December 10, 2015, of the list of airlines that are subject to an operating ban or op-

erational restrictions within the EU bloc, Iran Air is allowed to deploy 12 specific aircraft: 10 Airbus A300s and two A310s.

Following recent safety inspections by the EC and a number of member states, more Iran Air aircraft will be cleared.

The easing of restrictions on Iran Air came after a visit to Tehran by European Union Transport Chief Violeta Bulc in April and an EU technical assessment in May. The decision was made by the EU’s Air

Careful Clearance: Obama’s new drone policy

The federal government in the USA expects drone sales to increase to 7 million a year by 2020. Registered drones outnumber airplanes in the country. In a welcome move the Obama administration is opening US skies to more commercial drones and will allow a far greater range of uses with long-awaited regulations.

It took quite a few years to formulate the new regulations, which become effective two months from publication in the Federal Register. The rules permit daytime flights under 400 feet at a maximum speed of 100 mph away from airports, within sight of an operator and not over people. The pilots have to pass a test and be vetted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but no longer need to be airplane pilots as current law requires. Drones under the regulation must weigh less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms).

Drone package deliveries by companies such as Amazon and Alphabet’s Google Project Wing are not allowed under the regulations until the FAA writes separate rules governing their use. Similarly, the limitations in the regulations will not permit longer flights for agricultural flyovers, pipeline and utility inspections and news media photography over crowds.

While the rules do not apply directly to hobbyists, who do not need a license to fly if they have registered their drones with the FAA, it lays out the government’s authority to enforce aviation regulations on all unmanned aircraft.

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Safety Committee at a meeting and the easing of the operating restrictions was supported by all member states. “I am happy to announce that we are now able to allow most aircraft from Iran Air back into European skies,” Bulc said in a statement. The changes have also been published in the bloc’s official journal.

It may be mentioned that the EC banned most of Iran Air’s fleet from flying to the EU because of safety concerns in 2010. Shahrokh Nooshabadi, the head of Iran Air’s Public Relations Department, confirmed the removal of Iran Air’s name from the blacklist, and stressed that the six-year ban had prevented the carrier from using planes appropriate for the number of passengers to Europe.

The increase in flight costs was also a major repercussion of such restrictions, he also informed.

Further, Iran has now intensified efforts to purchase new planes from Airbus, Boeing and others. In fact, in January this year, Iran tied up with Airbus during a state visit to Paris by President Hassan Rouhani to purchase 118 new planes. Iranian officials said that a similar deal was also being worked out with Boeing and the majority of the new planes would go to Iran Air. An Airbus spokesman said, “We are in continuous talks with the customer and the required governmental authorities to have all necessary autho-

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

rizations in place before starting any delivery.” Airbus also noted that the new Airbus aircraft could be used by Iran Air to other routes than to the EU. Airbus Sales Chief John Leahy warned that delays in setting up a secure system of money transfers in and out of Iran could jeopardize orders from the country. “We have to have a reliable international banking system,” he said during the recent IATA annual general meeting in Dublin. The issues “need to be sorted out in the next few months, otherwise there will be no deals,” he said.

Some international sanctions against Iran were lifted earlier this year. But banks have been extremely cautious in reinstating business links with Iran, because of the risk of noncompliance with residual sanctions. “The banks are very shy, but we have to work this out,” Leahy said.

Meanwhile, Boeing was in the headlines for a $25 billion deal with Iran Air, Tehran's state-owned airline. The sale and lease of Boeing jetliners, if completed, would constitute the biggest American business transaction with Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. In a letter to congressional experts from the politically delicate deal, Boeing stated Iran Air had proposed to buy 80 passenger planes in a number of models worth $17.6 billion and lease 29 from the company's 737s, with deliveries forecast to start as soon as the coming year.

However, in another development, in a letter to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and the rest of the company’s board of directors, US lawmakers Peter Roskam, Robert Dold and Randy Hultgren urged Boeing not to do business with Iran.

In particular, the Congressmen did not want Boeing to do business with Iran Air.

Goair gets its first A320neo

ON TIME: Delivery of GoAir’s first of 72 A320neo on order is marked by (L-R): Kiran Rao, Airbus EVP Strategy and Marketing and GoAir CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer

GoAir recently took delivery of its first A320neo aircraft, becoming the world’s third operator to do so. The A320neo powered by Pratt and Whitney engines, is the first of the 72 A320neo on order. The aircraft is configured in a conformable layout and is the first A320neo equipped with the innovative Spaceflex cabin configuration with 186 seats. GoAir currently flies to 22 Indian destinations. With the NEO induction, GoAir will expand its network and offer fliers better connectivity and continue its growth as one of India’s preferred low-cost airline. GoAir’s first A320neo is the first of the type to be financed on a sale and leaseback through SMBC Aviation Capital. The A320neo family incorporates latest technologies including new generation engines and Sharklet wing tip devices, which together deliver more than 15 per cent in fuel savings from day one and 20 per cent by 2020 with further cabin innovations.

Noiseless Heathrow?

UK’s only ranking of airlines according to their noise performance, Heathrow’s Fly Quiet League, along with Heathrow’s tough limits and restrictions on noise, are encouraging airlines to use their newest fleets at the airport and operate them in quieter ways.

The latest Fly Quiet League table shows that replacement of its old 747-400s by Virgin Atlantic with the top of the range Dreamliners have improved the airline’s noise record over January to March of this year. Moreover, Air Canada, Air India, British Airways and Qatar have also significantly increased their use of 787 Dreamliners on their Heathrow routes this past year.

These efforts have resulted in an overall 6 per cent improvement in the total league table score tracking the use of quieter aircraft at Heathrow, the “chapter number” scores.

Heathrow’s Noise Blueprint includes the early phase-out of noisiest planes as the airport is on the path to become the first large airport to be completely free of “Chapter 3” aircraft, the oldest and noisiest classification. This may be the result of the fact that on average, airlines pay ten times more to fly Chapter 3 planes to Heathrow than they pay for the quietest aircraft, like Dreamliners.

Matt Gorman, Heathrow Director of Sustainability and Environment said, “It’s encouraging to see the positive results of our engagement with airlines in these latest Fly Quiet results. Replacing aircraft with newer, quieter types is one of the best ways to reduce noise and that is why the progress shown in the latest league standings is so important.”

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GLOBAL DIGEST/AIRLINE Modified 747400 to join firefighting ranks

BOMBARDIER

Air Canada and Bombardier’s landmark C Series order Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and Air Canada finalised a firm purchase agreement consistent with the Letter of Intent (LOI) announced in February 2016. The purchase agreement includes a firm order for 45 CS300 aircraft and options for an additional 30 CS300 aircraft. “I’m pleased to officially welcome Air Canada to our CS300 family of operators as one of our largest customers and early adopters,” said Alain Bellemare, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier. “As an innovative operator, admired for successfully

POP in India?

reinventing itself and, like Bombardier based in Québec, Air Canada and the C Series aircraft are a perfect match.”

“This order is a major statement of support for Canada’s aerospace industry and will help support thousands of C Series related jobs,” Bellemare further added. “It also serves as an important catalyst for renewed interest and subsequent orders.”

“Over the past few years, we've been making transformative moves to boost our competitiveness and customer satisfaction to

Stansted-based startup People Over Profit (POP) has sought $7.3 million in funding to start long-haul, low-cost flights to India, using a chartered Airbus A330-300. The carrier has informed of plans to start flying thrice weekly flights to the holy city of Amritsar in the fourth quarter, with the A330 in a 378-seat, all-economy layout. The Amritsar launch route will be followed by a thrice-weekly service to Ahmedabad.

“The aircraft will be on a full-charter basis and will move toward an ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, insurance) arrangement over time, but all other organisational aspects will be managed by POP. The company has provisional plans to apply for its own full air operator’s certificate (AOC) but will continue to lease its aircraft, probably on an aircraft-only basis,” POP said in a statement.

“There are few direct flights from the UK to any of India’s important secondary cities and there is a fast-growing VFR, leisure/ tourism and business market for such flights,” POP said. “No UK airlines are currently operating non-stop services to Amritsar and/or Ahmedabad.” The UK startup said that “additional destination candidates include Kolkata, Lucknow, Panaji/Mangalore (Goa), Surat/Pune and Bhubaneswar (Odisha) (presuming upgrading as international airports) and Sylhet (Bangladesh).”

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better position us for growth and continued success. Finalizing the CS300 order is a key element to Air Canada’s strategy to build one of the world's youngest and most fuel efficient fleets,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer, Air Canada. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 2019 and extend to 2022. At list price, the firm order for 45 CS300 aircraft is valued at approximately $US 3.8 billion. This amount would increase to $US 6.3 billion should Air Canada exercise all 30 option aircraft.

Falcon 8X takes one more step to flight

Dassault Aviation’s new flagship, the 6,450 nm Falcon 8X, has been certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), preparing the way for service introduction of the big new trijet. Receipt of the approval was in line with the established programme schedule.

FAA certification is expected in the coming weeks, with entry into service in the early fourth quarter. “We’ve broken new ground with the 8X,” said Eric Trappier, Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO. “Not only did we meet customer demand for an aircraft combining increased range and cabin volume with the technological prowess of the popular 7X, but we were able to get it to market fully mature and tested in a

remarkably short period of time, and exactly within our production schedule.”

In late April, Falcon 8X s/n 03 completed a global proving tour designed to demonstrate aircraft capabilities under different conditions of operation with a particular focus on cabin comfort and connectivity. The 65-flight 55,000 nm campaign took the aircraft to 46 destinations. Missions varied in length, from 18 minutes to 14 hours, including ultra-long range flights from Singapore and Sao Paulo to Paris and from New York to Abu Dhabi. The aircraft experienced a full range of flight conditions, from hot weather and extreme cold (-33°C) to extra high and low humidity environments.

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

With a capacity to carry nearly 20,000 gallons of water, fire retardant, gel or foam, a modified 747-400 freighter is about to join the firefighting ranks. It will be the first 747-400 to be used for the purpose.

The aircraft had rolled out of Boeing’s Everett factory, Washington, in November 1991 as a passenger jet, and later became a Boeingconverted freighter. It was in Seattle some time back following a few days of water-drop testing near Moses Lake.

The aircraft awaits FAA certification in July.

Boeing informed that due to its size and its speed, the 747 can reach almost anywhere in North America within four and a half hours. And it can fly anywhere in the world in 20 hours with just a single fuel stop.

“It’s basically a big spray can,” said Bob Soelberg, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Super Tankers of Colorado Springs, USA,which operates the airplane. “Its wings are bigger and its engine more powerful than anything else out there fighting fires today.”The airplane is equipped with 10 tanks, each with identical systems that can operate independent of one another. The airplane can deliver single or multiple drops of water or fire retardant that can be released at variable rates, producing a tailored response for various fires.

Airbus X3 chopper proves a point

Airbus Helicopters has informed that it is building on the legacy of its X3 technology demonstrator by developing a platform that affords high-speed flight at an affordable price. Guillaume Faury, CEO, Airbus Helicopters recently told mediapersons that the compound helicopter design that was validated with the record-breaking X3 demonstrator would now be taken forward in a new project aimed at achieving the same levels of performance, but at a price that made it affordable to the wider market.

“The X3 prototype broke the world speed record in 2013. We know how to go fast, but we now need to be able to do this at an affordable cost for the mass market,” Faury said, adding: “The market tells us that it would accept 50 per cent more speed for 25 per cent more cost.”

The new platform is being developed as part of the Clean Sky 2 European research programme. A mockup of the breakthrough airframe design has undergone windtunnel testing in an Airbus facility. The tests proved the viability of the chosen design in terms of efficiency, sustainability and performance,

paving the way for a preliminary design review expected at the end of 2016. Meanwhile, the overall project has passed its first official milestone involving all core partners by reaching the end of its pre-design phase.

Building upon the achievements of the company-funded and record-breaking X3 technology demonstrator, the Airbus Helicopters Clean Sky-demonstrator will help refine the “compound” aerodynamic configuration and bring it closer to an operational design,

with the end objective of meeting future requirements for increased speed, better cost-efficiency, as well as dramatic reduction of emission and acoustic footprints.

Flight-testing of the prototype is expected to start in 2019.

“We are honoured to be carrying out this project on behalf of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking and the large number of European companies who are taking part in the development. Our ambition is to become the benchmark of the rotorcraft industry, and as such we are willing to drive a bold vision for the future of helicopter transportation,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus Helicopters Chief Technical Officer. “Our Clean Sky 2-demonstrator will not only be about going faster; it will help make speed smarter by seeking the best trade-off between cost-efficiency, sustainability and mission performance. We want to break the cost barrier usually associated with increased speed and range and pave the way for new missions sets for 2030 and beyond, by providing crucial emergency or door-to-door transportation services to European citizens where they need it most.”

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NEWS DIGEST

Pax and more pax in May T

he numbers just go on rising.

According to the latest numbers for domestic air traffic for May released by the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), Indian carriers carried 396.04 lakh passengers from January to May 2016, up 22.8 per cent from the 322.32 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year.

The passenger load factor in May 2016 increased slightly compared to the previous month primarily due to the onset of the tourist season. The highest load factor was recorded by SpiceJet: (93.5 per cent) in May -- barely a rise from its April 2016 figure of 93.2 per cent. IndiGo saw a slight rise in its passenger load factor in May (87.2 per cent) against April this year (85.8 per cent). While Jet Airways saw a hike in the load factor -- from 78.5 per cent in April to 82.6 per cent in May -- its low-cost subsidiary, JetLite too saw sizeable rise between April (78.3 per cent) and May (80.9 per cent). National carrier Air India also saw high passenger load factors: from 78.9 per cent in April it rose to 84.7 per cent in May. Vistara, GoAir, Air Costa and AirAsia India witnessed high load factors — all in the high Eighties in May — 80.1 per cent (77.9 per cent in April), 88.6 per cent (87.8 per cent in April) , 85.7 per cent (84

per cent in April) and 86.8 per cent (84.8 per cent in April), respectively.

The load factors of Air Pegasus and Truejet also saw a rise in May: from 78.1 in April to 80 per cent and from 78.1 per cent to 80.7 per cent, respectively.

The country’s largest air carrier IndiGo’s market share in May was 38.5 per cent (it was 38.7 per cent in April). The airline that saw a small rise in market share was Jet Airways: from 15.9 per cent in April to 16.1 per cent in May. SpiceJet's market share too, declined to 12.6 per cent from 12.9 per cent in April 2016.

Air India, however, saw a small rise in its marketshare: from 15.1 per cent in April to 16.1 per cent in May 2016.

The smaller carriers – AirAsia India, Vistara, Go Air and Air Costa — either bettered their market share slightly or saw a marginal decline. Go Air’s went down to 8.1 per cent from 8.5 per cent in April, while AirAsia India and Vistara grew their share of 2.2 per cent and 2.5 per cent from 2.1 and 2.3 per cent, respectively in April.

The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of May was 0.55 per cent with Air Pegasus and Air Costa topping the chart: 21.34 per cent and 4.16 per cent, respectively. Vistara had the minimum cancellation with

Passenger Load Factor The passenger load factor of various scheduled domestic airline in May 2016

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

0.11 per cent while IndiGo and GoAir notched 0.16 per cent each. During May 2016, a total of 782 passenger related complaints were received by the scheduled domestic airlines. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the month of May 2016 was only 0.9. with Air Pegasus at the top with 10. Vistara with 0.2 complaints per 10,000 passengers was at the end of the list; IndiGo had 0.3, SpiceJet had 0.4, AirAsia India had 0.6, TrueJet 0.7, GoAir 0.8, Air Cost 1.1, Jet Airways and JetLite 1.3 and Air India 2.2.

On-Time Performance (OTP) of scheduled domestic airlines was computed by the DGCA for the four metro airports: Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Airline-wise OTP at four metro airports for the month of May 2016 showed that Air Asis India (with operations only at Delhi and Bengaluru) had the best On Time Performance (OTP) on the chart with 90.2 per cent. Vistara was at 85.1 per cent, while IndiGo was at 83.1 per cent. Jet Airways and Jet Lite bettered their record with 82.3 per cent, followed

by SpiceJet with 79.2 per cent and GoAir with 75.7 per cent (with operations only at Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru). Air India was the worst with 74.3 per cent.

