Afcom receives its first Boeing 737 freighter; eyes to increase air cargo business capacity

Radhika Bansal

28 Sep 2022

Afcom Holdings Private Limited, an international cargo airline headquartered in Chennai, announced it was reiterating its commitment to the ASEAN region by taking delivery of its first Boeing 737 freighter. Afcom has been operational since September 2021 through its strategic alliance with its commercial carrier partners.

The addition of this aircraft will support Afcom’s current capacity with its airfreight partners, thus enabling a faster and more reliable delivery service. The company plans to add two more freighter aircraft to its fleet by the end of this year.

Afcom receives its first Boeing 737 freighter; eyes to increase air cargo business capacity

With the air freight charges stabilising to some extent after rising phenomenally during the Covid pandemic, Parasuraman hopes to garner nearly 15 to 16% of the business in the southern region. 

“Afcom is committed to provide efficient, secure and quality services to our customers. We strongly believe in working closely with our customers by providing them Tailor-made logistic solutions. We see ourselves not just as a cargo airline but an end-to-end cargo solutions provider. Air cargo is today a key enabler of flexibility and speed in global supply chains. We foresee good and rising demand for air cargo going forward, and we are fully geared up to infuse the required capacity in the market.” Deepak Parasuraman, Chairman, Afcom Holdings Private Limited

Afcom presently serves India, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. In addition, it will commence services to Hanoi (Vietnam) and Bangkok (Thailand) sectors in its endeavour to service destinations across ASEAN countries. More new services are also in the pipeline, to provide faster delivery options to support the industry requirements.

ALSO READ - Pradhaan Air Express receives its first converted A320 freighter aircraft

Afcom is not the only niche Indian forwarder gearing up to build an all-cargo airline presence. Delhi-based Pradhaan Air Express recently firmed up its entry into the diversified market, securing government approvals and snapping up an A320 converted freighter.

Delhi-based Pradhaan Air Express recently firmed up its entry into the diversified market, securing government approvals and snapping up an A320 converted freighter. (Image Courtesy - Shrey Chopra)

ALSO READ - Bangalore Airport gets a newly expanded facility of DHL Express

Global express logistics leaders like UPS and DHL are also constantly beefing up services at Indian airports, including second-tier locations, to keep pace with growing airfreight volumes.

ALSO READ - UPS opens a new airport gateway facility at Bengaluru airport

And, as online shopping expands, consumer purchases are increasingly based on the speed of parcel delivery – a factor that signifies greater airline network reach. This year, the Indian e-commerce market is forecast to grow by 21.5%, to reach a value of USD 74.8 billion, according to industry estimates.

Additionally, Covid-induced widespread dysfunction on the ocean supply side has converted many traditional sea freight shippers/forwarders to airfreight, which industry stakeholders believe could become a permanent change in some cases.

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Strategic Partnership between BLADE and Eve announced to grow India's Urban Air Mobility Ecosystem

Prashant-prabhakar

28 Sep 2022

Eve Air Mobility ("Eve") and FlyBlade India ("BLADE India"), a joint venture between Hunch Ventures and Blade Air Mobility, announced today a strategic alliance that includes a non-binding order for up to 200 electric vertical take-offs and landings ("eVTOL" or Electric Vertical Aircraft, "EVA") vehicles, service and support, and Eve's software for urban air traffic management ("UATM"). Additionally, the companies intend to work together on a three-month pilot project that will connect passengers utilizing helicopters.

India is a distinct market due to its size, issues with accessibility, traffic, and regulations. BLADE India, which established short-haul air mobility in India, will serve as Eve's local knowledge partner to develop the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) ecosystem.

To further enhance Eve's eVTOL, service and support solutions, and its UATM software, the information gathered from BLADE India's customer experience and operations will be put to use. In the beginning, BLADE India would finance 50,000 hours annually of flight time in the nation utilizing Eve's eVTOL.

BLADE India | Representative | Grazia India

India’s traffic congestion woes are only expected to get worse. This partnership allows us to leverage Eve’s deep expertise in not just EVA design but also in the infrastructure required to support UAMsaid Amit Dutta, managing director, BLADE India

Amit Dutta | Source

With the introduction of electric aviation and eVTOL vehicles, flying is anticipated to become much more affordable for the general public by drastically reducing its environmental impact, noise, and cost.

We are thrilled about partnering with BLADE India and pioneering the urban air mobility market in the country, which has the potential to be one of the largest markets globally. This initial order will allow us to enter into service in India and further develop the ecosystem according to the community’s needs. We look forward to offering the people of India a zero-emission UAM solution in the future that will be quiet, efficient, and accessiblesaid André Stein, co-CEO of Eve

André Stein | eveairmobility

BLADE India

Forbes India

With flights from Mumbai, Shirdi, Pune, and Bangalore, BLADE India launched in 2019 and provides affordable air transportation alternatives to some of the most crowded ground routes in India. Privately held investment company Hunch Ventures is based in New Delhi, India, and has made investments in a variety of industries, including education, healthcare, immersive media, hospitality, food and beverage, logistics, and other areas that may have interesting connections between them.

