Indian-Aviation

Troubled domestic carrier Jet Airways has acquired six Boeing aircraft and their engines against a lump sum payment of $13,000,000 – which it raised from the sale of its office building in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) business area of Mumbai. The lessor Fleet Ireland has held back the aircraft due to non-payment of dues, the Hindu BusinessLine  reported . Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. The airliner has faced a series of accusations of unpaid dues, even being dragged to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) since it was grounded in April 2019. Creditors have their eyes fixed on the resolution plan for the airline, submitted by two bidders – a consortium of Haryana-based Flight Simulation Technique Centre, Mumbai-based Big Charter and Abu Dhabi-based Imperial Capital Investments LLC; and a consortium of Kalrock Capital and a UAE-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan. In its recent Q4FY19 results, the company said losses had “significantly increased” to Rs 5,53

Joining pilots in their fight against discriminatory pay cuts, Air India (AI) aircraft maintenance engineers (AME) on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to urge the aviation ministry to revisit the salary issue. The letter, written by the Joint Forum Of Air India, suggested ways for the airlines to cut costs by replacing the re-hired retired employees (who are paid high salaries), with freshers. This the letter claimed, would help AI save around ₹30 crore-₹40 crore. Another suggestion was to ask all Indian registered airlines to repair 25% of their aircraft with Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), which according to the AMEs, would create additional revenue upward of ₹800 crore for the company. Requesting Modi to revoke their salary cuts, the letter read, “This is the right opportunity to take corrective actions, including an overhaul of the top management, to eradicate the miss-management and previous wrong policy decisions.” The Air India spoke

Global airlines cut their coronavirus recovery forecast on Tuesday, saying it would take until 2024 - a year longer than previously expected - for passenger traffic to return to pre-crisis levels. In an update on the pandemic's crippling impact on air travel, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) cited slow virus containment in the United States and developing countries, and a weaker outlook for corporate travel. Lingering travel barriers and new restrictions in some markets are also weighing on nearer-term prospects, IATA said, cutting its 2020 passenger numbers forecast to a 55% decline - sharper than the 46% drop predicted in April. "The second half of this year will see a slower recovery than we'd hoped," IATA Chief Economist Brian Pearce said. June passenger numbers were down 86.5% year-on-year, the organisation said, after a 91% contraction in May. A surprise move by Britain to quarantine arrivals from Spain has created lot of uncertainty, Pearce sa

InterGlobe Aviation, the parent firm of  IndiGo , on Wednesday reported a net loss of  ₹ 2,844.3 crore for the quarter ended on June 30. The coronavirus pandemic has severely affected the airlines industry across the globe. The budget carrier posted a profit of  ₹ 1,203 crore for the same quarter last year. The revenue from operations plunged 91.9% year-on-year to  ₹ 766.7 crore during the June quarter. "The aviation industry is going through a crisis of survival and therefore, our cash balance remains our number one priority. However, we also recognize that major disruptions offer companies opportunities for improvement in product, customer preference, costs and employee engagement. We have built a strong team which is working on multiple fronts to ensure that we emerge from this crisis stronger than ever," said Ranojoy Dutta, CEO of the company. Total income for the quarter ended June was  ₹ 1,143.8 crore, a decrease of 88.3% over the same period last year, the company said

AirAsia India passed the 10 million seat mark last year as the carrier’s share of the country’s burgeoning domestic market increased to 6.2%. But AirAsia India’s going has not been straightforward, with the carrier set up with the intention of operating underserved routes involving tier two and tier three airports away from major, costly, and congested metropolises. Yet AirAsia India’s initial routes in June 2014 – Bangalore to Goa, Chennai, and Kochi – had five, six, and three competitors respectively.  By the time the carrier began, LCCs had already captured 64% of the country’s domestic market, based on OAG Schedules data, with most modelling themselves on AirAsia, meaning it was bringing relatively little to the table. AirAsia India was as far from a first-mover – as the Group’s units try to achieve – as could be imagined. Now, both AirAsia Group and Tata are reportedly trying to sell their share in the carrier, with the airline Group describing it – and its Japan sister – as perip

A consortium of Flight Simulation Technique Centre, Big Charter and Imperial Capital Investments LLC has reportedly secured $100 million that will be pumped into Jet Airways in order to revive the grounded airline. This consortium is one of the two bidders that submitted resolution plans for Jet Airways earlier this week. It was shortlisted along with three entities by lenders for Jet Airways' insolvency process back in June. Biraja Jena, Chairman of Dubai-based Imperial Capital, told Moneycontrol that they have secured $100 million from their partners. The investment banking and wealth management firm has also roped in Middle Eastern business house Taha Group as one of the investors in the consortium. The second consortium that has submitted resolution plan for Jet Airways was the consortium of London-based financial services firm Kalrock Capital and entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan. Both parties had submitted their bids on July 21. The deadline for corporate insolvency resolution pr