NEWS DIGEST

Boeing-TATA facility gets going announced a joint venture for manufacturing aerostructures and collaboration on integrated systems development opportunities in India. This joint venture will create a manufacturing center of excellence to produce aerostructures for the AH-64 Apache and provide affordable manufacturing capabilities to the global aerospace industry.

“Today’s groundbreaking is the next step in Boeing and TASL’s journey to develop key technologies and capabilities,” said Boeing Vice President, Vertical Lift, and Board Member of TBAL Dave Koopersmith, “We will be making significant investments to ensure the success of this joint venture as we bring value to our customers globally and compete for additional manufacturing work in the global market.”

“We are proud to partner with Boeing to manufacture complex aerospace aeroMAKE IN INDIA: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and KT Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Electronics & Comstructures parts out of India”, said MD & munications, Industries, MA & UD and NRI Affairs, Telangana at the foundation laying ceremony of the new CEO, Tata Advanced Systems, and Board facility in Hyderabad of Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) — the joint venture between Tata Advanced Member of TBAL Sukaran Singh,. “Tata Systems Limited and Boeing, along with S Ramadorai, Chairman of Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), Advanced Systems has developed experSukaran Singh, MD & CEO, TASL, and TBAL Board Member, Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India and tise in manufacturing as well as in large TBAL Board Member and Dave Koopersmith, Vice President, Boeing Vertical Lift Division and TBAL Board Member. scale systems integration work in the aerospace and defence sector. Our capabilities oeing and Tata Advanced Systems are further enhanced through collaboraSpeaking on the occasion, Chairman recently celebrated the foundation tions and partnerships with leading global of Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) S laying of a new facility in Hyderaerospace majors. We intend to grow this Ramadorai said that the ground-breaking abad for its joint venture named TATA Boeunique joint venture partnership with ceremony was a significant milestone ing Aerospace Limited (TBAL). The joint Boeing, focusing on opportuniin “furthering our commitment venture has been established to co-produce ties to collaborate on develto the Indian aerospace sec“We will Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages opment and life cycle tor. With the advent of and other aerostructures, as well as to purmanagement of intethe Industrial Revolube making significant sue integrated systems in aerospace. grated systems.” tion 4.0 this partnerinvestments to ensure The Hyderabad production facility will Boeing and Tata ship could boost the the success of this joint eventually be the sole producer of AH-64 group companies emerging manuventure as we bring value to have fuselages globally. The Apache has been established facturing sector, flown or selected for acquisition by the partnerships in India contributing to the our customers globally and United States and 15 other nations, includto manufacture aeroHon'ble Prime Miniscompete for manufacturing India. structures for Boeing’s ter's vision of Make in ing work” Participating in the ceremony were commercial and military India. I am positive that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Telanaircraft. Tata Advanced this joint venture which Dave Koopersmith gana Minister of IT and Industries & ComMaterials has delivered brings together the core merce K T Rama Rao and other dignitaries composite panels for the power strengths of both companies from the Telangana government. “The joint and mission equipment cabinets and will help take this strategic relationventure between Tata and Boeing is a sigauxiliary power unit door fairings for the ship to the next level." nificant step in developing India’s capabiliP-8I long-range maritime surveillance and “This joint venture is an exciting ties for aerospace & defence manufacturing anti-submarine warfare aircraft. advancement for Boeing in leveraging our and becoming a global exporter. This is a TAL Manufacturing Solutions is mancapital and expertise globally,” said Presiclear example of the significant progress ufacturing complex floor beams out of dent, Boeing India, and Board Member of made towards “Make in India for defence,” composite materials for the Boeing 787-9, TBAL Pratyush Kumar, “I am delighted said Manohar Parrikar. “I am delighted to the most modern aircraft with exceptional that every such step we take is forging the see Boeing and Tata step forward and make environmental and fuel-efficient capaway towards building an indigenous aerothis substantial investment, in defence bilities. TAL Manufacturing Solutions has space ecosystem in support of Make in FDI.” provided ground support equipment for the India.”

C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter.

In November 2015, Boeing and Tata

B

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

H C TIWARI

Joining hands to boost skills in aviation

SKILLING FOR AVIATION: Civil Aviation Minister P Askok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy at the ceremony to celebrate the strategic partnership for skill development in the aviation sector with R N Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Rohit Nandan, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & EntrepreneurshipSkill Development

I

t is estimated that by 2035, the civil aviation sector would employ 8 to 10 lakh personnel directly and another 3 lakh indirectly. With the aim to bolster skills in the field of aviation, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) recently signed a tripartite MoU agreement to scale up skill development. The AAI has committed to contribute Rs.5.25 crore from its corporate social responsibility fund along with land and premises for setting up skill development centres. The agreement was signed in the presence of Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Skills Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Skills Secretary Rohit Nandan. The MoU was signed by Rajesh Agarwal, CEO, NSDF, Rajiv Goel, Director, India Aviation Academy, Airport Authority

of India and Jayant Krishna, CEO, NSDC. Gajapathi Raju explained that India was a young country with huge potential in the field of aviation, and while there was an excess of certain skills, there was a dearth of others. “Skill in aviation is about a lot of things, comprising MRO, ground handling, etc. People need services and for that there is requirement of skills. As we gear up for a new civil aviation policy, for new avenues that aviation will open up for economic growth of the country, for more new airports, and existing ones becoming active; a large part of our strategy should be towards sourcing skilled workforce to make all our plans successful. Our plans can be the most well thought-out plans, but we need trained and certified people to execute those plans.

Any vibrant programme needs a skilled workforce. Our partnership with Ministry

AAI, ASI MoU for capacity building

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MoU was signed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) with Aviation Strategies International (ASI), the designated programme administrators for the Global Airport Council International (ACI) – International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme (AMPAP) and also an accredited member of the ICAO Trainair plus Network for capacity building initiatives and other professional areas related to training technology. Speaking on the occasion Anuj Aggarwal, Member (HR), AAI said the collaboration with ASI would be in the area of capacity building interventions, training of AAI academics and professionals, specially in the areas of training and learning methodologies, research and policy analysis,

research collaboration on emerging aviation themes, development of innovative learning platforms and education programmes with emphasis on e-learning and technical assistance in the form of facilitating opportunities for strengthening AAI capacity in terms of providing learning services.

Dr Pierre Coutu, President and CEO of Aviation Strategies International emphasized on the structured training and development programmes.

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through this MoU signing between AAI, NSDC and NSDF will certainly help us ready that workforce from right now. In this way, we are investing back into our sector and the country’s brighter future.”

Stating that this partnership would trigger huge investment, Rudy a pilot himself, said that “the aviation sector has seen some good traction in the skill ecosystem. To cater to this requirement, we introduced a new Sector Skill Council exclusively for preparing a job ready workforce for the Aerospace and Aviation Sector, last year”. He went on to mention: “We have skilled more than 1.04 crore youth last year in 2015-16 which is an incremental growth by 36.8 per cent from the previous year. With contributions like these (from the AAI) we are certain that we will be able to bring speed and scale along with standards to skill initiatives in the nation. Furthermore, we are already doing hi-tech skilling programmes with Boeing and Airbus. A great ecosystem which will be a positive sync will be created as a result of this initiative,” he further added.

“Worldwide, Skill India is the largest human resource exercises that has ever happened till date and it is imperative that we develop a vision for convergence across all stakeholders in the country to achieve this goal of skilling 40.2 crore people in the country,” said Rohit Nandan. “We are a committed to this partnership with them.

We hope that more corporates and PSUs like them, come forward and invest in skills for a brighter future of the country. Our partnership with Civil Aviation Ministry is certain to see great results,” he emphasized.

Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said that with India witnessing a growth rate of 22 per cent, it was a very interesting time for aviation. “No one has achieved this growth rate in aviation till date. This progress, however, brings before us many challenges…If we fail to meet the challenges, development will be chaotic. A large number of works will be undertaken as a result of this partnership and solutions to various problems will be provided. We want to develop India as a Civil Aviation Skill Capital for the world or at least, this region of the world.”

“Partnership like these substantiate the success of the PPP model and encourage us to bring more value to the ecosystem. This partnership with AAI will bring some great achievements and opportunities for youth in the aviation sector,” said Jayant Krishna.

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CH SPECIAL

DUBLIN AGM

Bonhomie, a new chief and bitter truths The 72nd Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Authority took place in one of Europe’s most welcoming cities, Dublin. The meet, hosted by locally-based carrier Aer Lingus, witnessed the usual bonhomie but there were also some voices raising IATA’s failures.

An on-the-spot report from K SRINIVASAN

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very IATA (International Air Transport Authority) meeting is a jamboree of ideas, deal making, news breaks and razzmatazz. It’s also the place where airlines and IATA tell a few truths. It was no different this time.

“The job of shoring up resilience by repairing balance sheets is under way. We have had a few years of good profits and some airlines have started to pay down debt. It will, however, take a longer run of profits before balance sheets are returned to full health,” Director General and CEO Tony Tyler said in his opening remarks at Dublin.

There were, however, difference in performance among the various regions.

Over half of the industry profits would be generated in North America ($22.9 billion) while African carriers were forecast to continue generating an overall loss (-$0.5 billion). Asia-Pacific airlines were expected to post $7.8 billion profit in 2016, up from $7.2 billion in 2015. Capacity was forecast to expand by 9.1 per cent this year, ahead of demand growth of 8.5 per cent. But the Achilles heel for the region’s carriers was the cargo side of the business.

Brian Pearce, Chief Economist of IATA, pointed out in his report on the outlook for global airline markets and industry performance that air transport remains closely linked to the economic cycle.

“When the world economy is strong, so is travel and the airline industry. It is, however, hard for the industry to prosper during an economic downturn. So, the recent signs of a slowdown in various economic cycle indicators is worrying.” Pearce was of the opinion that world trade, a critical component for the air cargo business, remains a challenge or weak area. In fact, he believed that this year, the global cargo revenues would fall back to ten-year old rates.

If the economic indicators is one sign of the complexities facing IATA, Qatar’s CEO, the irrepressible Akbar Al Baker

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CONTINUITY: IATA Director Generals past, present and future were at the Dublin meet (from left) Pierre Jean Jeanniot, Giovanni Bisignani, Tony Tyler and Alexandre de Juniac

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

HIGHLIGHTS •

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GOVERNMENT SUPPORT: Ireland’s new Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross delivering his keynote address on the AGM’s opening day

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

Airlines in Asia-Pacific region are expected to post a $7.8 bn profit in 2016, up from $7.2 bn in 2015. "Capacity is forecast to expand by 9.1 per cent in 2016, ahead of demand which is likely to grow by 8.5 per cent. Asia-Pacific carriers have a 40 per cent share of global air cargo markets.”

IATA revised its 2016 financial outlook for global air transport industry profits to $39.4 bn from $36.3 bn forecast in December 2015. It expects 2016 to be the fifth consecutive year of improving aggregate industry profits. “Lower oil prices are certainly helping — though tempered by hedging and exchange rates,” said Tony Tyler, IATA Director General and CEO and added, “In fact, we are probably nearing the peak of the positive stimulus from lower prices.”

African airlines are expected to post a $500-mn loss in 2016. This would actually be an improvement on the $700 mn the continent's airlines lost in 2015.

While net profits per passenger for North American airlines in 2016 is forecast to be about $25 and $8 in Europe, a loss of almost $6 for every passenger flown by African airlines is projected.

Airlines are expecting to continue the “strong pace of hiring” over the coming year; IATA said and expected the total employment by airlines worldwide to reach 2.61mn this year.

The direct cost paid for using infrastructure has increasingly been transferred to the passenger. Overall the cost of using airport and other infrastructure has risen steeply over the past decade, partly because competitive pressures are very weak in this part of the supply chain. This contrasts with the relatively limited rise in other non-fuel airline costs, the report said. Moreover, inefficiencies causing delay and inefficient routings added to the direct cost, it said.

IATA forecasts that the delays caused by inefficient airspace management in Europe alone will cost the industry over 2.8bn in 2017, as well as generating unnecessary CO2 emissions. The time passengers waste in these delays is a consumer cost worth an estimated 4.8bn.

IATA estimates that total employment by airlines will reach 2.61mn in 2016, a gain of 3 per cent compared to 2015.

Productivity is expected to be strong, as capacity accelerates in 2016, with the average employee generating almost 500,000 available tonne kilometres (ATKs) a year.

IATA expects a relatively small rise in unit labour costs in 2016.

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CH SPECIAL

WORLD OF AVIATION: Posing for a group photo, the leaders of aviation (standing) Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive, Lufthansa; Ivan Chu, Chief Executive, Cathay Pacific; Calin Rovinescu, Chief Executive, Air Canada; Robin Hayes, Chief Executive, JetBlue; Yang Ho Cho, Chief Executive, Korean Air Group; Enrique Cueto, Chief Executive, LATAM; Vitaly Savelyev, Chief Executive, Aeroflot; Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive, KLM; Pham Ngoc Minh, Chief Executive, Vietnam Airlines; Alexandre de Juniac, Chief Executive, Air France-KLM; Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive, Qatar Airways Group; Doug Parker, Chief Executive, American Airlines; Mark Dunkerley, Chief Executive, Hawaiian Airlines; David Bronczek, Chief Executive, FedEx Express; Tan Wangeng, President and Chief Executive, China Southern; Rickard Gustafson, Chief Executive, SAS; Safwat Mosallam, Chairman and Chief Executive, EgyptAir; Harry Hohmeister, Chief Officer Hub Management, Lufthansa Group; Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive, Ethiopian Airlines; Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive, Singapore Airlines, and (seated) Mbuvi Ngunze, Chief Executive, Kenya Airways; James Hogan, President, Etihad Aviation Group; German Efromovich, Chairman, Avianca; Willie Walsh, Chief Executive, IAG; Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways; Tony Tyler, Director General, IATA; Andres Conesa, Chief Executive, Aeromexico; Temel Kotil, Chief Executive, Turkish Airlines; Liu Shaoyong, Chairman, China Eastern; Alan Joyce, Chief Executive, Qantas and Saleh Bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Director General, Saudia

Good times – they are a-coming!

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epresenting 260 airlines that account for some 83 per cent of all global air traffic, IATA unveiled a revised 2016 financial outlook for global air transport industry profits, with earnings tipped upwards to $39.4 billion compared to its $36.3 billion forecast in December 2015. The profit upgrade comes on the back of a downward revision of 2016 average oil price to $45 for Brent crude, compared to earlier estimates of $51 made in December.

The profit is expected to be generated on revenues of $709 billion, translating into an aggregate net profit margin of 5.6 per cent — one of the highest in memory. More critically, for the second year in a row and only the second time in the airline industry's history, the return on invested capital — at 9.8 per cent — will exceed the cost of capital (estimated to be 6.8 per cent).

New value streams are increasing ancillary revenues.

Joint ventures and other forms of co-operation are improving efficiency and increasing consumer choice while fostering robust competition. As a result, consumers are getting a great deal and investors are finally beginning to see the rewards they deserve, said DG Tyler.

Brian Pearce, Chief Economist of IATA

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

gave a trailer of what else can be in store for Tony Tyler’s successor. The present DG will retire from the job August-end and his chosen successor (unanimously endorsed by the IATA AGM) Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman/CEO of Air France-KLM will take over. In a no-holds barred attack, Al Baker said: “He (de Juniac) has been the architect of the (expletive deleted) that has been thrown on us…”, said Aviation Week quoting the Qatar Airways Chief who is also part of the IATA Board of Directors.

Apparently the comments uncharacteristically were made at a private round table chat with selected journalists and not in the spotlight of the conference hall as is usually the case with Al Baker.

What Al Baker was actually referring to was de Juniac’s role in demanding that the European Commission act against alleged unfair subsidies for Gulf carriers.

“If we find that he is biased, we will raise an issue. No one’s job is permanent,” AW quoted Al Baker as saying. Interestingly, Al Baker was part of the team that interviewed de Juniac. “I have made clear to (de Juniac) that he has to represent the entire airline community, not just Air

MEETING OF MINDS: (Above) IATA AGM attendees at one of Dublin’s bars and (below) the exposition hall

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

France,” Al Baker said.

A member of the French establishment elite, de Juniac (a former chief of staff to the present IMF Chief Christine Lagarde) has the charm and sangfroid of a typical French aristocrat. Unfortunately, his tenure at Air France has been pedestrian at best and on top of it both Air France and Lufthansa were with the big three from the US in their battle against the big three from the Gulf. But now that he has been chosen, it is only fair that he be given a reasonable chance to succeed.

