Boeing Co. is offering 737 Max jets once slated for Chinese customers to Air India Ltd. as the planemaker tries to offload some of the roughly 140 aircraft it’s currently not allowed to deliver.
The Indian carrier, which is overhauling its fleet under new owner Tata Group, is one of several potential customers for Boeing, which is in talks with lessors and other airlines, according to people familiar with the matter. Many operators are eager to line up new narrowbody jets while Boeing and rival Airbus SE struggle to hit production targets amid labour and parts shortages.
ALSO READ - Airbus, Boeing compete to get Air India’s deal
Boeing offers 737 MAX aircraft to Air India
A Boeing representative declined to comment. Air India didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.
ALSO READ - Boeing looking for new buyers for Chinese rejected B737 MAXs
The US manufacturer hasn’t been allowed to deliver Max aircraft to China for more than three years as it grapples with escalating trade tensions and repercussions from two fatal crashes of the workhorse jet. China was the first to ground the Max in March 2019, and held off approving its return long after US regulators lifted a ban in late 2020.
Dave Calhoun, the company’s chief executive officer, told reporters in September that Boeing “can’t wait forever” and was putting a small number of jets back on the market. The planemaker has about USD 5 billion in cash tied up in the already-built jets earmarked for China, according to George Ferguson, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.
Air India has sought to order as many as 300 narrowbody aircraft to revamp its fleet following the takeover by Tata
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One person tracking discussions estimates as many as 50 of the planes may be resold. The aircraft could be sold on an “as-is” basis, which means the buyers would be responsible for repainting them and installing their cabin equipment, said the person, who asked not to be identified sharing details of confidential discussions.
ALSO READ – Air India prepares to add more than 200 aircraft; the most significant order in a long time
Air India has sought to order as many as 300 narrowbody aircraft to revamp its fleet following the takeover by Tata, India’s largest conglomerate, Bloomberg News reported in June.
ALSO READ – Air India to revamp its fleet by leasing 30 aircraft in the upcoming months
The airline will be inducting five wide-bodies Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months. The aircraft being leased are 21 Airbus A320 neos, four Airbus A321 neos and five Boeing B777-200LRs, according to a release issued by the airline on September 15.
Ultimately, Chinese airlines will probably take the majority of the 737s they’ve ordered from Boeing
Even if the Max jetliners rolled out of Boeing’s factory in 2018 or 2019, they will be considered brand new by most appraisers when they’re finally delivered. Until that milestone occurs, the planes are technically considered to be still in Boeing’s production system, said George Dimitroff, head of valuations for aviation research firm Cirium.
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Ultimately, Chinese airlines will probably take the majority of the 737s they’ve ordered from Boeing, Dimitroff said. “They might not necessarily take all of the aircraft that are currently already built and are waiting for them. They may let go of some of those already built for Boeing to re-market, while they take new-production aircraft at a later date or a mix of the two," he added
ALSO READ - The 737 MAX fiasco | what was wrong, what was corrected and why is it safe now
(With Inputs from Bloomberg)
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A three-fold increase in airport commercial area, building multiplexes and Legoland theme parks in the city side and shifting one of the top airlines to Navi Mumbai airport in an effort to decongest Mumbai airport — these are among the steps Adani Group is exploring to boost revenues from its eight airports.
The commercial area at Mumbai airport is proposed to be increased from 28,000 square metres to 47,000 square metres.
Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), a group company, currently manages seven functional airports in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram. It is also building Navi Mumbai airport, which is expected to start operations by 2024-end.
The commercial area at Mumbai airport is proposed to be increased from 28,000 square metres to 47,000 square metres.
Mumbai airport — India’s second busiest — had no further scope of capacity enhancement beyond 60 million passengers per year as it is situated in the middle of the city. This means that “effectively no new slots (are) available for airlines” at Mumbai airport.
According to sources in the investor community, the Adani Group presentation said the Mumbai airport had two major airlines with domestic as well as international operations — IndiGo and Air India. “One airline can be shifted to NMIAL (Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd), which will release the gridlock at MIAL (Mumbai International Airport),” it highlighted.