Aircraft maintenance engineers  are responsible for the safety of planes and helicopters, without this vital work taking place behind the scenes, aircrafts would remain grounded. In such a technical line of work it is important to have the correct qualifications and certifications, this article outlines these requirements and how to get them. Recommended Qualifications Aviation activities in Europe are regulated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, with the UK Civil Aviation Authority tasked with implementing these regulations in the United Kingdom. Due to the complexity of aircraft maintenance, there are a number of different licence categories which allow engineers to train in different areas, at various levels. Line Maintenance Certifying Mechanic  – This role requires a Category A Licence and allows an engineer to carry out minor maintenance tasks and replace parts on an operational aircraft that is in service. These tasks usually take place during flight turn arounds and at nig

Indian budget airline  SpiceJet  doesn’t grab the big headlines, given that it’s overshadowed by state-owned Air India. Yet a look at how SpiceJet has expanded its software development work and hired more engineers — including its acquisition last week of the tech consultancy  Travenues  — tells a broader industry story. Low-cost carriers worldwide face daunting challenges, and SpiceJet, India’s second-largest airline by passengers flown, illustrates some of the ways to respond to the crisis. It has reduced staff interactions with passengers at airports to ensure social distancing, and it has revved up its operational efficiency during a time of reduced revenue. “We took the opportunity that the pandemic provided to do a lot of innovation not just for SpiceJet but for aviation in India, in general,” said Ashish Vikram, chief technology and innovation officer. Reducing crowds at airports is critical to ensuring social distancing as air travel recovers. SpiceJet and other airlines have b

For the second time in a month, aviation consultancy Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) - India, on Monday reiterated that the Indian aviation industry needs an immediate plan to deal with the ongoing financial crisis and warned that the sector is headed for a “challenging future” owing to the restrictions imposed by the government. In a series of tweets, CAPA- India said, “Indian aviation is headed for a very challenging future given the regulatory constraints imposed on the sector 1) domestic capacity limited to 45% 2) fare bands extended for three months 3) int’l travel restricted to a handful of travel bubbles. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that demand is very weak. Load factors are just 50-55% even with limited operations. And all this is happening at a time when most carriers have no cash and raising capital is very challenging. The viability of Indian aviation will be critical to support India’s economic recovery post-COVID.” Kapil Kaul, chief executive officer (

Following an airworthiness directive by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) asking operators to conduct an immediate inspection of the world’s most common narrow-bodied airliner Boeing 737, domestic aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), directed carriers SpiceJet, Vistara and Air India Express to inspect these planes in their fleet. The US FAA ordered the inspection on account of these airlines being at the risk of losing power in both engines after being put in storage as a result of flight bans instituted across the world. While a SpiceJet spokesperson said the directive applies to only a small part of its fleet of 82 Boeing 737s, Vistara said it has completed the inspection on all six of its Boeing 737 planes. Air India Express could not be reached for a comment. “The majority of our planes have completed ten cycles already and are not affected by this AD (airworthiness directive),” the SpiceJet spokesperson said. In India, most aircraft were

India Ratings has downgraded GoAir's long-term issuer rating to IND BBB+ from IND A-, expressing concerns over the group's operating performance in FY20. The rating agency maintained Go Airlines on Rating Watch Negative (RWN). "The downgrade reflects the decline in GoAir’s operating performance in FY20 and the likelihood of further deterioration in the same in FY21 along with a weakening of the liquidity profile following the COVID-19 outbreak and associated lockdown," India Ratings said in a  statement . The aviation sector is one of the sectors most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. India had banned all commercial flights for two months, and resumed only domestic flight operations on May 25. India Ratings forecasts a sharp deterioration in GoAir's revenue and operating performance in FY21. India Ratings also said its is tracking funding support provided by the promoters, Wadia Group, to the airline. "The promoters play an active role in the airline'

Air India's northern regional office has formed a committee to identify the "redundant" or "surplus" employees who would be asked to go on a compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to five years. An official order in this regard was issued on Tuesday. Air India  issued an internal order on July 14, asking its departmental heads and regional directors to identify the employees, based on various factors such as efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on a compulsory LWP for up to five years. Moreover, the national carrier had said the employees can voluntarily opt for the LWP scheme too. P S Negi, Regional Director (RD), Northern Region, Air India, issued an order on July 21, stating that following the July 14 order, an empowered committee is being constituted for the identification of "redundant/surplus manpower resources". Negi's order, which has been accessed by PTI, said the general manager (personnel), general manager (finance) and