In the brief remarks that he made to the delegates, de Juniac was low key and precise: “I am a businessman. I know how tough it can be to run an airline,” he said and added, “My only objective is to help you be more successful.”

It will require all the guile that IAG Chief Willie Walsh, now the Chairman of

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CH SPECIAL

RAISING A POINT: Qatar’s Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker with IAG CEO Willie Walsh beside him raises a point

velop beacons and locating systems in very, very IATA in many of the critical remote areas. In my areas that matter. There “In two or view we are not doing has been little progress three years, we will have enough.” in flight tracking post There has been the disappearance of better technology for aircraft little by way of imMH370: Emirates tracking and the industry provement in airport President Tim Clark should be able to switch over security, in relationwent so far as to call to better, lower-cost techship between carriit “a disgrace”. He also ers in the Middle East said, “They must have nology ” and Europe-America. much more power to deGilberto Lopez-Meyer IATA has had little to say on India except to voice its constant anxiety at the so-called ollowing the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in March 2014, “high tariffs” at airports. IATA has had the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted a proposal for airnot a word to say on the continuing saga of lines to follow a practice of reporting aircraft position at least once every 15 minVijay Mallya — a high profile member of utes when in oceanic or remote airspace. November 2016 was kept as the target the group till some time back or the mandate for its full implementation. ner in which the Kingfisher boss has dealt However, the original deadline was reconsidered at the IATA AGM in Dublin with statutory dues, employee salaries and after the airline association and others questioned the feasibility of the timeline. bank loans. The deathly silence from TyICAO pushed it back by two years to November 2018. Gilberto Lopez-Meyer, SVPler and IATA is reflective of the manner in Safety and Flight Operations, IATA, told mediapersons that November 2018 was a which IATA runs. It cherry picks issues and feasible timeline for the tracking standard, given that there was no specific techfocuses only on those that are useful to its nology requirement. “We expect there will be new technology very soon,” he exmembers. No wonder security, tracking and plained. “In one or two or three years, we may have better technology and the even issues like Vijay Mallya and Kingfisher industry should be able to switch to the better, lower-cost technology.” have been lost in the din. Finally, one wonIATA and ICAO are working to develop guidance material and recommended ders why Air India’s Chairman and Managpractices in order to adhere to the requirement for tracking. It is expected that by ing Director, Ashwani Lohani, chose not to March 2017, complimentary standards, spelling out more specifically how airlines attend the Dublin meeting when he flew to can meet the requirement, should be completed. attend a Star Alliance meeting two days later Lopez-Meyer further cautioned airlines that it would not be wise for them to in Zurich. He could well have been nomimake any major investments while the new airliner surveillance technology is unnated to be on the Board of Governors of der development. “The cost to the industry is going to be enormous. We are willing IATA as a nominee from the sub-continent to do it,” Lopez-Meyer said.

— a position that has been taken up for years One aviation who has been vocal about tracking is Emirates President Tim

by Naresh Goyal.

Clark. Unhappy with the way aircraft tracking was progressing, he said at the IATA Goyal actually should be the last perannual meeting, “As far as aircraft tracking is concerned, it’s a disgrace.” son from India on the board. He doesn’t Reuters quoted Clark saying that any suggestion that entities in global aviaopen his mouth, has no time for the media, tion were cautious on tracking technology due to their high cost was “anathema slinks in and out of the conference to do his to my thinking”. He said manufacturers of recording devices should make them backroom deals and is actually a waste on more robust. “They must have much more power to develop beacons and locating the IATA Board. What a pity! It only resystems in very, very remote areas,” he said. He also called for aviation security flects how IATA has become a cosy club and to be improved across the board. “In my view we are not doing enough,” he said. how critical it is for the rules of business to change.

the IATA Board of Governors to reign in Al Baker. Qatar is a shareholder at IAG; Walsh brought the Doha-headquartered airline into oneworld and both despise the big three American carriers for their arrogance. But Walsh can’t be seen taking sides at IATA and he will have to use plenty of savvy to navigate the next 12 months.

Alexandre de Juniac too has his job cut out. Tyler is a good man but his tenure at the top has seen little leadership by

Flight tracking now from November 2018

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

H C TIWARI

COVER STORY

The Game Changer – really!

The new civil aviation policy comes with airfare caps of `2,500(for one hour flights), focus on constructing low-cost or no-frill airports, partial scrapping of the ‘5/20’ rule, relief for MROs but with no change to the regulatory framework or the sagging infra at metro airports. A special report on the so-called ‘game changer’ missile from Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju

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ome months back Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told the Lok Sabha that the government had spent close to `600 crore on 25 airports across India over the last 24 months but there were no flights to any one of them. These included Gondia, Juhu, Kolhapur, Sholapur, Akola, Jalgaon, Jaisalmer, Bhatinda, Ludhiana and Pathankot. One could add several others to the list: Shimla, Kullu and Tuticorin as well.

In April this year, Justices S S Saron and Gurmit Ram at the Punjab and Haryana High Court lashed out at the Ministry of Civil Aviation wondering why there were no international flights from Chandigarh airport and why had “public money” to the tune of `1400 crore been spent on the airport.“Use it for wheat storage, if you are unable to start operations. It is not the High Court’s job to get into it (pass directions to start operations),” the judges ob-

served.

Unfortunately, nothing much has been learned from the deadweight of these gleaming airports with no services if one goes by the new Civil Aviation Policy released with much hoop-la on June 15.

There is so much about airports and how the government will revive them and so little about core issues that are crtitical to the sector. It has only reiterated opening up more airports through a Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) through Viability Gap Funding as well as no-frills airports.

Actually the whole thing has been made far more complicated by dragging the states into it.

How on earth cities like Gondia, Juhu, Kolhapur, Sholapur, Akola, Jalgaon, Jaisalmer, Bhatinda, Ludhiana and Pathankot — that are unable to have flights for a single airport — can service a second nofrills operation is beyond belief. And airports than can actually service flights and CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

open up regions — like Pakyong in Sikkim — are way behind schedule even after the famed timebound Modi administration has been in place for over two years.

The country is dotted with as many as 450 airports and airstrips but only 75 have scheduled operations, the policy document said. Scores of them belong to the various wings of the armed forces. Jammu, for example, is controlled by the army and Goa is under the Navy while Jodhpur happens to be with the Air Force. Others are with the state government or the private sector.

Most of them are either decrepit and totally non-operational. Gaya is a good example of a World War II airport gone to waste.

On the other hand, it is the metro airports that are actually the engines of the Indian aviation growth story. They account for the bulk of the domestic traffic.

According to the Airports Authority of India data for April 2016, 65 per cent of the

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COVER STORY tion; and cost-effective security has to be provided by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and respective state governments Flights for `2500: Policy has put a cap on ticket prices for short duration flights.

For flight time of 30 minutes, `1,500 and one hour ` 2,500. For this, the policy aims to reduce taxes for airlines.

þ Out with 5/20; Welcome 0/20 The policy has ended the 5-year requirement but kept the 20-aircraft norm for carriers to start flying overseas. That means, a new airline can go international once it has 20 aircraft. A condition that has been imposed is that any carrier with

20 planes would have to deploy 20 per cent capacity for domestic operations even after it starts flying to overseas destinations.

þ It’s payback time To help fliers who have cancelled their tickets getting refunds have been made easier: carriers will have to give the refund within 15 days of the cancelled ticket or flight. Even cancellation of special and promotional fare tickets will be eligible for refunds, which could not be done earlier. Also, compensation for cancelled flights has been raised.

INDIAN AVIATION

þ Touching Little India The policy has chalked out a Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) that will be effective from the second quarter of 201617. A set of subsidies from the government for scheduled commuter airlines (SCA) flying to RCS locations have been proposed for a period of 10 years.For the implementation of the scheme, four different measures have to be adopted.

These include: Revival of under-served airports and unused airstrips; Stakeholders have to provide concessions to carriers flying to these airports; Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for scheduled commuter airlines indexed to ATF prices and infla-

MUCH AWAITED: Civil Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju releasing the Draft Civil Aviation Policy in October 2015 along with senior aviation officials

domestic traffic (close to 1.6 crores) was out of six airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

A further 26 airports had traffic exceeding one lakh domestic passengers Together, these airports accounted for over 90 per cent of the total domestic traffic handled.

Talking about a “demand driven” approach the policy talked of reviving airports “depending on firm demand from airline operators, as no-frills airports will be done at an indicative cost of `50 crore to `100 crore, without insisting on its financial viability. Inputs from and willingness of the State Governments will be taken before revival of any airport is

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undertaken. AAI/State Govts can explore possibilities of developing these airports through PPP also.” The problem with this scheme is that state governments are critical to it and its success will depends on how willing they are to subsidise it. And what is expected of them? ü Cut tax on ATF to 1 per cent or less. ü Give concessions for power, water plus utilities. ü 20 per cent (reduced to 10 per cent for North East) of the promised subsidy airlines might need to cap price of tickets at `2,500.

The centre will provide its share only when these conditions are met by the CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

states interested in the scheme. So apart from passengers, the state and central government will now get into the aviation subsidy dragnet! And, to top it, the levy on passsengers in the trunk routes will increase to further subsidy these other routes! Can you deciper that?

The declared aim of the aviation policy is to “take flying to the masses, by making it affordable and convenient”. The policy outlines a goal for India to have 300mn domestic passenger trips a year by 2022, and 500mn by 2027, up from 81mn last year.

Tragically, the new policy has made the same mistake that Praful Patel and the

þ Down with excess baggage fees While baggage allowance has not been raises, the policy has enforced a reduction in excess baggage fees from the current Rs 300 per extra kg to ` 100 per extra kg over and above the permissible 15 kg up to 20 kg.

þ Boost to choppers Chopper operations will be guided by a different regulatory framework from the DGCA. For airspace under 5000 ft and outside prohibited air space, choppers will not require clearances. This will help chopper services land and take off at construction and accident sites easily. þ Fly as you please Policy has made charter flights easier for passengers and operators.

þ Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) To boost Indian MROs, the policy has mandated airport operators to bring down airport charges and royalty for MROs. They have been asked to reduce VAT on MRO and provide adequate land. The processes to bring in imported items and tools will be made simpler. þ More jobs for pilots To employ those holding CPL certificates, the policy has planned to set up simulators for type rating of CPL holders so that they can take up jobs in India or abroad.

H C TIWARI

þ Give and take: Bilateral traffic rights As per the policy, the country will have bilateral traffic rights on a reciprocal basis for countries beyond 5000 km. Simply put, if the countries beyond the 5000-km range have “open skies” for India, the Indian skies will be available to them. The

measure seeks to ensure unlimited access for Indian carriers abroad.

ON THE RISE: Passengers checking-in at Delhi Airport; with a growth rate of more than 20 per cent, India is the fastest growing aviation market in the world

first UPA Government made when it failed to restructure critical institutions like the DGCA, Air Traffic Control (ATC), BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) and the creation of an omnibus Civil Aviation Authority. As CAPA (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) India Head Kapil Kaul rightly said: “It’s a clear missed opportunity and a significant disappointment. It is ambitious about growth, but has not focused on creating structures for managing growth.”

The fact of the matter is that more than connectivity, these core issues have plagued Indian aviation these past dozen years. Even after a 20 per cent year on year growth for close to a decade, we have a

regulatory mechanism that is moribund, corrupt and simply not for the 21st century, an ATC apparatus that is desperate to be set free to provide the sort of impetus that our airports need and a civil aviation authority that can visualise and create the neccssary framework to run a sound aviation operation. None of that is anywhere on the table. Writing for India Today, Air Deccan Founder Captain Gopinath said: “India has the most overregulated aviation sector in the world, where DGCA is enforcing aircraft rules of 1937, when the jet engine and the helicopter weren’t even invented, pushing up training and maintenance costs, resulting in prohibiCRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

tive delays.” All the hoop-la over the 5/20 rule has actually taken away many of the other core issues that afflict the industry.

Now that the 5/20 has become 0/20 there is some semblance of sanity amongst airlines, but for the rest, it is a policy that does not create any excitement.

A 100 per cent FDI under the circumstances means nothing just as ‘Open Skies’ beyond 5000 kms is meaningless.

When Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju says the policy will be a gamechanger, it’s like Donald Trump saying he is normal.

(See Cargo section for effect of Civil Aviation Policy on Cargo and Ground Handling.)

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SHOWCASE

Russian hat in the plane ring 32

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

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When the Russians finally showcased their MC-21 recently, it was a direct challenge to the makers of the B737MAX and the A319 and A320. The aircraft has all the bells and whistles that its competitors have. However, with deliveries only happening in 2019, the MC-21’s makers will have to hardsell their product in the race. A report CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

he Russian media has gone ga-ga over the unveiling of the MC-21 and said that it was ‘superior’ to comparative Western aircraft in more than one way. The first prototype of the new commercial aircraft was rolled out on June 8, 2016 in the Irkut Corporation plant in Siberia.

In a glitzy ceremony attended by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the aircraft was rolled out with much hoop-la.

Describing the aircraft as ‘cool’, Medvedev outlined that Russia had to remain amongst the top aircraft makers inspite of the high costs involved and added: “I only want to say that I am absolutely certain that the airliner will be the pride of Russian civil aviation, and that our citizens and foreign people will take pleasure in flights on MC-21.”

The first flight, however, of the new aircraft is unlikely before next year. In fact, Medvedev announced the changed schedule during his speech.That is because the company has found it impossible to complete required ground checks of all systems before the end of the year. Irkut is a part of UAC and is responsible, among other things, for final assembly.

While the first prototype is ready, the second airframe is now in final assembly.

They will be sent to TsAGI (Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute) in Zhukovsky, for static tests in September. Irkut is currently assembling three more prototypes: one will join the flight trials, the other two will be used for static and endurance tests.

The two-engine MC-21 has been planned for three basic versions with passenger capacity ranging from 150 to 211 seats. The range capability of the aircraft will vary from 5,500 to 6,000 km (3,4003,700 miles).The aircraft is being produced with extensive use of composite materials and alloys of aluminum and titanium, making it considerably lighter than its predecessors.

For a start, the plane will be built in two variants: the MC-21-300 which will have 160-211 seats, and the MC-21-200 with 130-165 seats. Deliveries are expected to start in 2018. Irkut said the aircraft will be able to service routes of up to 6,400km (3,976 miles) and its operational costs would be almost 15 per cent cheaper than comparative current generation aircraft.

The MC-21-300 is the aircraft family’s first version. The aircraft will be initially certified with 31,000 lb thrust Pratt & Whitney’s PW 1400G-JM turbofans. Russian certification is planned for 2018 followed by EASA approval a year

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SHOWCASE

IT'S COOL: The MC-21 on show. The official ceremony was attended by Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister (above) and Oleg Demchenko, President of Irkut Corporation (right)seen talking to the Irkut employees; the plush interiors of the MC-21 and the P&W engine that will power the aircraft

later. Interestingly, Irkut is also offering the Aviadvigatel PD-14 as an alternative to the Pratt GTF. The PD-14 started flight tests on the IL-76LL flying test lab last year. The first engines to be used for MC21 flight tests will arrive in 2017. Deliveries of PD-14 powered aircraft are to start in 2019.

Next off the block will be a smaller variant – the MC-21-200, which will be 8.5 m shorter than the -300. It is in the early stages of design with the final design configuration still to be frozen. It is ex-

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pected to carry up to 165 passengers over a distance of up to 6,400 km, thus featuring slightly more range than the larger version.

Will the MC-21 have any advantage considering it will come much after the MAX and the NEO? The Russians feel that indeed will be the case. They cite the high aspect ratio composite wings that considerably improved aerodynamics as one such plus. Also the roomy 4.06 m wide fuselage provides far more space and comfort compared to other single aisle CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

aircraft. Most important, the aircraft will be 15 per cent cheaper than every other comparable product. Apart from rivaling the Boeing-737MAX and Airbus 319 and 320, the MC-21 is set to replace the outgoing domestic Tupolev Tu-134, Tu-154 and Tu-204, and Yakovlev’s Yak-40.

UAC is optimistic and hopes to sell roughly over a 1000 aircraft in the next 20 years. However, the current backlog stands at only 175 firm orders mainly from Russian leasing companies: Avia Capital Services, a subsidiary of Russia’s Ros-

Yak-152 unveiled by Irkut

ussian jet maker Irkut Corp. recently unveiled the first Yak-152 light piston engine trainer prototype. Being assembled at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant in East Siberia, the aircraft is expected to make its first flight this year, according to Sergey Yamalov, the Lean Manufacturing Director at the plant, where three more airframes are under preparation for various tests including static and endurance tests.