ALSO READ - BLADE India plans a chopper shuttle service between Bengaluru city and the airport

Eve Air Mobility

Representative | eVTOL.news

Eve is committed to speeding up the ecology of urban air mobility. With a start-up mentality, the support of Embraer S.A.'s more than 50 years of aerospace expertise, and a single goal in mind, Eve is moving the UAM ecosystem forward holistically with an advanced eVTOL project, extensive global services and support network, and a cutting-edge air traffic management solution.

SOURCE: eve air mobility

COVER: eveairmobility

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AVGAS 100LL, the indigenous special aviation fuel launched by IndianOil Aviation

Jinen Gada

27 Sep 2022

The government launched the indigenously-developed AVGAS 100 LL, a special aviation fuel meant for piston engine aircraft and unmanned ariel vehicles. It has been developed by Indian Oil Corporation. This is a great step towards reducing import dependence and promoting local manufacturing capacity.

“AV GAS 100 LL produced by Indian Oil’s flagship refinery at Vadodara has been tested and certified by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It is a higher-octane Aviation fuel meeting the product specifications with superior performance quality standards, as compared to imported grades."The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, said in a statement.

The minister said the launch of indigenous AV GAS 100 LL is important to serve the needs of the thriving aviation industry with an increase in footfall in airports, a rise in the number of aircraft and Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) in trainee aircraft for pilot training in future.

IndianOil launches indigenous production of aviation fuel AVGAS 100LL.

As demand for air transport in India is expected to increase in manifolds in the future, there is going to be a huge demand for trained pilots also. And for this, the number of FTOs is also expected to increase significantly, he added.

ALSO READ - Aviation gasoline ‘Av gas’ to be made in India

At present AVGAS 100 LL is a completely imported product. The domestic production of AVGAS 100 LL produced by Indian Oil at its Gujarat Refinery will make flying training more affordable in India. This product which fuels the aircraft operated by FTOs and Defense forces is being imported for decades by India. Indian Oil’s R&D, Refineries, and Marketing teams have achieved this feat of indigenous production and have offered a price advantage to the industry.

The indigenous fuel is superior compared to imported grades.

At present, only two companies in the world are manufacturing AVGAS 100LL and India has become the first non-OECD country to produce and use such SAF. This is a great achievement for India as it will help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil products like aviation fuel, which is a highly polluting source of energy.

However, this achievement needs to be recognized by the international community at large as well as those who are working towards building an independent India so that we can achieve self-sufficiency in terms of fuel production without having to depend on other countries for its supply. This is a great step towards reducing import dependence.

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Vistara implements Digital Rostering Solution for enhanced crew experience

Jinen Gada

29 Sep 2022

India’s finest full-service carrier, Vistara, announced that it has implemented a digital rostering solution to enhance crew experience and productivity.

The fully automated crew rostering solution for improved management of its over 2,500 cabin crew and pilots across the network. The industry-leading solution by Jeppesen, a Boeing Company, has enabled Vistara to develop effective crew rosters that factor in legal compliance, crew availability, lifestyle preferences and training requirements using a dynamic bidding mechanism.

The adoption of the new technology is aimed at further improving Vistara’s operational performance as well as enhancing the crew's lifestyle.

It will result in operational benefits and enhanced crew experience.

Vistara crew are now able to indicate their lifestyle preferences which are then automatically factored into their individual flight rosters. Options ranging from early morning or late evening flights, frequency of layovers, time off from work, preferred night stop stations and specific flights etc. are now available to the crew, thereby allowing them added flexibility in their schedules.

"As a relatively young airline born in the digital age, Vistara is rapidly adopting new technologies and automating processes across all our functions to derive more efficiencies and enhance employee experience. An efficient, transparent crew rostering solution helps us achieve the right balance to an otherwise complex rostering challenge. We are incredibly appreciative of the support that all our crew have given during the rapid increase in operations as we emerged from the pandemic. It gives us great pleasure to now be able to offer our crew this option to influence their rosters, and thereby their lifestyles."Captain Hamish Maxwell, Senior Vice President - Flight operations, Vistara

Since implementation, the system has proven to be very effective with the majority of crew rosters being positively influenced as per their indicated preferences.

ALSO READ - Vistara is India’s first airline (and one of the few worldwide) to have 100% cloud-based IT infrastructure

Vistara has invested in developing its digital infrastructure from the very beginning with a focus on developing operational efficiency.

ALSO READ - Vistara to launch electronic logbook; partners with Ultramain ELB for paperless operations

Vistara Implements Digital Rostering Solution for Enhanced Crew Experience

“Digital Solutions for Crew Rostering, while taking care of crew lifestyle preferences is a great example of how new-age digital technologies can greatly help to improve employee productivity and experience.”Vinod Bhat, Chief Information Officer, Vistara.

The digital rostering solution will result in operational benefits and enhanced crew experience. It will also help improve productivity, and customer experience and reduce costs while increasing flexibility at the same time.