A week after announcing layoffs,  IndiGo  is now implementing the second round of pay cuts, with CEO Ronojoy Dutta taking a 35 percent trim in his salary. Dutta, in a mail to employees, said the cuts are necessary to adjust the airline's cost structure to the decline in revenues. While the CEO is taking a cut of 35 percent, senior vice presidents will see their salary reduce by 30 percent. The cut for pilots is 28 percent, for Vice Presidents 25 percent and 15 percent for associate vice presidents. Apart from the pay cuts, each department has been asked to take a monthly decision on the number of employees to be sent on leave without pay. This is the second round of pay cuts, after the first one in May. Dutta had then taken a cut of 25 percent. Earlier in the month,  IndiGo had announced the layoff of 10 percent of its employees. "And from where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order

Airlines are taking extreme measures to survive the pandemic, with Asiana Airlines Inc. flying the world’s biggest commercial plane more than 20 times, going nowhere and carrying no passengers, just to keep trainee pilots certified. Keeping crew flight-ready is one of the challenges carriers face as they grapple with the unprecedented crisis that keeps more than a third of the world’s fleet grounded. The empty  Airbus SE A380  flew over South Korea for a few hours a day for three days in May to enable pilots of the 495-seat superjumbo to practice taking off and landing. The alternative -- a trip to Thailand to use a simulator owned by Thai Airways International Pcl -- was blocked because of travel bans, an Asiana spokesman said. “Takeoffs and landings of this plane cost a lot of money, and it’s money that needs to be used wisely, especially these days," said Um Kyung-a, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities Co. in Seoul. “Asiana is in a bind because it also can’t afford for its pilot

About 400,000 airline workers have been fired, furloughed or told they may lose their jobs due to the coronavirus, according to Bloomberg calculations. The aviation industry has suffered more than most as the pandemic destroys ticket sales and strips companies of cash. Airlines the world over have drastically cut back on flights due to border restrictions and a lack of appetite for travel, particularly internationally, because people are worried about contracting the virus and spending lengthy periods in quarantine. British Airways, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Emirates Airline and Qantas Airways Ltd. are among the carriers announcing thousands of dismissals and unpaid leave programs. Many more are expected in the U.S. after a ban on job cuts -- a condition of a $50 billion government bailout -- is lifted at the end of September. Delta Air Lines Inc., United Airlines Holdings Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. have already warned about 35,000 employees that their jobs are at risk. The tri

The civil aviation ministry today extended the restrictions on  domestic flights  till November 24 or until further notice in the view of COVID-19 pandemic. The cap on airfares will remain in effect till the same period. In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, the aviation ministry implemented a cap on domestic airfare in May. India started operating domestic flights after a gap of two months in the last week of May. The  domestic flights in India  have a cap on fares with both an upper and lower limit. While the upper price limit is aimed at preventing any sharp rise in fares due to pent-up demand, the lower limit will help ensure that financial viability of airlines does not suffer amid high costs, Puri earlier said. Flights between cities that are under 40 minutes have been classified under section one, while those under 40-60 minutes are under section two. Section three consists of destinations 60-90 minutes apart by flight, section four comprises cities 90-120 minutes apart, section

Some employees of Air India have succumbed to  COVID-19  , an official circular of the airline has said, as it announced a fixed compensation amount for the next of kin. However, Air India spokesperson did not respond to PTI queries on how many employees have been infected and have died due to  coronavirus . The internal circular dated July 20 noted that “many employees of the company are getting COVID positive and some of the employees have also succumbed to the  pandemic .” “To safeguard the interests of the families, it has been decided to make an ad-hoc payment to the family or legal heir of employees, who die during the period of COVID-19,” the circular, a copy of which has been accessed by PTI, stated. Families or legal heirs of permanent employees who die of COVID-19 will get Rs 10 lakh, the amount is Rs 5 lakh for fixed term contract employees and Rs 90,000 for casual employees who worked continuously for one year, the circular said. If the deceased worker was employed through

India’s largest airline IndiGo, which is also the country’s only cash-positive airline announced  laying off 10 per cent of its workforce  because of the economic crisis triggered by the Covid19  pandemic . IndiGo’s move is worrying for other airlines in the country given that the company has the strongest balancesheet among its peers. What led to IndiGo laying off its employees? The two-month ban on scheduled domestic passenger flights in India from March 26 to May 24 had a severe impact on the financial condition of airlines. The lockdown caused non-recoverable loss of revenue leading to airlines taking severe cost-cutting measures, including salary cuts, furloughs and lay-offs. In June, which was the first full month of domestic flight operations since the resumption, IndiGo recorded a  passenger load factor of 60.7 per cent , while having a market share of 52.8 per cent during the month. Last month, the company declared a net loss of Rs 870.80 crore for March-quarter of 2020, with