There are plans by Russia’s defence ministry to use the Yak-152 for initial pilot training, with further training on Yak-130 advanced jet trainers and Su-30SM two-seat fighters.

The Yak-152 programme, however, seems to be running behind schedule. The first prototypes were supposed to be ready by 2016end. Also, it was around this time of the year

that the completion of flight trials was scheduled.

In 2014, the Yakovlev Design Bureau — a part of Irkut Corp — signed a contract with the Russian defence ministry for development of a new aircraft for initial pilot training, based on the basic Yak-54 aerobatic trainer. It features a two-seat cockpit equipped with the SKS-94M catapult system. The Russian M-14X radial engine is now replaced with the more powerful German-made RED A03 diesel aircraft engine. This allows the aircraft to add 550 kg (1,200 lb.) of useful load. Designers say that it can carry air-to-air missiles or unguided rocket launching pods.

Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Yury Borisov has said that the military plans to buy about 150 Yak-152s.

tec State Corporation. Avia signed for 85 aircraft, 50 of which are for launch customer Aeroflot. Another two companies – Ilyushin Finance and VEB Leasing – have ordered 50 and 30 aircraft, respectively.

try with a well-established combat aircraft portfolio, Russia has been strangely sluggish and far from competitive in the civil aircraft market. Canada and Brazil are not in the frontline of nations with top qual-

(one of two available options) and a full fly-by-wire system and a slightly wider cabin than the Airbus A320. The 180-seat MC-21-300 or 150-seat MC-21-200 on paper ticks every box in the wishlist.

However, will the sales team be able to get the better of John Leahy at Tolouse and John Wojick’s in Seattle? Even the likes of Bombardier and Embraer are having a tough time in besting them.

As Flight Global said in an opinion piece: “Irkut seems to have no illusions of conquering the global single-aisle market. Known primarily as the manufacturer of Sukhoi fighters and Yakovlev trainers, the East Siberian factory for the MC-21 is currently sized to assemble up to 72 aircraft a year at peak rates.

The MC-21 assembly line is planned for a comparatively small capacity. By comparison, Airbus and Boeing together made around 975 deliveries of narrowbody jetliners in 2014: only 12 more than the planned monthly output for the A320 and 737 families.

“Nor does matching the rates of the Airbus-Boeing duopoly seem to be the priority for the Russian government, which is, perhaps, the project’s strongest supporter. No national political figures appeared at the equivalent roll-

The only direct airline order for 10 aircraft is from Irkutsk-based Iraero.

Post the roll-out ceremony, Ilyushin signed a letter of intent with Azerbaijanbased airline AZAL for the delivery of still to be disclosed number of MC-21300 aircraft. AZAL President Jahangir Askerov disclosed that the price and the delivery dates would be firmed after the first flight.

Critical to the long term success of the MC-21 will be its flight test programme — most of all its first flight. For a coun-

ity civil aircraft programmes. The Sukhoi Superjet in 2011 was seen as the beginning of the revival. Unfortunately, it was unable to break free in spite of being cutting edge as far as technology was concerned. With a ramshackle production system, there has just been a 100 Superjets in five years since the plane entered service.

The MC-21 is technologically right up there with the best. For starters, it can compete against any global platform: lightweight composite wings, state-of-the-art Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines

out events earlier this year for the 737 Max and Embraer 190-E2, but the star of the show in Irkutsk was Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. “The MC-21 is very much a political beat, but – by coincidence, it seems – it is also worthy on paper of global attention. Perhaps in a market not distorted by the dominating duopoly of Airbus and Boeing, the MC-21 might gain the respect it deserves. An estimated 30-40 percent of the aircraft’s components are produced

by Irkut’s foreign partners.”

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

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FUTURE OF BIZJETS Massive windows on Embraer's Lineage 1000 fleet of aircraft

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EXECUJET INDIA SUPPORT ExecuJet extending maintenance capabilities at India MRO facility

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LEGACY PRODUCTION Embraer starts production of Legacy 450, 500 in Melbourne, Florida

A look at the business of general aviation

Worldwide bizav rebound coming The predicted business jet delivery in the next few years for Southern Asia and Asia Pacific region is 200 each, although the latest forecast said nearly half the aircraft deliveries (3,930 units) would go to North American operators, while another 1,530 — the second-largest concentration — would reside in Europe, according to a study by airframer Bombardier at EBACE 2016. A report

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rojecting an emerging market rebound over the next two years, Bombardier forecasts 8,300 business jet deliveries worldwide from 2016 to 2025, valued at $250 billion. Unveiling its 10-year market forecast on the opening day of the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) 2016 at Geneva, Switzerland, the Montrealbased planemaker said significant industry growth was expected in the long-term and more than 50 per cent of that value would

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come from large cabin aircraft. The positivity for growth was echoed at the event by the attendees, who were from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North and South America at Europe’s foremost business aviation event.

The predicted business jet deliveries for Southern Asia and the Asia Pacific region was 200 each, although the latest forecast said nearly half the number of aircraft (3,930 units) would go to North American operators, while another 1,530 – the second-largest concentration – would be in Europe. The CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

other regions and their predicted business jet deliveries included Latin America – 790; China – 700; Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – 400; Middle East – 350; and Africa – 200.

“Although right now we’re going through a softer patch due to what’s happening in emerging markets, we see the large cabin category leading the market (over the next 10 years),” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation, Bombardier Business

“Bizjet deals can be targets for international cybercrime” Aircraft deals can be targets for international cybercrime and money laundering. This was suggested by experts, who said that this was despite the fact that transactions had been holding steady. “These are attempts by bad guys to sell aircraft they don’t own, or buy aircraft with bad checks, using a combination of social engineering and hacking to persuade someone to send money to a fraudulent account,” explained Scott McCreary, an escrow agent with McAfee & Taft.

McCreary and fellow panelists described a handful of actual email fraud schemes involving aircraft transactions. A common ploy was to convince escrow agents to deposit a fraudulent check, then call the deal off and ask for the funds back. “The bad guys really do their homework,” said McCreary, “so it’s important to do our due diligence, to gather the Know Your Customer information on all the parties to an aircraft transaction.”

Aircraft. The event featured more than 450 exhibitors, representing more than 40 countries. The static display of aircraft featured 60 aircraft – some were new to the event, or made their world debut at EBACE. The footprint for the show, as measured by square metres for exhibitors and the aircraft display, was the largest to date. EBACE is jointly hosted by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA).

The importance of business aviation was echoed by experts from all regions of the world alike. Bernard Kouchner, Co-founder of Doctors Without Borders and later the French Minister of Foreign & European Affairs, said, “I was not aware of business aviation (as an industry), but I used to travel a lot on your planes.” Kouchner recalled many of his humanitarian missions with Doctors Without Borders on various aircraft, from a Malmö MFI-9 to a C130 Hercules, and – on his first mission from EBACE’s home in Geneva to Nigeria as part of the Biafran Airlift – a Corvair 990 Commodore.

Explaining the market scenario at a state of the industry education session, Richard Aboulafia, Vice President of Analysis at Teal Group, said: “After 2008, the business aircraft market was torn in half. The ‘big iron’ segment of large cabin aircraft actually did fine because of emerging markets, but the small and midsize segment fell by 57 per cent, peak-to-trough.”

The recession in emerging markets caused a decline in demand for large cabin aircraft, while a healthy economy in North America has spurred pickup in light and midsized jets. In Europe, business aircraft movements declined four years in a row and because of the economic slowdown in Russia, Eurocontrol saw 20 fewer flights a day between Europe and Russia. Reaching people in humanitarian crises would be impossible without light aircraft. “Not only for medical reasons, but for all transportation,” said Kouchner, “These towns have no commercial line and rely on little planes, so the development of your industry is absolutely crucial.”

Patrick Ky, Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) agreed that the business aviation industry was important, because of its “dynamism, willingness to innovate and close partnership with regulatory authorities”. Citing business aviation’s remarkably low accident rate, Ky said it was clear the industry was “very mature in terms of safety management CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

and risk”.

The event included two day-long seminars – one related to aircraft transactions, the other on business aviation safety – as well as a host of education sessions covering important industry topics and trends. The show’s popular “Inspiration Zone” had sessions on timely topics, including considerations for business aviation operations in parts of the world affected by the Zika virus.

EBAA President Brian Humphries agreed. “We’re very pleased with the level of enthusiasm we’ve seen this year,” he said.

“In addition to the busy show floor and soldout aircraft static display, our seminars and education sessions were well attended, and participants were very engaged with presenters and one another.”

NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen added: “EBACE exhibitors and attendees repeatedly told us that the show continues to be a must-attend on the industry calendar.

Additionally, EBACE once again highlighted the size and significance of business aviation in Europe, and around the world.”

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BUSINESS AVIATION

First Citation Longitude a step away from first flight C essna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation, recently announced it has powered the electrical distribution system on the revolutionary Cessna Citation Longitude super-midsize jet, completing the next major step in the aircraft’s path to accomplish first flight this summer. This milestone occurred three weeks after the company successfully mated the wing and fuselage of the first Longitude in May. “We continue to meet our milestones through an industry-leading development schedule in order to get the Longitude into the hands of our customers,” said Scott Ernest, President and CEO, Textron Aviation.

“The power on stage allows our team to begin verifying the aircraft’s electrical power system and paves the way for functional tests and engine runs that will get us to first flight in the coming months.”

The Citation Longitude is the company’s latest innovation as it continues to invest in its family of larger business jets. The aircraft is designed specifically for maximum passenger comfort and offers the lowest cabin altitude in its class at

5,950 ft. State-of-the-art cabin technology allows passengers to manage their environment and entertainment from any mobile device, while standard high-speed internet maximizes in-flight productivity. With seating for up to 12 passengers, the Longitude features a stand-up, flat-floor cabin with a standard double-club configuration and a class leading walk-in baggage compartment fully accessible in flight. The clean-sheet design of the Longitude integrates the latest technology throughout the aircraft, bringing customers the lowest ownership costs in this class. It features the next evolution of the Garmin G5000 flight deck and is powered by FADEC-equipped Honeywell HTF7700L turbofan engines with fully integrated auto throttles. The aircraft offers a full fuel payload of 1,500 pounds, a maximum cruise speed of 476 knots and a high-speed range of 3,400 nautical miles. With head-up display and enhanced vision capability, the Longitude facilitates eyes-up flying. The spacious cockpit incorporates easier access and an ergonomic design that fully focuses on crew comfort and efficiency.

QUOTOMETER

“Business jets are a good barometer of the global economy, and, this year, it will be difficult.”

Eric Trappier CEO, Dassault Aviation

Massive windows on Lineage 1000 aircraft E Embraer stops business jet production in China

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ringing to conclusion a 13-year joint venture at the Harbin factory due to weak demand for private aircraft in China, Brazilian planemaker Embraer said that it would stop producing Legacy 650 executive jets in the country. Embraer said it remained committed to serving Chinese demand for commercial and executive aircraft and supporting local clients through its office in Beijing. The Harbin plant formerly produced the ERJ-145, a prior generation of Embraer regional jet.

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

mbraer will now offer massive windows on its Lineage 1000 fleet of aircraft. The Brazilian planemaker is outfitting planes with windows that are the size of a typical plane door. Windows can compromise a plane’s structural integrity and add weight which in turn reduces fuel efficiency. Embraer counteracted these by putting the window forward of the wing, where there is less stress.

Embraer teamed up with superyacht designer Patrick Knowles and showed off its capabilities with the Kyoto Airship concept that has windows just about everywhere. Jay Beever, Vice President of Interior Design, Embraer, was recently quoted as saying, “We’ve proven to ourselves that we can make this, and when a Lineage customer is ready to order this airplane, we will make it.” He also said the design team took into account the fact that passengers may want to sit on the floor of the aircraft, rather than in a traditional seat, with the Kyoto Airship being named in reference to how a Japanese traveller may prefer to fly.

ExecuJet boosts maintenance support in India A fter its expansion into India earlier this year, ExecuJet Middle East is extending maintenance capabilities at its recently established India MRO facility, located at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and its Line Station, located at Al Maktoum International (DWC), Dubai South, which is manned 12 hours a day, seven days a week, providing full line maintenance with essential tooling and ground support equipment to cater for a range of aircraft including Bombardier, Embraer and Hawker.

The main Dubai International Airport based MRO facility has been awarded Best Overall Maintenance Facility two years in a row and best International Maintenance Facility for the fifth consecutive year in 2015 by Bombardier. The company’s India expansion with a new FBO and MRO facility, has also achieved initial line and base maintenance capabilities.

The DGCA 145 approval authorises ExecuJet’s Delhi facility to

carry out and certify maintenance of Cessna Citation 560 XL/ XLS, Gulfstream G-IV, Gulfstream G200 and Hawker 7/8/9 Series aircraft.

Nick Weber, Maintenance Director, ExecuJet Middle East, said: “We are delighted to be extending our maintenance and support capabilities in the Middle East and India. ExecuJet is committed to providing class-leading customer service worldwide so enhancing our service capabilities is paramount. As well as a large range of aircraft types, our Dubai facility is also approved by Rolls Royce, GE, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins. We look forward to gaining approval to support these products at our Delhi facility in the near future. “The teams at these facilities, and indeed, worldwide, work extremely hard to ensure the ExecuJet brand remains a sign of safety and service excellence; these recent enhancements are testament to that.”

Now, an ACJ350 XWB bizjet version A irbus will launch a new corporate-jet version of its popular A350 XWB airliner, with Easyfit provisions for cabin-outfitting, expanding its corporate jet family with an aircraft that delivers more capacity, capability and comfort. Called the ACJ350 XWB, it features 270 m2/2,910 ft2 of cabin space in the – 900 version. The ultra-long range variant can fly 25 passengers up to 10,800 nm/20,000 km or 22 hours, making it the most modern and capable corporate jet.

The XWB stands for Xtra Widebody, enabling the ACJ350 to deliver Xtra comfort, Xtra innovative technology, Xtra efficiency, and to be Xtra easy to outfit.

Widebodies such as the ACJ350 offer the equivalent of several houses of floorspace, so creating cabins that meet demanding certification rules can be challenging, especially when they are installed within a fuselage made of new materials

such as carbonfibre. Airbus has thus chosen to pre-equip the carbonfibre fuselage of the ACJ350 with hundreds of attachment points, greatly simplifying the work of cabin-outfitters. It has also worked extensively with several cabin outfitters to ensure smooth completions for customers.

“One of Airbus’s greatest strengths is to offer customers the world’s most modern and efficient aircraft family, and the ACJ350 with Easyfit expands its corporate jet offering, giving customers a new way to take their business to the world,” says Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers John Leahy. “Our customers want the best and most modern aircraft that money can buy, and the ACJ350 exemplifies that,” he added. Together with the A350-1000 version, currently in development and due to enter airline service in 2017, the family has already won some 800 orders from more than 40 customers.

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

Legacy production starts in Florida E

mbraer Executive Jets has started the production of its Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 in Melbourne, Florida, at its recently expanded facility, where the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 are already in production.

The company celebrated this expansion, which adds 236,000 sq ft to its existing 213,000 sq ft campus at Orlando-Melbourne International Airport. Those present at the ceremony included Rick Scott, Florida Governor; Bill Nelson, US Senator; Bill Posey, US Congressman; Florida and Brevard County and Melbourne officials.

“With the support of Governor Scott, and his team at Enterprise Florida, the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Brevard County, the City of Melbourne, and the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport, we are doubling the size of our campus in Melbourne with the addition of the Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 assembly lines,” said Marco Tulio Pellegrini, President and CEO, Embraer Executive Jets. “The growth of our partnerships is a reward for the community’s trust, and for its visionary leaders.”