ALSO READ - Vistara awarded Best Airline in India & Southern Asia, 20th in the world by Skytrax

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AirAsia India takes short-term loans of INR 630 crore to reduce its debt burden

Jinen Gada

27 Sep 2022

AirAsia India, the airline subsidiary of AirAsia Group, has availed of short-term loans worth Rs 630 crore. The company said that it will use the funds to pay off its dues and reduce its debt burden. The airline had been under pressure for several years now with high-interest costs as well as losses and low margins.

AirAsia India has availed of 12-month loans from the private sector to finance its business operations. The airline will use these funds to further strengthen its balance sheet and improve financial performance.

The airline recently completed 10 years since launch, which is considered one of its key milestones when it comes to improving customer experience with improved infrastructure and services.

The airline has availed of 12-month loans from the private sector.

AirAsia India was launched in 2014 as a joint venture between the Tata Group and AirAsia Investment Limited. The Tatas began with a 51% equity share in the company, which was further raised to 83.67% in 2020.

ALSO READ - Tata Sons likely to merge the losses of AirAsia India with Air India before the possible merger

The airline has been under pressure for several years now with high-interest costs as well as losses and low margins. It is looking to reduce its debt burden by taking short-term loans of Rs 630 crore, which comes at a time when AirAsia India is looking to reduce its debt burden.

Multiple loans were given to the airline, according to the report Standard Chartered Bank gave a loan of USD 24.5 million in short-term loan and USD 3.6 million in overdraft facility last month, while Induslnd Bank gave USD 24.5 million. Tata Capital too gave USD 24.5 million in April last year.

The airline, which is in the process of merging with Air India Express, has never turned a profit since it began operations in 2014.

AirAsia India has been under pressure for several years now, as it faces tough competition from other low-cost carriers and high fuel costs. Its financial performance has deteriorated in recent months, with losses widening.

Currently, Air Asia India has a fleet of 26 active A320s, since it returned 7 A320s to Air Asia Berhad. It had posted an annual loss of USD 193 million, almost double the previous year and a revenue of USD 171 million, because of its shrinking operations.

The airline has been under pressure for several years now with high-interest costs as well as losses and low margins. The proposed merger of the airline with Air India Express is reportedly being worked upon and, if all goes well, could be complete in about a year.

(With Inputs from Business Standard)

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Air India clears backlog of over 2.5 lakh Covid refunds worth more than INR 150 crore

Radhika Bansal

27 Sep 2022

Acknowledging that refunds have been an issue for many airlines during the global pandemic and subsequent recovery, Air India on Monday, September 28 shared details of the steps it has taken to improve its capability and performance in this area.

Like all airlines, Air India was severely impacted by Covid-19 and, regrettably, many customers' travel plans were affected. State-owned Air India was among the vast majority of airlines that did not find it easy to process refunds as it was too low on cash till the Tatas took it over earlier this year.

As one of the many steps undertaken to better meet customer expectations and speedily address legacy issues post-privatisation, Air India placed a high priority on clearing the backlog of refunds, said the airline spokesperson. More than 2.5 lakh cases totalling more than INR 150 crore were processed in just the first few months after privatisation.

Air India clears backlog of over 2.5 lakh Covid refunds worth more than INR 150 crore

During the pandemic, one of the biggest banes for air travellers globally was a huge delay in getting a refund for tickets due to the inability to travel and in some cases not getting their money back at all with some carriers — who did not have funds to do so — asking people to travel at any future date using the same.

Significant effort has since been placed on improving processes and systems and employing technology, to turn around new refund cases at a greater pace. As of today, an eligible refund request lodged on the Air India website will typically be processed by the airline within 2-3 days.

"The processing of a record number of pending refund cases is a testimony to the different teams coming together and addressing a key legacy issue in a comprehensive and effective manner. As part of our transformation, we are committed to bringing a standardised structure across our functions which is critical for us to emerge as one of the world-class airline brands globally. We encourage anyone who believes they have a refund outstanding from Air India to provide details via the Old Pending Refund Link on the home page of our website. This link has been specially created to address if there is any residual old pending refund case."Rajesh Dogra, Chief Customer Experience & Ground Services Officer, Air India

Subsequent processing by banks and/or credit card companies, which is beyond the airline's control, can add another two weeks before customers see the refund (less any fees deducted by the tickets' conditions of sale) in their accounts. In the case of bookings made via travel agents, the refund is made to the travel agent who is then responsible for disbursing to the traveller.

One of the first promises made by the Tata Group after taking over Air India was to improve customer experience. And in another example of keeping customer needs at the centre, the airline has decided to extend the validity of flying returns (FR) points, tier status and member status, and associated benefits under Flying Returns, the airline's 'Frequent Flyer' program, until March 31, 2023.

One of the first promises made by the Tata Group after taking over Air India was to improve customer experience.

ALSO READ - Air India to revamp its fleet by leasing 30 aircraft in the upcoming months

Air India has identified key objectives – network, fleet, customer service, technology, etc. – and has given itself five years to achieve them in a phased manner under a plan called Vihaan.AI, which signifies the dawn of a new era in Sanskrit.

ALSO READ - Air India unveils Vihaan.AI – a comprehensive 5-year transformation plan

During the pandemic, airlines had resorted to an industry practice called 'credit shell', wherein they parked the money from cancelled flight tickets instead of refunding the same to passengers.

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