The airline that is shifted will benefit from prime slots at Navi Mumbai airport, it noted. Transferring the entire base from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai will be “efficient and economical for the airline, since shifting of only spillover will result in extra initial set up cost to the airline”, it added.
Aviation analytics company Cirium’s data suggests that the Mumbai airport is currently handling 2,573 weekly departures, out of which 919 are IndiGo flights and 390 Air India flights. Vistara and Go First are at number three and four with 364 and 243 weekly departures, respectively.
Adani plans Rs 15,000 cr fund for proposed airport in Navi Mumbai.
On another point, the group plans to expand its passenger handling capacity at seven functional airports from 31 million to 75 million by 2027. Phase I of the Navi Mumbai airport will become operational in December 2024 with 20 million capacity, it mentioned.
The conglomerate wants to target “underserved” international routes, increase the share of wide-body aircraft at its airports, attract airlines with monetary and non-monetary benefits, and make Mumbai airport a transit hub like the Dubai airport, the presentation noted.
The commercial area at Mumbai airport is proposed to be increased from 28,000 square metres to 47,000 square metres. In Lucknow, it could go up 17 times to 17,000 square metres and in Guwahati from 1,000 square metres to 14,000 square metres.
In phase one of the city side development plan, the Group wants to establish aquariums at five locations, Legoland theme parks at three locations, virtual reality parks at five locations, rainforest cafes at five locations, and Madame Tussauds’s wax museums at two locations, the sources said citing the presentation.
The airline that is shifted will benefit from prime slots at Navi Mumbai airport.
Across Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, and Navi Mumbai airports, transhipment hubs for international as well as domestic cargo will also be established, it noted.
The central government had in February 2019 privatised six major airports — Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. After a competitive bidding process, the Adani Group won the rights to run all of them for 50 years. AAHL took control of these airports between October 2020 and November 2021.
In August 2020, the Adani Group acquired a 74 per cent stake from the GVK Group in MIAL — which operates the Mumbai airport. The conglomerate took control of the Mumbai airport in July 2021. MIAL owns NMIAL, which is currently constructing the Navi Mumbai airport.
With inputs from business standard.
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The Tata-owned Air India is targeting to be the carrier of choice for passengers across the world and compete with leading airlines such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines, CEO & MD Campbell Wilson said.
The New Zealand-born 52-year-old Wilson is the first CEO of the privatised Air India. He joined the airline in May after working for more than 20 years at Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary Scoot.
“We want to appeal not just to the people of India but we want the world to see Air India in the same category as Emirates, Qatar Airways or Singapore Airlines. So, it's not just about making it the choice of Indians, it's about people from all parts of the world flying Air India by choice. Air India carries national pride and we want to represent India in a way, it wants to be represented at the global stage.I think it's no secret that there's a huge market between North America and India, also between greater Europe and India, Australasia, and Southeast Asia which is underserved. So those are the geographies that we're going to target first. But with India's geographic position and diaspora, and the manufacturing capacity coming here, there is an opportunity to be connected far more."Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India
Air India intends to grow its fleet size from the current strength of 117 by three times and increase market share to 30% in both domestic and international space in the next five years.
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“In the first phase, we are addressing all legacy issues, secondly we are bringing in new systems, practices and aircraft, upgrading skills of our people and then in the third phase, we will do a million things consistently right which transforms us from being very good to world-class,” Wilson said.
The New Zealand-born 52-year-old Wilson is the first CEO of the privatised Air India.
In a recent interview with The Economic Times, he said that the airline will expand its fleet to increase network density and expand its footprint to new areas. “Financial turnaround is a consequence of operational turnaround. While we have renegotiated a lot of contracts… much of the turnaround will come by improving the foundation.”
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Sources said Air India intends to increase its presence to 100 destinations from the current 50 while on the international front, it will aim to expand to 125 destinations from the current 75. The airline intends to triple its capacity on US routes beyond Delhi and Mumbai and also add more flights to Europe and Australia.