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FOCUS ON ‘COPTERS P41

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H160 VIP AT EBACE

ARUNACHAL MOVES

Airbus presented the first glimpse of the H160 VIP version at EBACE

Arunachal CM discusses issues related to poor air connectivity in the state with Aviation Minister

Pawan Hans to revive concept of regional airline Vayudoot

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ven as Pawan Hans prepares for an initial public offering, the stateowned helicopter operator’s regional service is set to take-off with fixed wing aircraft, including seaplanes. To revive the concept of a regional airline like Vayudoot of yesteryears, Pawan Hans will lease three copters with around 18-20 seats to operate on regional routes that will attract the government subsidy. Pawan Hans aims to link small towns to major airports such as Mumbai. This move comes after a stimulus by the central government to improve regional air connectivity and Pawan Hans will get subsidy benefits for operating a service on such routes. The new civil aviation policy proposed by the government seeks affordable air connectivity to small cities and towns. Under the plan, fares will be set at `2,500 per hour of flight, and the rest will

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be funded through a subsidy. In the 1980s, the government-run airline Vayudoot took the plunge to provide air connectivity to the remote areas of the country, putting them on an aviation map which saw the dominance of big cities and metros. However, the government was forced to shut the airline due to heavy losses.

A chopper service on regional routes will fare much better, according to Pawan Hans, as under the proposed model, the fare has been fixed at `2,500 per hour of flight with the remaining operation costs being funded through the government’s viability gap funding programme.

Meanwhile, the helicopter operator is set on an expansion plan, and will grow its fleet from 43 to 100 aircraft. It is finalising a plan to consolidate its market position with a fleet of 100 aircraft, which will comprise a CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

mix of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft by 2027, according to B P Sharma, Chairman, Pawan Hans. A recent media report stated that Pawan Hans would sell 26 choppers as it buys new fixed wing aircraft. Over the next decade, the company plans to purchase 58 choppers. It may be mentioned that on November 10, 2015, the NDA government relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for the civil aviation sector. Thus, while the FDI by foreign airlines went up to 49 per cent in scheduled air transport service/ domestic scheduled passenger airline/ regional air transport service, it went up to 100 per cent in non-scheduled air transport services and 100 per cent for helicopter services/seaplane service, subject to certain sectoral regulations. Helicopters can play a huge role in the government’s move to enhance regional connectivity.

EASA grounds H225 fleet due to gearbox concerns Coming soon: Affordable I

n another blow to the European chopper maker, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has grounded the region’s fleet of Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L2 rotorcraft. This followed after evidence emerged of a potentially catastrophic gearbox fault afflicting both types.

Europe’s air safety regulator’s emergency airworthiness directive (EAD), was issued on June 2, following the April 29 fatal crash of a H225 (LN-OJF) on the coast of Norway in which 13 passengers and crew died after the main rotor separated from the rest of the aircraft. The Norwegian investigators probing the crash of the Airbus EC225 helicopter said they had found a potentially difficult-to-detect problem with the model and urged Europe’s air-safety regulator to act.

The inquiry saw the focus on three components by the investigators, which included the gearbox suspension bars, the conical gearbox housing and the main gearbox epicyclic module, with which EASA said it had identified a potential issue and the main reason for the grounding order. It cited the ongoing Norwegian investigation which found ‘metallurgical findings of fatigue and surface degradation in the outer race of a second stage planet gear’ in the epicyclic module.

The June 1 preliminary report from Norway’s SHT accident investigation branch stated that it found ‘features strongly consistent with fatigue’ on recovered sections of a second stage gear. This, it said, appeared to have originated in the outer race of the bearing – effectively the inner surface of the part – ‘propagating towards the web of gear teeth’. It also indicated that there was ‘evidence of spalling’ or degradation of the bearing surface.

The safety agency, however, clarified that it was not possible to determine “if this is a contributing causal factor or subsequent failure from another initiating factor”, but it had nonetheless ordered the grounding.

Airbus Helicopters said that it “supports EASA’s cautious approach” after the findings and remained committed to support the investigation and its customers “while working with the wider industry to ensure safety”.

H225s and AS332 L2s had already been grounded in the UK and Norway following the crash. The wider order does not apply to examples used for military of parapublic missions.

Further, the German Defence Ministry also grounded three Airbus Cougar AS532 helicopters used to transport Chancellor Angela Merkel, after a Europe-wide grounding of the civilian version of the aircraft, a ministry spokesman said.

Super Pumas grounded, Babcock gets Sikorsky choppers

After Super Pumas were grounded following the fatal crash off Norway, North Sea helicopter operator Babcock has taken delivery of two new Sikorsky S-92 helicopters.

Babcock, which was previously known as Bond Offshore Helicopters, said the two new Sikorskys would soon be joined by others as the market adapted to restrictions on the use of Super Pumas in the wake of the crash involving a CHCoperated EC225.

Babcock currently has four EC225s – also known as H225s – grounded in its North Sea operation following the ban imposed by regulators.

air ambulance services

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ndia will soon benefit from worldclass helicopter ambulance services provided by Bengaluru-based Aviators Air Rescue with a fleet of three Airbus H130 helicopters. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently notified stringent guidelines for offering Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) in the country, allowing single-engine helicopters for daytime operations.

Aviators is set to become the first dedicated HEMS provider in India. This pioneering service is the result of a tripartite agreement between Aviators Air Rescue, Air Medical Group Holdings, a leading air medical provider in the United States and Airbus Helicopters. All three H130 will be put to use for medical missions and will come equipped with specialised equipment for emergency transportation of patients, organs, neo-natal and other time critical medical missions.

Helicopter deliveries are scheduled to commence in the second half of 2016.

Aviators plans to launch the service from October 2016. AMGH and Aviators have options to acquire additional helicopters for use in this venture.

The service rollout – including the training of pilots and medical personnel along with the definition of practices and procedures – will be supported by Airbus Helicopters and Air Medical Group. The service will be offered to state governments, rescue groups, hospitals, clinics, public and private companies, and also to individuals through subscription.

“With the support of Airbus Helicopters and Air Medical Group Holdings, we will provide India with top-notch air medical services that will be affordable and accessible for everyone. These services will be on par with the established HEMS operations in the US and Europe,” said Arun Sharma, Managing Director of Aviators Air Rescue.

“It is an honour that Aviators and worldrenowned Air Medical Group Holdings have put their faith in our helicopter to rescue Continued on page 42

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

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FOCUS ON ‘COPTERS Continued from page 41

Indian lives threatened by emergency medical situations. We will bring to bear our global expertise in medical helicopters and our India-based support and services team to ensure that these H130s are always ready to respond to a call,” said Xavier Hay, President of Airbus Helicopters in India.

The H130 is a global reference among single engine helicopters for air ambulance missions. In addition to the pilot and the co-pilot or a technical crew, both of whom can be seated in the cockpit unlike any other helicopter of its class, the H130 can accommodate a stretcher and seat three more attendants or para-medical staff in the cabin. The low internal sound and vibration level and the flat cabin floor offer a suitable environment to install both sensitive and bulky medical equipment. Airbus Helicopters’ signature Fenestron shrouded tail rotor design allows the H130 to land in congested areas with protection against impact collision and also makes it safer for medical personnel working in the vicinity of the rotor.

Airbus shows off the H160 VIP

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irbus Helicopters presented an exclusive first glimpse of the H160 VIP version at this year’s EBACE in Geneva, where customers had the opportunity to experience some of its features like its exclusive cabin interior, electrical footstep and hinged doors thanks to a virtual reality immersion tool.

“After the unveiling at Heli-Expo in 2015, the H160 has generated a lot of interest from operators on this strategic segment due to its unrivalled combination of innovation, design and performance,” said Bernard Fujarski, Senior Vice President and head of the H160 Programme at Airbus Helicopters.

Helicopter accomplishes 30-mile Arunachal moves to enhance chopper services autonomous flight

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runachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul recently discussed issues related to poor air connectivity in the state with union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

He suggested several crucial proposals. He stressed on air connectivity saying that it was the only viable alternative and the most obvious for serious planning and investment, an official release said. Therefore, among other measures, Pul informed that in order to increase air connectivity, the state government had planned to connect all district headquarters and important tourism destinations with helicopter services.

“This will not only facilitate travel of passengers and tourists, but also be of great use in case of evacuation of patients, for use by the NDRF and SDRF during disasters and also by law enforcement agencies,” he said and sought the support of the ministry to run a helicopter fleet with appropriate subsidies and funding.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul discussing issues related to poor air connectivity with Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju

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CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

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ockheed Martin company Sikorsky has ‘successfully demonstrated a 30mile autonomous flight using a Sikorsky S-76 commercial helicopter.’ A recent video on YouTube shows a flight operator directing the aircraf’s takeoff with a tablet. The operator can also use the device to select or enter a flight plan and is able

Airbus Helicopters launched a design contest in October 2015 with 5 designers competing to create the H160 VIP cabin interior. “After evaluation from a large panel of customers and specialists in luxury goods, Pegasus Design style intention has been selected,” said Frederic Lemos, head of Private and Business Aviation. “Our inhouse design team will now work closely with Pegasus Design to establish a new standard of VIP cabin interiors on the private and business aviation market, ensuring that the H160 will propose the same level of excellence, innovation, and emotion inside and out,” he added. The H160 development continues to progress as the two prototypes in flight testing have logged around 140

to review it ‘without using aircraft controls’. The helicopter achieved the flight by utilizing the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS), which was developed by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

According to a press release issued by the company, “ALIAS seeks to leverage advances in autonomy that reduce pilot workload, augment mission performance, and improve aircraft safety and reliability.”

With Sikorsky's completion of Phase I, it will use a $9.8 million award from DARPA to work on modifications for Phase II.

hours with the second prototype (PT2) having performed the 100th flight in midMay. PT2 has been flying with Turbomeca’s

Arrano engines since January 2016 and PT1, whose retrofit has been finalised, also started flying with the Arrano engines.

Airbus sets milestone with ’copter demonstrator

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irbus Helicopters earlier this year passed an important milestone in the development of the high-speed, compound helicopter demonstrator currently being built as part of the Clean Sky 2 European research programme. A mockup of the breakthrough airframe design has just undergone wind tunnel testing in an Airbus facility. The tests proved the viability of the chosen design in terms of efficiency, sustainability and performance, paving

matic reductions of emission and acoustic footprints. Flight-testing of the prototype is expected to start in 2019.

“We are honoured to be carrying out this project on behalf of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking and the large number of European companies who are taking part in the development. Our ambition is to become the benchmark of the rotorcraft industry, and as such we are willing to drive a bold vision for the future of helicopter

the way for a preliminary design review expected end of 2016. Meanwhile, the overall project has passed its first official milestone involving all core partners by reaching the end of its pre-design phase.

Building upon the achievements of the company-funded and record-breaking X3 technology demonstrator, the Airbus Helicopters Clean Sky-demonstrator will help refine the “compound” aerodynamic configuration and bring it closer to an operational design, with the end objective of meeting future requirements for increased speed, better cost-efficiency, as well dra-

transportation,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus Helicopters Chief Technical Officer. “Our Clean Sky 2-demonstrator will not only be about going faster; it will help make speed smarter by seeking the best trade-off between cost-efficiency, sustainability and mission performance. We want to break the cost barrier usually associated with increased speed and range and pave the way for new missions sets for 2030 and beyond, by providing crucial emergency or door-to-door transportation services to European citizens where they need it most.”

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

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CRUISING HEIGHTS

Net Express D I G I TA L T R E N D S F O R T R AV E L L E R E X P E R I E N C E

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How is your presence in the Indian market?

How do you view the growth potential for GDS in India?

InterGlobe Technology Quotient is an official distributor of Travelport in six markets across Asia Pacific region including India and Sri Lanka. Through our extensive reach and advance solutions, we have been able to demonstrate ground breaking technology which is still evolving.

Introducing customer friendly technologies is our core strength and we invest quantum amount of resources on developing the same. Servicing our travel partners to make their work easier and seamless is what we look forward to. And although we have attained quite a few milestones in our endeavours like India Travel Awards for South India, Most Innovative Travel Technology Partner Award in Jury Choice Award and 'Best GDS' in Tamil Nadu Tourism Award in this year, our potential for growth continues to get bigger and

Considering the myriad options available for travel planning and booking, what is the major challenge facing travel suppliers and intermediaries today?

Every age brings with it a new set of challenges. This era is one of revolutionizing technology. Operations have evolved through various stages: starting from manual work to desktop functionality, then from desktop to laptop and now the era of mobile is burgeoning. This changing dynamics is shifting the way people think and want things get done in their life. And in order to achieve success in such scenario predicting the future has become very important.

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As a result of this, we at ITQ keep on analyzing the opportunities to facilitate the industry by providing enhanced solutions and delivering better services. Understanding the necessity of soft skill due to shortage of trained workforce in this domain, we arrange Soft Skill Training, in association with TAAI, for our travel partners across India and offer Travel Education Programme to students aspiring to be a part of the travel industry. In addition, ITQ has tied up with CAP Foundation to train 300 underprivileged children in five cities to give them a bright future.

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better. More so with the entry of OTAs in the market, we have got a reach that was earlier not possible. Also, our revolutionary products are bringing a paradigm shift in the way travel is bought and sold today.

the choice of hotels across the globe more customer-centric. Travelport is a penchant of making travel surfing, selling and buying easy and these features make it all the more user friendly.

also contributed a lot into maximizing airlines revenue by providing various tools through which airlines can aptly display their products and ancillary services.

Tell us about ITQ and how you are powering the travel industry with your portfolio of products?

Travel Industry in the Indian subcontinent is dramatically embracing change. The technology driven market is now ready for smarter options. In this context, Travelport has introduced point and click operations in GDS in place of traditional programming language.

Earlier, industry professional needed training sessions to book tickets on a GDS as coding language was part and parcel of GDS booking functionality. But with Travelport's Smartpoint having advanced set of features, any user can now use point and click features to book tickets.

Now, what about the earlier generation who had become more used to coding functionality? For them, Smartpoint has retained the manual programming option within the interface. Although, point and click is an option but the product also understands the manual programming features. Not just that, it also has a translation feature which can translate other GDSs language and make reservations. Therefore, Travelport has integrated the needs of the new and the old generation users and brought in a revolutionary change.

Similarly, the airlines showcasing their products and inventories previously had a set pattern which has undergone a change through Travelport's technologically advanced solutions. It has introduced Rich Content and Branding to reinvent the idea of featuring airlines inventories and services. Through this exclusive display tool, airlines around the world have full control over the featuring of their airline seats, various accesses, ancillary services display and much more. According to sources, it has been estimated that as much as 35 percent of the revenue generation for the airlines will be on ancillary services offerings by 2020. Therefore, showcasing accurately has become very important and Travelport Rich Content & Branding is in place to help airlines achieve this target.

How has the Civil Aviation Policy changed the face of aviation industry and tourism?

The recently mandated Civil Aviation Policy is going to bring about a revolutionary change in the airline domain. Domestic tourism is going to boom and create a lion's share in its contribution to this sector. The first step by the government towards making this possible is capping the fares on regional flights at `2500 per hour. Also, the government is providing incentives to airlines flying on routes that are not used at present. Safety, infrastructure, affordability and regional connectivity has given a strategic boost through this Policy which is soon to be a “game-changer for the sector”.

es offered in addition to price. What do you make of the technology that is available today to support this?

As the aviation industry is growing, so is the competiveness. And now with the moulding of 5/20 rule, any airline can enter the international market with 20 aircraft in place.

Therefore, fare pricing and service delivery both have become crucial to the success of an airline. The rightly priced fare would not be enough, airlines need to develop on the service delivery quotient as well — the better and varied kind of solutions they offer, the more they can gain hold in the market.

Therefore, in order to support this variety Travelport has introduced Rich Content and Branding to offer a platform to the airlines where they can aptly demonstrate their offerings: food and beverages, on-board facilities, baggage charges, seating arrangements and so on.

Presently, nearly 200 airlines have signed up for this service and are successfully displaying their ancillary services by applying rich visual and textual branding.

The airline looks and performs the same across Travelport's points of sale as it does in other channels. Travelport Rich Content and Branding just helps to unbundle the services and helps airlines to be visually more appealing and interactive. The service segmentation of the ancillaries enhances customized selling which further helps airlines to create improved brand experiences.

How does personalisation and customisation of fares to individual flyers represent an opportunity to Travelport, for example?

Travelport works towards searching and finding the best possible fares in any class. And in case the traveler has specific requirement of services, the Rich Content and Branding tool makes that selection process easier. Apart from that, Travelport also is the fourth largest hotel inventory aggregator which makes

Airlines have been talking about supporting a single connectivity distribution strategy through multiple indirect channels. What do you think are the challenges arising as a result?

Travel agents play a major role in the selling of seats and ancillary services. Therefore, this should not come as a surprise that both the airlines and the GDSs are trying to reach out to them directly.