UK-based engineering and development company Electric Aviation Group (EAG) revealed a new design for a Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft (HERA) on Monday. The firm intends for the first of the potentially groundbreaking 70+ seater aircraft to be in service by 2028. Electric flight or, at the very least hybrid aircraft, has been touted as one of the most realistic potentially industry-changing inventions as aviation grapples with sustainability issues. In a move called “a technical and commercial entry point for sustainable mass air transport,”  EAG today unveiled its 70+ seater regional hybrid aircraft. “Significant investments have been raised to develop sub-19 seat hybrid and all-electric aircraft, which we believe is the wrong strategy. These small planes cannot meet the demands of mass air transportation or the requirements of decarbonisation,”   Kamran Iqbal , founder and CEO at EAG, said in a statement seen by Simple Flying. “Our design is for an aircraft that will initially offe

IndiGo has decided to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, its CEO Ronojoy Dutta said on Monday. “From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order to sustain our business operations,” Dutta said in a statement. “Therefore, after carefully assessing and reviewing all possible scenarios, it is clear that we will need to bid a painful adieu to 10 per cent of our workforce. It is for the first time in the history of IndiGo that we have undertaken such a painful measure,” he added. As on March 31, 2019, the airline had 23,531 employees on its payroll. Source:  https://m.hindustantimes.com/

IndiGo , India's largest private airlines, has announced to lay off 10% of its workforce due to economic crisis induced by COVID-19 pandemic, its chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta said. "It is for the first time in the history of IndiGo that we have undertaken such a painful measure," Dutta said in a statement. "From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order to sustain our business operations," Dutta added. "Therefore, after carefully assessing and reviewing all possible scenarios, it is clear that we will need to bid a painful adieu to 10% of our workforce. It is for the first time in the history of IndiGo that we have undertaken such a painful measure," he added. The airlines have been facing a severe cash crunch due to the disruption caused by  COVID-19 outbreak . The domestic and international flight operations were shut in the last week of March to

Running an aviation business is tough even under normal conditions. With the  pandemic , the industry is gasping for breath. Unsurprisingly, airlines across the world have sought government support to cope with the crisis. According to the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, airlines worldwide were estimated to have received $123 billion of government aid as of mid-May. In India, airlines have been largely left to fend for themselves. This begs the question of how they have managed to survive so far, especially as some of them had no cash reserves to speak of before the crisis. “Globally, all airlines are getting some or the other form of leeway or moratorium on the payment of lease rentals, and Indian airlines, too, are likely to receive this. Employee costs have been curtailed through salary cuts or at worst, job cuts," said Mahantesh Sabarad, head of retail research, SBICAP Securities Ltd. In an emailed response, SpiceJet Ltd said, “We have restructured our lease

India’s only Aviation University,  Rajiv Gandhi  National Aviation University (RGNAU), Amethi, Uttar Pradesh has started the admission process for its next session. Admissions are open for several courses including Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) in Aviation Services and Air Cargo and Post Graduate Diploma in Airport Operations (PGDAO). Interested students can apply at rgnau.ac.in. The admission process will remain open till July 29, as per the official statement by the varsity. To be selected for admission to the university, students will have to appear for an objective type exam. The exam will be based held on offline and candidates will be selected on the basis of the rank or merit they achieve in the exam. The entrance test is scheduled to be held on August 16. RGNAU is a central university aimed at facilitating and promoting aviation studies, teaching, training, research in conjunction with the industry. Eligibility cirtieria Education:  For admission to BMS, students must ha

In a letter to  Air India  chairman and managing director Rajiv Bansal, the pilots has expressed unwillingness to take the proposed pay cut. Describing the pay cut as 'hilarious', the Air India pilots wrote, "The proposed cut for the pilots is almost 60% of gross emoluments... the top management has proposed a meager 3.5% cut on its own gross salary." "For e.g. the Director Personnel takes a minuscule cut of 4% on gross pay while a Co-pilot, who is paid less than the market, is given a cut of 60%. How is this justified? Doesn't this amount to unchecked greed and selfishness?" the Air India pilots said in their letter to the Rajiv Bansal. The salary cut has been proposed at a a time when they have not received 70% of their salaries since April this year, the pilots wrote. Till now, at least 55 pilots have been tested for coronavirus infection."Is it fair to penalise these pilots by saying that they will be paid on actual flying hours? They are unable