ALSO READ – Air India broadens its international footprint by launching 20 flights to US and UK
Air India is targeting to be the carrier of choice for passengers across the world and compete with leading airlines such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines
Wilson indicated that the airline will rejig its network in a manner where it can carry passengers from neighbouring nations using Indian airports as the hub.
ALSO READ – Air India eyes Multiple Hubs, International Expansion
“In the course of flying to and from India, we can take people from Southeast Asia to the Middle East or from the Indian subcontinent to North America using Indian airports as hubs in the same way that some of our neighbours do,” he said.
While he declined to give a timeline for Air India's financial turnaround, Wilson said that operational turnaround will lead to an increase in the top line. "Financial turnaround is a consequence of operational turnaround. While we have renegotiated a lot of contracts which has made us leaner, much of the turnaround will come by improving the foundation,” he said.
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Listing the changes that have taken place since Air India has been privatised, Wilson said around 2.5 lakh cases totalling more than INR 150 crore refund, which was pending since COVID, has been processed by the new owners.
The airline has also significantly improved its on-time performance (OTP), refurbished its menu and aircraft with new seats and cushions, and improved inflight entertainment.
In September, the airline had the best on-time performance among Indian airlines. “Air India has not been number one in OTP in any month, since 2014. So these are indications that the airline is making significant steps forward,” Wilson said.
(With Inputs from The Economic Times)
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On October 15, 1932, JRD Tata, India’s first licensed commercial pilot, operated the first flight of an airline, then called Tata Air Services, from Karachi to Mumbai. Though the DeHavilland Puss Moth aircraft had two passenger seats, it only carried mail. Today, Indian aviation handles over 182 million passengers and three million metric tonnes of freight every year.
Recently, the Indian airlines industry had been walking on a tightrope. This is even before the outbreak of the virus mainly due to stiff competition and high operating costs. With the rapid spread of infections throughout the country between 2020 and 2021, the sector was crippled. Lockdown and movement restrictions were imposed for both domestic as well as international air travel.
As India grows wealthier, the demand for air travel increases proportionately. Such an expansion will make it an even more attractive market for other industries, leading to greater travel to, from and within India by those based overseas.
India is on the cusp of a mega aviation boom.
On the production side, geopolitical trends and supportive policies portend increased investment in India across sectors, representing manufacturing and services. This, too, will drive both economic growth and air travel, especially for international connectivity and logistics.
Geographically, India enjoys all the advantages of international “superconnector” airlines. It is estimated that 30% of the world’s population resides within five hours of India — whilst the rapid development of new Indian airports and the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme to support domestic routes will only strengthen the network effect that will add to further growth.
"We are forecasting airlines to rebound quickly and add 25%-plus percent annual seats back into the market." Dave Schulte, the managing director for regional marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
In addition, the abundance of domestic talent, a vast and affluent diaspora, diversity and quality of tourism, and cultural and religious attractions that are second to none.
If Tata decides to integrate its airline operations, it could be the largest airline in the country.
Through the right combination of public and private initiatives, India can develop as a significant global maintenance, repair and overhaul centre servicing the world’s airlines and increasingly become a manufacturing location for high-tech aviation components.
With aligned efforts of airports, airlines and the public sector, India can become a major international aviation hub — indeed, it can host multiple hubs — and become one of the most connected countries on earth.
The next decade is India’s opportunity to seize. Air India, which proudly celebrates JRD Tata’s legacy and contribution to Indian aviation, is back home, and is fully energized.
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A Bangalore-bound Akasa Air flight from Mumbai returned to the city airport due to a burning smell in the cabin, which later turned out to be due to a bird strike, a DGCA official said on Saturday.
Taking note of the situation, the pilot took prompt action returning the passengers and the plane safely to Mumbai Airport. There was no confirmation on the number of passengers on board the flight.
Notably, flight number Akasa Air QP-1103 was involved in the incident. The flight landed at Mumbai Airport and all passengers are safe. The incident happened while the plane was completing its flight QP-1103.
Akasa Air started its operations on August 7 this year.