In India, a major portion of the travel

agencies book through GDS and they have got used to the set pattern of selling and distributing packages through it as it offers them a huge range of content. In this context, if an airline created single connectivity distribution strategy comes into place, it will only have to compete with a much more able and far reaching GDS network, which at present has the ability to offer best tourism packages — as their inventory does not limit itself to airlines, but connects them to hotels and cars availability as well.

In addition, the GDS has evolved a lot with the time and has become more technologically advanced making workings of the travel agents easier across the globe. It has CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

Airlines say they need to compete on servic-

What is the biggest contribution you think Travelport is making to the travel industry?

Travelport's biggest contribution in the travel domain has been to modernize and update the previously existing Global Distribution System, making it more userfriendly and 'smarter'. It has redefined itself through enhanced technology and made itself more productive and less time consuming. With point and click technology even an amateur can start booking tickets.

Therefore, any travel agent sitting in any part of the world can now book travel and surf from over 400 network airlines (including LCCs connected to Travelport), 650,000 unique hotel properties with over 1.5 million offers and 35,000 car rental locations. As the travel industry grows in leaps and bounds, redefining travel commerce becomes the core mantra to surfing, selling and buying travel.

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Raytheon satellite for better, safer air travel

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Delta offers free in-flight entertainment U

Wi-fi is number oneReliable choice

The services, however, will not be available on Delta’s 50-seat regional jets and older aircraft that are not equipped with wi-fi. Airlines such as Virgin America, Southwest, and JetBlue have long offered free satellite TV aboard their flights, while movies and premium TV content require additional fees. "The only thing better than operating the world's largest in-flight entertainment-equipped fleet is providing it free to all our guests," Delta Air Lines CMO Tim Mapes said in a statement.

IN-FLIGHT WI-FI RELIABILITY: BIGGEST INHIBITOR TO PASSENGER ADOPTION, UNTIL TODAY

CONNECTED AVIATION recent survey by Inmarsat MAKING and GfK, ‘InPOSSIBLE flight Connectivity Survey’,IT has provided TODAY

83% LHH 80% M H 78% S use Wi-

surprising results. Wi-fi is the first choice for fliers scoring over in-flight entertainment, meals or duty free: 54 per cent chose inflight Wi-Fi. #InmarsatAv The survey was conducted on 9000 people across 27 countries in Europe, Central and South America and Australasia from short, medium and long haul passengers. Incidentally, 83 per cent of the travellers said they would prefer to fly with an airline that offered inflight entertainment.

In Europe, while 69 per cent said they would pay for in-flight Wi-Fi, the figure was 67 per cent in Asia and in Latin America it was 64 per cent. In fact, a reliable connection was more important than speed to about three quarters of passengers.

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l 89% Hauul 85% ng Lo um Haaul 83% di rt H o use Wi-Fi in-f ligh Me Sho uld like t t o

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S-based Delta Air Lines is all set to offer free movies and TV shows to fliers. From July 1, fliers can access the in-flight entertainment on their laptops, tablets or smartphones via Delta Stream which will also be available on aircraft equipped with seat-back entertainment screens. On offer will be more than 300 movies, 750 TV shows, and 2,400 songs along with 18 channels of satellite TV. According to Delta, it will now be the only US-based airline to give away this service free.

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use Wi-Fi in-f like to ligh uld wo t

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Most important Wi-Fi attributes 1

Reliability 2

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75% 19% 6%

3

Price

inmarsat.com/aviation

From proprietary 2016 Inmarsat/GfK research

Sample of over 9,000 passengers from 27 countries who have flown in the past 12 months, the largest known survey of its kind.

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LATAM

EUROPE WILLINGNESS TO PAY any flight length 69% On in EUROPE

TOP 3 ACTIVITIES on in-flight Wi-Fi 1

APAC

WILLINGNESS TO PAY any flight length 64% On in LATAM

Streaming video

2

Social networks

3

Travel apps / sites

TOP 3 ACTIVITIES on in-flight Wi-Fi 1

Web browsing

2

Emails

3

Social networks

WILLINGNESS TO PAY

67%

On any flight length in APAC

TOP 3 ACTIVITIES on in-flight Wi-Fi 1

Travel apps / sites

2

Airline’s app / site

3

Web browsing

Leo Mondale, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said that the demand for broadband in the sky had reached such unprecedented levels around the world that airlines, as well as those in the business aviation and aircraft lessor markets, needed to meet passenger expectations or risk losing out to their competitors.

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aytheon's newest payload, a technology package that improves the availability and accuracy of Global Positioning System signals for aviation, has launched into orbit for its 12-year mission. The Raytheon-developed system is a key element of the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), which offers commercial airline and general aviation pilots more direct flight paths, greater runway capability, precision approaches to airports and remote landing sites without dependence on local ground-based landing systems.

"Extremely accurate navigation technologies make this system a critical resource to keep our national airspace safe," said Dave Wajsgras, President of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. "The launch is a real milestone, as Raytheon and the FAA work to improve the safety and efficiency of air travel."

WAAS covers nearly all the national airspace, significantly improving GPS accuracy from 10 meters to about two meters. As the original developer of the WAAS system, Raytheon has partnered with the FAA to continually improve its service area, availability and reliability. The newest payload, WAAS GEO 5, replaces a current payload reaching the end of its service life. Following orbit raising, ground system integration and testing tasks, the WAAS GEO 5 payload will enter its 10year service phase in 2018.

Smart step for Melbourne Airport

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elbourne Airport has been trying out SITA’s self-service boarding. This will be the airport’s next smart step in the self-service passenger experience, after the successful implementation of the self-service check-in kiosks and automated bag drop facilities. The self-boarding gates will reduce the cost of operations for the airlines. Incidentally, self-service boarding is one of the six areas of a passenger’s airport journey in IATA’s Fast Travel programme which aims to save the industry up to $2 billion annually.

The service has been implemented the T2 International where passengers will scan their boarding pass to gain access to the aircraft.

Speed of processing, passenger perception and accuracy will be measured and evaluated.

The initial results of the self-boarding trial have shown strong interest from passengers

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Low-cost connectivity on low-cost Scoot S

coot, the low-cost carrier, has recently launched a low-cost in-flight connectivity plan that provides 20MB of data for only $5 at 64kbps speed. Known as the ‘Social-Lite’ package, it will allow fliers to use messaging and chat services and is easy on the pocket than the wi-fi services on its B787 fleet that costs US$11.95 for one hour, US$16.95 for three hours and US$21.95 for 24 hours.

Steven Greenway, Scoot’s Head of Com-

mercial, said that the introduction of the Social-Lite plan would appeal to passengers who want to “send off a quick text to friends and family to let them know when they will arrive, or to not miss out on conversations with their friends and chat groups. It is affordable and perfect for most of our guests who love to stay constantly connected but only require quick messaging or chatting on the go”.

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AA ties up with ViaSat A merican Airlines has partnered with ViaSat for its in-flight Wi-Fi service on its Boeing 737 MAX fleet. The agreement will enable the carrier to increase passenger engagement and optimise customers’ onboard wi-fi experience. Passengers will be able to stream movies, videos, television and music, as well as surf the web, upload pictures to social media, email large files and more.

The planes will use ViaSat’s high capacity Ka band satellite systems. The carrier will leverage ViaSat’s first two generation satellite platforms, which together provide more capacity than all of the commercial satellites over North America combined. The third generation satellite will launch in 2019 and will more than double the capacity again.

According to Mark Dankberg, ViaSat Chairman and CEO, the “satellite bandwidth enables an ’at home’ internet experience that can serve everyone on the plane – and empowers innovative business models for airlines and their passengers”.

Lights out from KLM K

LM has recently launched an innovative light for kids. Known as the Night Light, it is meant to soothe children while their parents are away on a business trip. The night light is a mini aircraft with a light behind each window, marking each night the traveller will be away.

The lights turn off one by one with all the lights off by the morning of the big return. The Night Light is available in KLM’s online shop.

Technology over people

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and the final results will be analysed by the SITA and Melbourne Airport teams. “Working closely with expert vendors and service providers, like SITA, facilitates the testing of world-class solutions at Melbourne Airport and allows our passengers to be among the first to experience leading-edge technology that will improve their experience,” commented Michael Jarvis from Melbourne Airport Executive Planning.

ccording to the 2016 SITA Passenger IT Trends Survey, airline passengers would rather use technology than interact with people.

The survey released by SITA and co-sponsored

by Air Transport World shows that passengers are happier in steps of the journey where they have more control over how to manage their trip like booking online than they are at steps which have the least number of self-service options like security screening, passport control and baggage collection.

The survey was conducted with more than 9,000 passengers from 19 countries across the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. According to the survey, 85 per cent of travellers had a positive travel experience up from the 80 per cent last year. Almost 55 per cent of passengers use some form of selfservice facility during their journey as end-toend self-service is not yet widespread.

Francesco Violante, CEO, SITA, said, “It is clear that passengers love technology. Once they start to use kiosks, websites, mobile de-

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Download movies and fly

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assengers flying from London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 will now be able to download movies, magazines, newspapers and destination video guides to their iPhones or iPads from the new EntertainMe kiosks.

A variety of free and paid content will be available and downloads will take around one minute each. These kiosks, located at gate level in each of the three Terminal 5 satellites, have been developed

by SITA along with its partners Orange Business Services and Adaptive Channel.

vices, automated gates and other tech they will continue to do so rather than returning to human interaction. As airlines and airports look to introduce new technology they should also note that ‘ease-of-use’ is vital for passengers.

At check-in, the ease of use can increase kiosk adoption by as much as 86 per cent and mobile by 59 per cent.”

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‘Government has recognised how sensitive and vulnerable our airports are’ That is why, according to ground handlers, the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 has made it mandatory that only authorised ground handling agencies with100 per cent, whole-time bonafide employees on the payrolls can provide services with the deployment of state-of-art, pollution-controlled equipment.

Ground Handling Services are pivotal to the aviation sector as well as the safety and security of airports in India, commented PREM BAJAJ, Chairman and Managing Director of Bhadra International, that has the Ground Handling licenses for seven International Airports in India, during his conversation with Cruising Heights What are your comments on the longawaited Civil Aviation Policy that has been cleared by the Cabinet?

I thank the government that the longawaited clarity on the policy has been announced. Actually the Government wanted to clarify its stand on 5/20, MRO, etc. but I am happy that with the submissions made by the Ground Handlers Association, the policy on ground handling has also been highlighted.

Can you be specific on the stand that the government has taken on ground handling in the fresh policy?

In my personal opinion and from other ground handlers as well, what is understood is that the government has recognised how sensitive and vulnerable Indian Airports are and hence have clearly made it compulsory that only authorised ground handling agencies or domestic airlines that wish to carry out self-handling themselves or through their subsidiary company, will have to have 100 per cent manpower working for them on their permanent rolls. This would certainly ensure that the background antecedent checks of the manpower deployed for the purpose of ground handling would minimize security risks at airports.

Also, the government has been very specific on the quality of equipment to be positioned for handling aircraft that has to be as per ICAO standards and eco-friendly. The government in order to have level playing field has also made it very clear that be it Air India, their joint venture or their subsidiary, will have to match the percentage of royalty amount to be paid to the airport operator which shall be at par with the authorized government appointed ground handling agencies.

In this 2016 Policy, the Government has

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made it amply clear that no outsourcing of manpower would be permitted. Do you still think that hiring of manpower will continue from manpower suppliers?

As far as Bhadra is concerned, we have a total manpower of approximately 3500 and all are on our permanent pay rolls.

We have strictly complied with Clause 4 of AAI Ground Handling Regulations 2007 and have never ever hired any illegal or non-legitimate manpower from any of the manpower suppliers. To further answer your question, if you go through the policy document carefully, you would find that the government has totally banned the hiring of manpower or allowing any manpower supplier/non-entitled entities to provide either ground handling services or supply manpower at our security-sensitive airports.

The government has allowed domestic carriers to have their own subsidiary companies that would be entitled to provide ground handling services to their own airlines. Has the government allowed ground handling companies also to have their subsidiary companies?

From the policy it is apparent that the government has only facilitated the domestic airlines to have their own ground handling subsidiary with permanent manpower on their own payrolls to cater only to their own flight operations.

Is there a possibility where a major portion of equity with some understanding of the current manpower supplying company to the respective airlines is bought over by them to legitimise the manpower supplying company look like the subsidiary company of the respective airlines?

I have a feeling that this may not happen as all the major domestic carriers would not like to become the principal employer of

manpower presently on the payrolls of the non-entitled manpower companies. Allowing domestic airlines to have their own subsidiary to provide ground handling services to their own aircraft has been done, perhaps, to give an opportunity to a particular airline that has its subsidiary, although no royalty is paid to the respective operator till date.

We have been hearing that if the domestic airlines avail services from companies like yours, it will be expensive for them.

It is absolutely a wrong perception that any of us (the authorised ground handling companies) will be charging more than what the domestic airlines spend while carrying out ground handling services themselves or through their own subsidiary – the reason being that we have already created an infrastructure where there is sufficient equipment with the latest technology and sufficient number of well-trained manpower. When we utilise this equipment optimally with the available manpower, we are bound to be cheaper than the setup that any of the domestic carriers will have to create. As a matter of fact, we have the honour of serving four scheduled domestic airlines that have recently joined us and they are very happy with the services being provided to them. We always give priority to quality services, safety and ensure 100 per cent on-time performance

for the turnaround of flights. Therefore, it answers your question that we are absolutely competitive both in price and quality and in ensuring safety and security at airports with our regular whole-time employees to the utmost satisfaction of customer airlines.

In the current policy it has been specifically mentioned that there will be a maximum number of three authorised ground handling agencies at major airports and the number of authorised agencies at smaller airports shall be decided by the airport operator.

Your comments?

The government has been able to bring total clarity on the number of ground handling companies to be appointed, when we look at the major airports such as Delhi and Mumbai where the current traffic is around 45 million and the forecasted traffic at these two airports by 2020 is going to be 60 million. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to have three ground handling companies with almost minimum assured business of 15 to 20 million each whereas if we talk about the airports at Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata where the present traffic is within 16 million, we already have two authorised ground handling agencies which includes the national carrier also. If you take the statistics of all Tier-2 and Tier3 cities, you would find that the national carrier along with one authorised agency CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

already exists. However the airports where the authorised ground handling agencies appointed through the competitive bidding process are not available, AAI should initiate the process so that the policy formulated by the government is implemented in toto.

The government has given great emphasis on the equipment operating within the airport environment to be in compliance with the latest aviation norms by April 1, 2017. Do you think the present level of equipment at our airports is at par with the desired standards as per ICAO norms?

Hitherto many of the ground handling services were being rendered by non-entitled entities by positioning outdated equipment at many of our major airports. In this regard, I am happy to inform that it was Bhadra’s vision to be at par with the standards maintained at world-renowned airports in positioning equipment totally in compliance with ICAO/IATA stipulations. We have positioned unmatched state-of-art equipment imported from USA, Germany, Austria, France, etc. at all the seven airports where we have been appointed as the authorised ground handlers.

We are happy that the government has laid emphasis on this aspect in the new policy so that ground handling operations hereafter will be carried out with significantly low emissions with the usage of electric and battery operated equipment.

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Firm push for air cargo The recently-launched National Civil Aviation Policy has outlined the path ahead for air cargo. The government’s aim is to provide an ecosystem for the harmonised growth of aviation subsectors and that includes cargo. The policy vision states that the creation of the ecosystem would see cargo volumes increasing to 10 million tonnes by 2027. A look at what the policy holds for the air cargo sector

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ndia’s much-awaited Civil Aviation Policy was recently approved by the Cabinet and made public. Announcing the policy, that took almost two years to formulate, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju pointed out that India’s aviation sector was poised to become the world’s third largest by 2022.

The policy states that providing safe, secure, affordable and sustainable air travel for passengers and air transportation of cargo with access to various parts of India and the world would be the government’s mission. Minister Raju has often emphasized the importance of air cargo and the aviation policy specifically looks at that. In an interview with a business daily a couple of days before the release of the policy, pointed out that in India, aviation was centred around passengers. “For some odd reasons in India, aircraft are passengercentric running like a bus. But the largest airline in the world is a cargo airline. Here, we only have two cargo airlines.” India had a good domestic cargo market, he said and with e-commerce volumes going up, there was need for more dedicated cargo carriers. “Ultimately, transport should not become a bottleneck for economic activity.

This is what we are trying to achieve,” he said.