Pakistan’s aviation authority has clarified to Oman that all the licenses it has issued to the commercial airline transport pilots so far are genuine, a month after the civil aviation minister alleged that almost 30 per cent of the pilots had fake license and did not have flying experience, a media report said on Thursday. Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan disclosed in the National Assembly last month that there were 860 active pilots in the country and 260 pilots had not sat their exams themselves and almost 30 per cent of the pilots had fake or improper licence and did not have flying experience, the Dawn newspaper reported. Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Director General Hassan Nasir Jamy in a letter dated July 13 to Mubarak Saleh Al Gheilani, Oman’s acting DG of Civil Aviation Regulation, said that all the licenses issued by it to the Pakistani pilots are genuine and valid. It is important to clarify that all CPL/ATPL pilot licenses issued by the Pakistan Civil Aviati

Union civil aviation ministry Hardeep Singh Puri said domestic flights in India may touch 55-60% of pre-Covid operations by mid-November, which is around the same time as Diwali. Puri also said, there might be a short extension on the  airfare cap on domestic flights  beyond 24 August due to muted demand. On Tuesday, over 68,000 passengers travelled in domestic flights till 23:59 hours. There were a total of 1,633 flight movements in the country. Footfalls at airports was 1,36,099 and total number of flyers were 68,804. There have been 816 departures and 817 arrivals. Moreover, on 4 July, Puri said that over 75,000 passengers travelled in domestic flights, a milestone reached for the first time since the flights resumed amid novel coronavirus pandemic on 25 May. He said that domestic operations began with about 30,000 flyers on May 25. "Domestic operations began with about 30K flyers on 25th May. Yesterday we crossed the 75,000 mark which indicates a slow and steady rise in the nu

Equity infusion of  ₹ 500-600 crore every year is not sustainable and  cost-cutting in Air India  is necessary, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday, justifying the national carrier's decision to send certain employees on leave without pay for up to five years. The minister's remarks came after TMC MP Derek O'Brien slammed Air India, saying its leave-without-pay scheme violates labour laws and is an "obvious ploy" to protect the top management and sacrifice other workers. Air India on Tuesday said it has started the process of identifying employees, based on various factors like efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to five years. Asked about the TMC MP's comments at a press conference, Puri said, "Equity infusion of the kind of  ₹ 500-600 crore every year is not a sustainable thing to run an airline now. Everybody has to cut costs. That is what is happening here." &quo

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a press briefing today said  international flights  may resume under bilateral air bubbles with other countries with certain conditions as many are imposing entry restrictions even now, including India in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic. "Till international civil aviation can reclaim its pre-COVID numbers, I think answer will lie through bilateral air bubbles, which will carry a possible number of people but under defined conditions as countries are still imposing entry restrictions including India," Puri said. The aviation minister also hinted at resumption of international flights with at least three more countries amid this bilateral situation. The flights may resume from tomorrow. "We are at a very advanced stage between with three countries and it is a work-in-progress. For example, Air France will be operating 28 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris from 18 July to 1 August while US will be flying 1

Air India has started the process of identifying employees, based on various factors like efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to five years, according to an official order. The airline’s board of directors have authorised its Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal to send employees on LWP “for six months or for a period of two years extendable upto five years, depending upon the following factors - suitability, efficiency, competence, quality of performance, health of the employee, instance of non-availability of the employee for duty in the past as a result of ill health or otherwise and redundancy”, the order said on Tuesday. The departmental heads in the headquarter as well as regional directors are required to assess each employee “on the above mentioned factors and identify the cases where option of compulsory LWP can be exercised”, stated the order dated July 14. “Names of such employees need to be forwarded to the

When it comes to engines, much like plane manufacturers, there are a few players leading the market. GE, Rolls Royce, and Pratt & Whitney are likely the names you hear the most when looking at the industry (or looking out the window). But which of these three giants is the leader? And what planes do they power? Essential parts The engine is an essential part of the aircraft, providing the power and thrust required to operate an aircraft and keep it in the air. Engines also determine  aircraft efficiency , a key factor in reducing emissions and fuel burn. When purchasing planes, airlines are faced with the option of which engines to put on their planes. Safety isn’t usually an issue with most engines, although  a few  have seen  recurring issues , which means airlines usually make the decision on price alone. So, what choices do airlines have for engines? That depends on your plane and aircraft type. Take the A380 for instance. When purchasing the aircraft, airlines had to choose be