Akasa Air later confirmed that its Bangalore flight returned to Mumbai due to odour in the cabin, resulting from the bird hit. In a statement said, the airline said: "The aircraft landed safely in Mumbai and all passengers were deboarded. Arrangements were made to accommodate their journey."
"Akasa Air flight QP 1103 flying from Mumbai to Bengaluru on October 14 diverted back to Mumbai due to odour in the cabin resulting from a bird hit. The aircraft landed safely in Mumbai and all passengers were deboarded. The aircraft was positioned for a detailed inspection and has now returned to service."Akasa Air, spokesperson.
The DGCA official said, however, no other abnormality including in engine parameters was observed.
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"The aircraft VT-YAE, operating Akasa Air flight AKJ1103 from Mumbai for Bangalore was involved in air turnback due to the burning smell felt in the cabin. The smell increased as the thrust was increased.After landing during the inspection, bird remains were found on engine number 1 of the aircraft," and added that, "the burning smell was due to bird strike."An official said.
According to a DGCA official, bird remains were found on an engine of the aircraft during inspection.
Akasa Air has been aggressively scaling up its operations and have crossed 250 flights per week, along a total of nine routes.
Akasa Air's fleet size will be 18 aircraft (B737 MAX) by the end of March 2023 and over the next four years, the airline will add 54 additional aircraft, taking its total fleet size to 72.
Also read - Akasa Air completes 2 months of flight operations; to allow pets on board
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Solar power transmission could provide Europe with more autonomous access to renewable energy sources. In its X-Works Innovation Factory, Airbus has now demonstrated how this novel technology idea might function.
How does the Airbus "Power Beaming" demonstrator operate?
Power Beaming is a novel energy concept that, up until recently, had only been on the minds of ardent IT experts. Jean-Dominique Coste, Yoann Thueux, and their colleagues have now demonstrated its inner workings to decision-makers from politics and business.
The potential of the technology is to capture sunlight and then beam it wirelessly. explains Jean-Dominique Coste, who is responsible for this technology driven by Airbus’ Central Research & Technology and Blue Sky departments
This solar energy would then provide electricity to cities, factories, homes, and eventually airplanes on Earth.
Representative | Medium
He continues by saying that power beaming might provide Europe and other nations with tremendous opportunities to access renewable energy sources and further the goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.
Power beaming technologies would enable the creation of new energy networks in the sky and could help solve the energy problem. They would enable countries to fully control and distribute their energy where needed, independentlyCoste says
The demonstration at Airbus' X-Works Innovation Factory last month was successful, albeit on a smaller scale: using microwave beaming, Coste, Thueux, and their colleagues transmitted green energy between two points representing "Earth" and "Space" over a distance of 36 meters, producing green hydrogen and illuminating a model city.
Sky-based new energy networks
Outside the Earth's atmosphere, the sun's light is available indefinitely, not just during the day and in good weather like on Earth, plus it’s about 50 percent more intense. says Thueux
It would be safe and controllable to beam the power down across a large area. The beams would be picked up by many antennae back on Earth, some even offshore, and the energy would be reassembled to create electricity.
Additionally, there is no requirement for elaborate and expensive ground infrastructure, like as power plants, pipelines, or cables, to distribute electricity on Earth. "Power Beaming" is used for both of those things.
When will Power Beaming become a reality?
The first operational Power Beaming prototypes may be in use by the early 2030s. However, more still has to be done. Getting the most energy possible from the resources you harness is a key focus of research in the domain of overall efficiency.
We advocate a stepped approach to scale the system: from the ground, to aerial systems, then in space. This could in fact be a game changer for aircraft, with the potential to extend the range, reduce the weight, but also to relay power to other places, managing energy like data. This has raised a lot of interest in the energy sector. In the end this will be a joint effort with institutions and the energy industryexplains Jean-Dominique Coste
Representative | European Space Agency
According to Coste, the levelized costs of energy would be comparable to those of significant energy projects already underway on Earth, such as nuclear power stations, offshore oil rigs, and big renewable energy farms. However, as additional power plants are developed, costs will drop because of economies of scale.
SOURCE: Airbus
COVER: Airbus
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