Cargo, he underlined, had a tremendous potential. “Right now, there is very little cargo going in the belly of aircraft and being exported out of the country.

The problem is that India’s dwell time is not very good. So, (our) strategy is to bring down this dwell time. We have to work together in the government and try to see that this dwell time goes down,” the Minister said. One of the major policy decisions is the permission to domestic carriers to fly abroad doing away with the earlier 5/20 rule (carriers had to complete five years of flying domestic routes and also have 20 aircraft in their fleet). Now, Indian carriers can fly abroad if they have 20 aircraft or 20 per cent of their capacity, whichever

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is higher. Another decision that has been hailed by experts is one which allows foreign airlines to join hands with overseas investors to set up a fully foreign-owned airline. A part of the liberalization policy of the Narendra Modi-led government (in fact, Modi had tweeted, “Govt radically liberalizes FDI regime with the objective of providing major impetus to employment & job creation”), the move, according to KPMG’s Amber Dubey, this will have a salutary effect on Indian carriers since they “can look for enhanced valuations in case they wish to raise funds or go for partial or complete divestment. We may see its positive impact over the next six to 12 months”. He also mentioned that the gov-

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ernment had plans to go for a massive improvement in the country’s global and domestic connectivity, affordability and ease of doing business.

For cargo stakeholders — especially the express industry — the policy has come as a breath of fresh air. Vijay Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Express Industry Council of India (EICI), went on record to point out that the government’s moves to usher in reforms for the Indian aviation industry was laudable. “The policy takes cognizance of the distinctiveness of the Express Delivery Services and the potential it offers. The policy recognises Express Delivery Services (EDS) as a separate segment within air cargo owing to its distinctive nature and

processes,” said Kumar and emphasized that EICI had been advocating such a demand on behalf of the express industry.

The EICI COO also mentioned that the “Express Industry is turning out to be a pivotal segment for enhancing exports, especially in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) segment, in view of expansion of e-commerce and other new age industries. With the emphasis of the government on ‘Make In India’, ‘Ease of doing business’ and enhancement of exports, it is all the more important that EDS is recognised and facilitated with adequate infra-

structure at the airports with rational lease tenures and rentals to provide efficient services in India”.

Other than the express business, the policy has provided a booster dose to the air cargo sector. To ensure the growth of the sector, cargo facilities located at an airport would be covered under the ‘Harmonised List of Infrastructure’ and would receive the benefits of the ‘infrastructure’ sector that will enable air cargo facilitators to avail flexible structuring of long-term project loans, long-term funding from infra funds at lower interest rates as well as Income Tax benefits.

According to the policy, the Air Cargo Logistics Promotion Board (ACLPB) will play a major role. The board will promote growth by finding out ways to reduce costs, improve efficiency and bring about better inter-ministerial coordination. The board and the industry have been tasked to submit a detailed action plan after consultation with stakeholders on how to reduce dwell time of air cargo from ‘aircraft to truck’ to below 48 hours by December 31, 2016 and to 24 hours by December 31, 2017. For exports, the dwell time will be reduced to 12 hours by December 31, 2016 and eight hours by December 31, 2017.

In addition the board will develop non-legal and indicative Service Delivery Modules after consultations with stakeholders for all elements of the air cargo express cargo value chain such as airlines, airports, terminal operators, Customs House Agents (CHA), freight forwarders, and government agencies like Customs, airport security, quarantine officers, etc.

There is also provision to set up an Air Cargo Community System that will avoid delays. What is important to note is that the policy has recognised the fact that the space allocated for cargo on the air-side and city side at a majority of the country’s airports was inadequate. The ACLPB will CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

recommend norms for space allocation for air cargo, including express cargo for all Greenfield airports. Further, an action plan will have to be worked out by the ACLPB to boost space at existing airports on a “case by case basis” in consultation with stakeholders.

To ease business processes, the government, says the policy, will ensure that all relevant central government authorities — Customs, wildlife clearance, Drug Controller, Plant and Animal Quarantine, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Archaeological Survey of India, etc. – would be available through a single window at cargo terminals where clearances would be provided promptly and online after necessary checks.

Pointing to the implementation of the 24x7 Customs operations at airports, the policy mentioned that it had not been utilised by the industry. So, the ACLPB will consult stakeholders and propose steps to ensure that cargo handling is done round the clock. The suggestions and recommendations of the ACLPB would be given top priority. The board has also been given the responsibility to promote Free Trade Warehousing Zones (FTWZ), Air Freight Stations, bonded trucking and dedicated cargo airports.

One of the contentious issues for air cargo stakeholders was the user charges at airports. The ACLPB along with the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) and airport operators would recommend user charges that would be competitive. For the non-metro airports handled by the government controlled Airports Authority of India (AAI), the lease and other fixed charges would be kept low to ensure that they do not become entry barriers. The policy has to be implemented to make it a success. Minister Raju felt that it was time to sensitize that the opportunity was available and “we need to harness it”.

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Jet Airways is DIAL’s 'International Cargo Airline of the Year' J

et Airways has been adjudged the ‘International Cargo Airline of the Year’ at the fourth GMR IGI Airport Awards 2016 held in New Delhi for the airline's excellence in cargo sales.

Rated on various parameters such as cargo tonnage handled, transfer cargo handled and revenue generated from cargo operations at IGI Airport in the financial year 2016, Jet Airways consistently achieved the highest rating amongst its peers. Commenting on the honour, Gaurang Shetty, Whole-time Director, Jet Airways, said "This award recognises the efforts undertaken by Jet Airways in expanding our cargo operations – both in India and abroad.

We will further keep striving to improve the quality of our offerings in the fields of customer service, products and network of service. With India emerging as a flourishing trade destination, Jet Airways aims to be the preferred choice for traders to ship their cargo."

Pradeep Kumar, Senior Vice President, Cargo, Jet Airways, added, "We are delighted to receive this award since it is a glowing testament of our consistent initiatives towards offering excellent cargo services. This honour will further motivate the team to go beyond the traditional approach and find new means to improve services so that it benefits our customers. Seamless cargo operations also ensure that customers continue to put their trust in us and therefore it augments long term profitability of the business."

Pom Warakorn Komutanont, Vice President – Customer Service, Airport Services, Jet Airways, Ranjeet Rana – Manager, Cargo, Jet Airways and Rakesh Chawla, General Manager – North India, Airport Services, Jet Airways were present at the recent ceremony to receive the award. The certificate of excellence and award were presented to Jet Airways by G R K Babu, CFO, Delhi International (Pvt.) Ltd. and Indana Prabhakara Rao, CEO, Delhi International (Pvt.) Ltd. The GMR – IGI Awards is an annual event held by Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, which recognises the best performers in the aviation industry for the past year and awards partnerships between airlines and airports. These awards help develop IGI Airport as an important global air hub. The IGI Airport Awards, first held in 2012, has become one of the most important aviation events in India recognising the efforts of Indian airlines in categories such as Operations, Commercial, Cargo and Innovation of the Year.

Emirates taps Delhi with new freighter service E mirates SkyCargo has strengthened its footprint in the Far East and Indian subcontinent with the launch of a new weekly freighter service from Hong Kong to Dubai via Delhi from June 2016.

The new weekly service has been introduced to tap increasing cargo movements between Hong Kong, the world’s top cargo hub and Delhi, India’s busiest cargo hub. Some of the key exports carried by Emirates SkyCargo from Hong Kong to India include

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Global Shippers’ Forum to hold workshops at ACF

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he Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) will welcome shippers from across the globe, and host a series of practical workshops at the Air Cargo Forum (ACF), that will take place in Paris (October 26-28, 2016). GSF will host a pavilion, and GSF members will benefit from access to TIACA’s oneto-one meeting scheduler, CargoLinX, to make the most of their time at the show.

“The GSF represents the interests of shippers globally and campaigns on the issues that most affect them,” said Chris Welsh, Secretary General, GSF. “The GSF has taken the lead in air cargo industry cooperation and was a founder member of the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG), established to enhance the air cargo product and to jointly campaign on key issues with regulators and key international organisations such as ICAO and WCO,” he added and pointed out that GSF valued its cooperation with TIACA and that the ACF was an ideal opportunity for “our members to network with suppliers and peers, and take part in practical workshops which will help them run more efficient supply chains”.

pharmaceutical raw materials, electronics and machinery.

From Delhi, Emirates SkyCargo connects customers to over 150 destinations around the world via its hub in Dubai. Key exports from Delhi include leather goods, garments, pharmaceuticals and perishables.

In addition to providing businesses in both locations with increased opportunities to access new markets, the new service from Hong Kong to Delhi facilitates growing trade flows between the Far East Asia and India. Emirates SkyCargo also operates freighter services twice a week from Shanghai to Mumbai and onwards to Dubai and 18 dedicated cargo flights from Hong Kong to Dubai.

Emirates SkyCargo will operate the service with a Boeing 777-F, providing 100 tonnes of cargo capacity with one of the widest main deck cargo doors to facilitate the uplifting of large cargo consignments.

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

Etihad Cargo touches Brussels

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tihad Cargo has commenced a new twice weekly A330 freighter service to Brussels Airport in Belgium further strengthening the connectivity options and economic ties between Abu Dhabi and Brussels, and adding freighter capacity to its existing passenger service.

The airline already flies a daily passenger service to Brussels with its supporting bellyhold cargo, and the addition of the freighter underlines Belgium’s importance to its European network.

MIAL opens new cargo terminal

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o cater to the e-commerce led growth in volume, Mumbai airport recently opened its new common use domestic cargo terminal. The new terminal would be used by all airlines except Air India and Blue Dart.

Both have their own cargo handling facilities.

The new terminal has an annual handling capacity of three lakh metric tonnes (mt) and would be run by Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) on a revenue share basis with the airport operator. A Mumbai International Airport Limited official pointed out that the cargo unit was expecting seven-eight per cent growth in domestic cargo this year and that growth was largely led by the e-commerce business. The new terminal, he said, would bring better productivity and efficiency. The airport was also aiming to bring innovation and reduce dwell time.

David Kerr, Vice President of Etihad Cargo, said: “Brussels is an important route into Europe with the freight operation returning to full strength, so as part of our plans to expand further this year, we are pleased to begin operating in and out of the city.

Brussels provides vital connections across Europe and is also a key connector into Africa so we know that it will be another important route on our global freighter network.”

As a leading European gateway, Brussels Airport will further benefit Etihad Cargo’s operations with its dedicated infrastructure for the transport and handling of products that require an unbroken cold chain, particularly pharmaceutical products and perishables. Etihad Cargo launched its own specialised product for the pharmaceutical industry, TempCheck, in March 2015.

Its service ensures that all temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products including blood plasma, tablets, medicines and anaesthetics are transported in compliance with industry and regulatory guidelines. TempCheck incorporates the latest equipment, processes and operating procedures to keep all pharmaceutical products within a temperature controlled environment at every stage of the journey. The programme is supervised by experienced Etihad Cargo teams and supporting ground handling staff.

The new freighter connection for Etihad Cargo will provide seamless connectivity over the Abu Dhabi hub to 58 destinations in the carrier’s global network and over 1000 weekly connections.

American Airlines cargo transports 10,000 flags

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or the Memorial Day event in Washington DC, American Airlines Cargo joined with nonprofit organisation Operation Honor our Heroes to transport 10,000 American flags from Dallas Fort Worth to Ronaid Reagan Washington.

The 2,312-pound shipment donated by American included one flag for every 120 service members, who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The flags transported on a Boeing 757, the flight’s captain made a well-received in-flight announcement, introducing the important cargo

onboard.

Founder of Operation Honor our Heroes Nancy Glass said, “The cargo personnel of American Airlines ensured the flags for the fallen were transferred with dignity and honour.”

“Personnel were extremely courteous and helpful and made a very difficult mission seamless and efficient. The overwhelming, emotional response of the public at the National Mall for the display reinforced our commitment and dedication to honouring our nation's fallen heroes. We will never forget,” she added.

Lufthansa Cargo slashes 800 jobs

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ufthansa Cargo is all set to cut 800 full time employee positions as part of its C40 cost cutting programme in order to save €80 million per year. Lufthansa will now focus on new products and innovative solutions in order to be more competitive. Lufthansa cargo currently employees around 4600 people with most of the reductions taking place via early retirement. It will cut about 500 jobs in Germany.

One of the reasons for this cost cutting CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

is the carrier’s drop in earnings due to weak demand and overcapacity. In 2015 the Lufthansa Logistics division posted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of €3m, down from €123m in 2014. As part of its revamp it will be offering new services like transport solutions to private customers and investing in e-commerce services. Lufthansa Cargo in a statement said, "These job cuts will be as socially acceptable as possible."

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AVIATION UPDATE

Vistara hits the two-million mark

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astest growing full service carrier Vistara recently crossed the milestone of flying two million customers.

With the lineage of great brands — Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines — Vistara has gained a million customers in less than six months with addition of just two aircraft to its fleet. The airline with its focus on providing a personalised and seamless flying experience delivered with intuitive thoughtfulness has been steadily gaining in popularity across the country, according to a release.

In a short span of 17 months, Vistara has rapidly grown its fleet and expanded its network across India.

Catering to the growing demand, the carrier now serves 17 destinations with 457 weekly frequencies and connects India better with many via and connecting flights.

Preeti Bhaskar, who was travelling from Delhi to Guwahati on flight no UK 868 was identified as Vistara’s two millionth customer. As Vistara’s special customer, Bhaskar received a welcome by airlines’ crew at Delhi airport. Originally booked to travel in Economy Class, Bhaskar was pleasantly surprised by a courtesy upgrade to Business Class and courtesy access to Vistara’s recently inaugurated signature lounge at T3, Delhi. She was also felicitated by the CEO of the airline with a complimentary Club Vistara Gold membership.

Conveying her excitement on being the two millionth customer, Preeti Bhaskar, said, “I am a frequent traveler and for me this was just another business trip on a new airline until I realized I was Vistara’s two millionth customer.

I am very honoured and pleased to be a part of Vistara’s celebrations as they simply turned my ordinary day into a memorable one. From the warm reception at the checkin counter to the airport celebrations and from the heartwarming service at the lounge and onboard, it was truly a new feeling of flying this time.” Expressing delight on this occasion, Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara said, “The sense of accomplishment we feel is a truly joyous experience.

We are glad that so many customers have appreciated Vistara’s differentiated offering and unique value proposi-

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tion. I would like to express my gratitude to all the customers who have shown faith in Vistara and made us their preferred airline. It is their sincere support and feedback that has helped us grow stronger and more confident. I would like to assure all our customers that my team and I remain committed to bringing joy back to flying in India and transforming the flying experience in India forever.”

In 2016, Vistara’s current fleet will grow to 13 aircraft, leading to introduction of new destinations and increased frequencies to the existing network offering more choices of departure and arrival to Vistara customers. New strategic partnerships with airline and non-airline brands are in the pipeline which will further strengthen Vistara’s value proposition for its FFP (Club Vistara) members.

More Delhi-Guwahati flights: Effective June 18, the airline has started operating double daily flights on the DelhiGuwahati route. With the addition of new route, Vistara now offers connections to Guwahati from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Srinagar, and from Guwahati to Bagdogra, and to Mumbai and Ahmedabad via Delhi.

Port Blair added to network: Vistara recently announced the addition of Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, as its 18th destination, effective September 30, 2016. Port Blair will be served daily from Kolkata and from New Delhi (same aircraft service via Kolkata). With this new flight, frequency between Delhi and Kolkata will also increase to three flights daily. The twice daily service to Kolkata from Delhi had commenced on June 10 this year, and has seen very high demand for Vistara’s product.

First anniversary: Vistara celebrated the first anniversary of its operation to Bengaluru. The service, which commenced on June 16, 2015, has flown close to 90,000 customers in its first year. Starting with one daily flight from Bengaluru, the airline has expanded its operation to thrice daily to Delhi and once daily to Mumbai from Bengaluru. The services have been operated by three class Airbus A320 aircraft.

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

Daily AI flights to Surat National carrier Air India started its daily services from New Delhi to Surat from June 2, almost five months after it had curtailed operations to the diamond city due to paucity of aircraft. Earlier, the airline operated five times a week with CRJ-700s.

The decision to enhance connectivity was driven by growing air travel demand on the route, the Air India said. The carrier had, in January this year, reduced the frequency of its service to Surat following shortage of aircraft at its Delhi base.

No flights on Kolkata-DurgapurDelhi route: Air India discontinued its operation on the KolkataDurgapur-Delhi route from June 17, six months after its inauguration, due to operational reasons. The carrier had launched services on the Kolkata-DurgapurKolkata route with a 44-seater ATR aircraft in May 2015.

Later, in December, it extended the route to Delhi after introducing a 122-seater Airbus 319. An AI spokesperson said, “Due to operational reasons, we have decided to stop the flight services.”

IndiGo enhances domestic network

Yoga in the air and on the ground

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ow-cost carrier Indigo has launched 38 new domestic flights. Effective June 1, the airline introduced its first daily direct flight on the Kolkata-Lucknow route. The carrier also added daily non-stop flights connecting the cities of Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Pune, Delhi-Lucknow, DelhiChennai, Delhi-Ahmedabad, Delhi- Bengaluru, Delhi-Goa, Delhi-Kochi, Delhi–Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Chennai-Kolkata, Chennai-Pune, from June 1.

IndiGo also added additional flights between Ahmedabad-Hyderabad, Chennai-Hyderabad, Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram, which operates four times a week.

Commenting on the new flight schedule, Aditya Ghosh, President IndiGo said, “We are delighted to announce the take-off of these new flight services, while also introducing a new route on our domestic network. India needs more air travel and we are happy to take advantage of this opportunity to provide more choices to our customers with our hassle-free and consistent product that IndiGo has become synonymous with. We are confident that these flights will prove to be popular and convenient to our passengers.”

GoAir inducts first A320neo

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oAir took the delivery of its first A320neo aircraft recently. With that induction, the airline added the aircraft in the existing fleet of 19 A320 aircraft.

Speaking on the occasion, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, GoAir said, “GoAir is delighted to welcome the A320neo into its fleet. With the induction of the first of our 72 neo aircraft on order, we have reached a fleet strength of 20 aircraft. With this expansion we will be able to strengthen our domestic network and will also be available to fly on international routes.”

Premium lounges from SpiceJet

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ow-cost carrier SpiceJet has opened its new premium lounges at Varanasi, Jaipur and Guwahati, offering its customers an exquisite space to unwind, munch, indulge and even work at one’s own leisure just before they take their flight.

These lounges have been opened as Club One Class Lounge, International Airport at Jaipur; Zesto Lounge, SHA, Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at Varanasi and Prive Lounge at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati.

Amit Srivastava, Vice President, Business Development, SpiceJet said, “Air travel is no more a luxury today, and with more flyers availing it even more frequently for business and other purposes, an exquisite ambience with added amenities has become

a brand necessity. With our current launches and new ones going forward, we are looking forward to offering our customers a delicate experience even through their busy schedules.”

Hot Masala Chai on-board: Chaayos has launched a customized instant Masala Chai mix, exclusively for SpiceJet travellers and customers can either pre-book or buy their favourite cup of chai on-board. Commenting about the tie-up with Chaayos, SpiceJet Spokesperson Ajay Jasra said, “SpiceJet is a people’s brand and our sustained efforts are always towards nurturing the ‘experience’ that our customers have with us. Chaayos is an expert in customised tea and with this partnership, we look forward to our customers savouring the chai drinking experience with us even while being on-board.”

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

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aving pioneered the concept of on-board yoga with its - ‘High on Yoga@35000 feet’ initiative last year, partnered with Isha Foundation again this year to execute the programme on June 21, 2016.

SpiceJet has constituted this unique programme where the carrier’s crew trained by the Isha Foundation instructors perform Upa-Yoga practices specifically designed to be done on board long haul flights. Travellers are encouraged to participate in performing travelfriendly practices themselves while seated. Upa-Yoga is a simple yet powerful system of exercise designed

by Sadhguru activates joints, muscles and the energy system. In addition to these benefits, the practices also help passengers overcome jet lag, fear of flying and breathing difficulties.

Around 40 SpiceJet crew members specially trained to perform Upa-Yoga trained by dedicated Isha instructors undertook a ten minutes session on board, across the SpiceJet network.

Kamal Hingorani Sr. VP & Head of Inflight Services and Customer Experience, SpiceJet on the occasion said, “Yoga is hailed as India’s gift to the world and having pioneered ‘High on Yoga@35000 feet’ last year, SpiceJet gifted on-board yoga to flyers in India and abroad. When it comes to innovations in aviation and ardent customer engagements, we have many firsts to our credit but this one is special as it enables us to uphold India’s cultural heritage in a unique manner.”

The program had been exclusively sketched for flights exceeding two hours. SpiceJet will continue to offer this initiative in association with Isha Foundation on an ongoing basis.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport celebrated International Day of Yoga with the fliers and airport community. The Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL), a GMR-led consortium, in association with Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthanam University, organized this unique event. I Prabhakara Rao, CEO-DIAL inaugurated the International Day of Yoga near the popular ‘Surya Namaskar’ statue at the Terminal 3 domestic departure area. Prabhakara Rao said: “Yoga is a scientific way of life that focuses on bringing harmony between soul and body to attain self-realisation. Through the practice of Yoga Asana people get rid of all kinds of sufferings and achieve a sense of freedom in every walk of life with holistic health and happiness. We want to inculcate the habit of Yoga practice among our fliers and employees, who lead a very fast paced lifestyle.”

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AVIATION UPDATE

BA offers extra luggage for students B

ritish Airways has, once again, announced its annual offer for students travelling from India to the UK, Europe, US and Canada.

The offer allows an extra piece of luggage weighing up to 23kg per passenger, in addition to the current allowance of one checked bag. British Airways has also partnered with Jabong, Airbnb, HDFC Credila Student Loans and Matrix to bring more benefits and further enhance students’ travel experience.

The British Airways student offer is valid for outbound travel till September 30, 2016 and students can enjoy this offer on any of the 49 flights a week from New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Moran Birger, British Airways' Regional Commercial Manager, South Asia said, “Studying abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people. We understand that packing for their studies could pose quite a challenge to a lot of students and their parents. British Airways is proud to continue its long standing tradition to support students from India with the generous baggage allowance and the total stress-free flight connecting experience. Our codeshare agreement with American Airlines offers our young customers an additional advantage to choose from an extensive network that covers more than 200 destinations in the world.”

Students will be entitled to a full refund in case of visa application rejection by any country embassy that is a part of the ticketed itinerary of their journey from India. There will be no penalty.

Virgin goes extra mile for students flying from India

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survey conducted in June this year by Virgin Atlantic has revealed the essential items that students want to pack when they study abroad – with home food and fashion topping the list.

The study reveals that if students were allowed to carry extra baggage, 35 per cent would pack more food items while 32 per cent said they would take all their shoes. In addition to food, apparel and shoes students also love to carry sports equipment and music instruments as they shift their base to another country for a few years.

Additionally, as per the findings 40 per cent of the students who book their airline tickets in advance usually end up changing their date of travel and about 32 per cent of them have to incur a date change fee. Having factored these trends amongst students who travel abroad, Virgin Atlantic being a student-friendly airline has created customised offers to make travel more convenient for students.

Students travelling with Virgin Atlantic can avail the special check-in baggage allowance of up to 69kg in Economy — three bags of 23kg each in addition to 10kg of hand baggage and one piece of sports equipment at no extra charge. This offer will allow students one date change free of charge.

Nick Parker, Head of India and Middle East, Virgin Atlantic Airways commented, “At Virgin Atlantic we put the customer at the heart of everything we do and will continue to ensure that flying Virgin Atlantic is always that

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little bit more special and more magical. We are pleased to offer students flying to the UK and US a generous baggage allowance and free date change to ensure they can carry their home comforts while studying abroad. We also have student travel advisors at our contact centre to help them with all their travel related queries.’’

Shivani Singh Deo, Marketing and Communications Manager, Virgin Atlantic India added, “We will continue to surprise and delight CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

our customers and understand the importance of extra baggage for students when they travel abroad for studies. To help them kick start their journey hassle free, we have put together this offer to champion their needs.’’

Virgin Atlantic offers a daily connection between Delhi and London Heathrow providing excellent links to the UK and for onward flights to USA.The airline has announced a special offer to allow students travelling to the UK and US to carry extra home comforts.

SIA readies to launch its longest flight

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ome October 23, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will launch non-stop flights between Singapore and San Francisco and will add a second daily service to Los Angeles in an expansion of its US operations. The non-stop Singapore-San Francisco flights will be operated on a daily basis using Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

SIA currently serves San Francisco twicedaily, with one flight operating via Hong Kong and the other via Seoul Incheon. With the launch of non-stop Singapore-San Francisco services, the Singapore-Seoul-San Francisco flight will be rerouted to operate as a Singapore-Seoul-Los Ange-

flydubai flies to Prague

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ubai-based flydubai has begun daily operations to Prague from July 1, an increase from four weekly flights. With this additional frequency, flydubai operates a 49 flights a week to 11 points in Central and Eastern Europe. “We are delighted to offer more flights to Prague,” commented Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai.

“Prague remains a popular destination for our passengers in the GCC. We also look forward to providing those in Europe with more choice and more opportunities to visit Dubai and beyond on our network. Our strategic base in Dubai allows passengers to benefit from flydubai's interline agreements with other carriers, providing opportunities for onward travel to more than 200 destinations.” flydubai has been operating flights to Prague since 2014. Alongside Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Skopje, Sarajevo, Sofia and Zagreb, it is part of the airline’s network in Central and Eastern Europe. “With the start of daily flights to Prague we are offering greater convenience and the value for money that our passengers expect. With WiFi connectivity and Live TV as our latest product offerings, flydubai is an airline that continues to innovate,” said Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President Commercial (UAE, EU, ME, CIS) for flydubai.

AirAsia hardsells KLIA2 as LCCT2

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irAsia recently announced that it would launch a campaign to promote the budget terminal KLIA2 as Low-Cost Carrier Terminal 2 (LCCT2), and reinforce Kuala Lumpur's position as the leading low-cost gateway to Asia and beyond. AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “As we grow towards becoming the Dubai of Asia, we want the world to know that the best value fares are here in Malaysia."

He went on to add, "To me, KLIA2 doesn't mean anything. LCCT2, on the other hand, is synonymous with low-cost. It is a brand that we built up together with Malaysia Airports and it shouldn't go to waste. I urge MAHB to stop denying the fact that it is a low-cost hub.”

AirAsia currently operates over 220 flights daily to and from Kuala Lumpur. Fliers can conveniently connect to over 100 destinations in 24 countries via Kuala Lumpur using AirAsia's Fly-Thru service. Fly-Thru allows guests to transit at Kuala Lumpur and other key hubs without having to pass immigration and with their baggage checked through to the final destination.

AirAsia Berhad CEO Aireen Omar said, “AirAsia group occupies 97 per cent of operations at LCCT with an average of 37,000 guests daily. Last year, AirAsia Group flew over 2.3 million guests into our main hub in Kuala Lumpur. Additionally, 1.3 million Fly-Thru guests came through Kuala Lumpur. As of May this year, close to 700,000 guests have done the same, including significant traffic from Singapore. In fact, Singapore-India is one of our top five most popular Fly-Thru pairings.

Malaysians used to go to Singapore to catch onward flights. The fact that Singaporeans are now coming here shows the strength of our wide network and we are the Asian low-cost hub.”

CRUISING HEIGHTS July 2016

les service, also from October 23, 2016. This will result in a second daily service to Los Angeles, complementing existing flights that operate on a Singapore-Tokyo Narita-Los Angeles routing.

Flying time for the new Singapore-San Francisco services will be between 14:35 hrs and 17:45 hrs depending on direction and time of year, over a journey of around 13,600km.

They will be the longest flights in SIA’s network until 2018, when a new variant of the A350-900 will enter service, enabling even longer flights between Singapore and both Los Angeles and New York. SIA is the launch customer for the new variant, the A350-900ULR, with seven of the type on order. “Our customers have been asking us to offer more US services and we are pleased to be able to do so. With new non-stop San Francisco flights and the increase in frequency to Los Angeles, customers will have two flights to choose from each day to both of these popular US West Coast destinations,” said Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, Lee Wen Fen. SIA has at the same time taken the difficult decision to suspend services to Sao Paulo in Brazil as a result of the sustained weak performance of the route.

Emirates Pass woos fliers to Dubai

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mirates passengers can experience more of Dubai this summer by enjoying deep discounts and exclusive offers across the city with My Emirates Pass, launched jointly with Department of Economic Development in Dubai.

Passengers flying on the airline to or through Dubai between June 1 and August 31, 2016 can take advantage of a range of offers at some of Dubai's best known hotspots by simply showing their boarding pass and a valid form of identification.

Special discounts and offers at over 65 restaurants and hotel dining outlets, 10 leisure experiences ranging from desert safaris, golf course packages and helicopter tours in addition to a range of spa experiences can be accessed for less with My Emirates Pass in Dubai.

Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, Executive Director Commercial Compliance & the Consumer Protection Sector said, "The Department of Economic Development in Dubai ensures that Dubai's visitors enjoy a memorable shopping experience, and we want to make Dubai their preferred destination to shop, dine, sightsee and so much more. The joint initiative between the Department of Economic Development and Emirates aims to provide tourists and consumers with the best that Dubai has to offer."

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BACK PAGE

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o, you love airplanes. But, how much?

Well, there are a handful of “artists” around the world who love flying machines so much that they want to preserve them. No, these airplanes do not become museum pieces. Instead they shed their parts to beautify homes and offices.

Using reclaimed, authentic aircraft parts, from both military and civilian aircraft is steeped in history, but the Britain, Bath-based Fallen Furniture, for example, takes pride in exploring the most innovative ways to breathe new life into “these remarkable feats of engineering to design and create pieces of art and furniture”. Each piece of Fallen Furniture is

an aircraft recycling center in South Florida.”

Intrepid Design based in Luton, England, also does the same kind of work. “Our vision is to design and create extraordinary and unique contemporary aviation furniture and objects d’art from vintage aircraft parts,” says the website. “At the heart of each stunning item is a component that represents the pinnacle of aviation engineering and a part of aircraft history. Our experienced team of expert designers, engineers and crafts-people borrow from many years of experience to transform these remarkable forms into stunning pieces of bespoke aviation furniture for both home and workplace.”

The range of bespoke aircraft furniture includes tables, seating, vintage and rare collectibles

RECLAIM HISTORY – WITH A TOUCH OF ART meticulously crafted with “an emphasis on originality and personality, resulting in a distinctive and decorative tribute to aviation heritage and engineering, guaranteed to intrigue, to captivate, and to inspire conversation in any home or place of business”.

Like Fallen Furniture, there is Minneapolis-based Aero Art Shop. Started in 2015 by the owners of Aircraft Demolition, the furniture department is the brainchild of Tim Zemanovic, CEO of Aircraft Demolition, who saved parts from projects for years, despite workers and outsiders commenting that he was losing money by not scrapping them. Finally, Aero Art Shop was born.

Once a week, five members of the company, who are dedicated solely to create the works of furniture and art for the shop, gather for a “mock-up” day. Each team member pitches an idea for their piece, but all end up contributing to the finished product, depending on their skill.

Then there is InterFlight Studio, founded in 2003 by Oscar and Yvette Garcia, that features “everything aviation” fine art and furniture.

According to Yvette Garicia, “At InterFlight Studio we find materials, shapes and stance on certain parts that have artistic tension even before they are converted by us, or other designers into works of art. Most parts were found at

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CRUISING HEIGHTS June 2016

and ejector seats. Each item, say the makers, is guaranteed to provide an eye-catching centrepiece to any room.

SkyART from Turkey is a leading supplier for aviation themed home and office furniture, as well as aircraft cabin mock-up units that every airline cabin crew training facility needs. The company specialises in refurbishing old aircraft parts into unique decorative items and furniture for every taste. SkyArt's aiplane furniture designs are used in hotels, restaurants, bars, public transport, VIP vehicle refurbishment and events. There is also AviArt Australia that specializes in turning airline galley carts into bar trolleys that features hand painted nose art which is identical to the same painted on a WWII aircraft and the Paris-based Coudamy Architectures that turns airplane innards into works of art, saying that “these marvels of engineering with their ultra functional curves resulting from uncompromising technical research, are diverted from their original function in order to be integrated in our daily lives, thus offering them a second life”.

RNI NO. DELENG/2006/16897, POSTAL REG NO. DL(E) 01/5294/2015-17, PUBLICATION DATE: 1ST OF EVERY MONTH, POSTING DATE: 8-9TH EVERY MONTH