Both pilots of Ethiopian Airlines B737 fell asleep; miss landing

Radhika Bansal

19 Aug 2022

A major aviation disaster was averted when a disengaged autopilot woke both the pilots of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Khartoum (Sudan) to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). The flight was operated by a roughly 12-year-old Boeing 737-800 with the registration code ET-AOB.

As per a report on The Aviation Herald, an Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-343 operating a Boeing 737-800 with registration ET-AOB was en route to Ethiopia at FL370 (Flight Level 370/ 37000 feet) when both the pilots of the flight fell asleep.

The aircraft then continued past the top of descent, maintaining the FL370 and continued along the route set up for an approach to runway 25L at the Addis Ababa international airport without descending.

The ATC at the airport tried to contact the crew numerous times without success. As per the report, after overflying runway 25L at FL370, the autopilot got disconnected and the disconnect wailer woke the crew.

The pilots then manoeuvred back the aircraft safely to land at the Addis Ababa airport runway 25L, 25 minutes after overflying the runway at FL370. The aircraft remained on the ground and took off 2.5 hours later for the next flight.

To recap, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max was involved in a fatal crash back in 2019, killing everyone on board, which resulted in the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX planes globally.

Pilot associations have slammed the aviation industry’s inability to understand pilot fatigue and likened it to ‘handing car keys to a drunk driver’. (This image is for representative purposes only)

ALSO READ - DGCA allows Boeing 737 Max to fly again

Although the autopilot was engaged and this incident will surely call for a serious investigation. As per reports, both the pilots have been off rostered till enquiry. 

Aviation analyst Alex Macheras described the incident as ‘deeply concerning', and later said that “pilot fatigue is nothing new, and continues to pose one of the most significant threats to air safety - internationally.”

https://twitter.com/AlexInAir/status/1560386847750213636

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A similar incident was reported earlier in May when two pilots fell asleep while flying a plane from New York to Rome. Pilot associations have slammed the aviation industry’s inability to understand pilot fatigue and likened it to ‘handing car keys to a drunk driver’.

ALSO READ - CEO of Wizz Air faces backlash after he told pilots to work through their fatigue

The CEOs and the management of Wizz Air and Jet2, two budget flyers, were criticised after they asked pilots to go the extra mile when respective associations raised issues related to pilot fatigue.

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Boeing considering recycling stored 737 MAX engines for new aircraft

Jinen Gada

19 Aug 2022

Boeing is reportedly considering taking aircraft engines from the large inventory of completed 737 MAX planes in storage and installing them on newly made MAX aircraft, to ease supply chain concerns. 

With 290 737 MAX planes in storage, the manufacturer might remove CFM LEAP-1B engines to install them on new production aircraft as they roll off the final assembly line in Renton, in the United States. Boeing might also take MAX seats to reinstall them on new production jets.  

The move comes amidst supply chain shortages worldwide, with engine suppliers, in particular, struggling to keep up with demand. 

Each 737 MAX uses a pair of LEAP-1B jet engines developed by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines of France.

Boeing is building up to 30 sets of counterweights for the stored aircraft. These can be used to prevent an aircraft from tipping backwards onto its tail once its heavy jet engines are removed. Counterweights could also be used for new-production MAX aircraft in case engine manufacturer CFM is unable to deliver engines on time. 

At least 140 out of 290 currently stored Boeing 737 MAXs were built for Chinese airlines. However, the country, which was the first to ground the plane in March 2019 following fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, has not yet authorized the type to return for passenger operations.  

For instance, China Southern Airlines (ZNH) decided to remove 100 Boeing 737 MAX planes from its near-term delivery plan, meaning that instead of 181 jets that were supposed to join the airline through 2024, it now will take only a total of 78 MAX deliveries. 

ALSO READ - Boeing intends to double its 737 MAX production by end of 2023

The newer MAX series has a longer range and the ability to carry an extra 18 fare-paying customers in a two-class setup.

Meanwhile, Airbus has swooped, securing a big order for almost 300 aircraft from China’s top three airlines.  

That doesn’t help to reduce the Boeing MAX inventory. However, the larger Boeing's inventory is, the more flexibility the manufacturer has to deliver MAX planes more quickly when needed, despite supply chain disruptions.

ALSO READ - Boeing won’t launch a brand new jetliner in another 2 years

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In the wake of upcoming FIFA World Cup, Air India adds more flights to Dubai and Qatar

Jinen Gada

19 Aug 2022

Air India is seeking to take advantage of an expected increase in passenger traffic due to the FIFA World Cup tournament that will take place in November-December in Doha.

As part of plans to increase its presence on international routes, Air India plans to start new flights to Qatar and Dubai as part of its winter schedule. The airline plans to add four weekly flights from Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi to Dubai.

The airline is also looking to add six weekly flights between India and Qatar, between Delhi, Mumbai, and Doha, depending on available slots.

While Air India is confident about increasing weekly flights to Doha as part of the winter schedule, adding flights to Dubai may need some government approval.

For this, Air India is planning to lease more aircraft. It is planning to use its Airbus A320 Neo planes on these routes and will also look to lease around five more Airbus A321 aircraft if it manages to add additional flights to both Dubai and Doha. Air India is in discussion with multiple leasing companies for A321 Neos.

"Air India is looking to take advantage of the high passenger traffic to Dubai and Qatar due to the FIFA World Cup in November.We are currently using all our 69 entitled flights to fly into Dubai. Additional routes will require a change in bilateral agreements."Senior Official, Air India

ALSO READ - Air India eyes Multiple Hubs, International Expansion

While discussions are in the preliminary stages, a bigger push is expected when there is more clarity on slot availability. The airline has 70 narrow-body planes of which 54 are currently serviceable; it has 43 Air wide-body aircraft, of which 33 are operational.

Recently, Air India had a special Independence day sale under the banner of 'ONE INDIA ONE FARE'. The tickets from Dubai were starting at Dh330 in this sale. It will be available from August 8 until August 21.

The airline under its new owners is in the process of expanding its international presence and restoring Air India's global reputation.

The 'One India One Fare' scheme provides reduced one-way flights from all Gulf countries, except Oman, to any Indian location. This applies to tickets purchased during the promotion period for travel until October 15.

The Tata Group currently operates four airlines under its brand including full-service carriers Air India and Vistara as well as budget airlines Air India Express and AirAsia India.

ALSO READ - Vistara may merge with Air India, decision expected by end of 2023

While Air India and Vistara are expected to be merged into one airline, Air India Express, it is speculated, would be combined with AirAsia India to form the Tata Group's consolidated budget entity.

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Vistara becomes the No.2 carrier by market share in July

Radhika Bansal

19 Aug 2022

Full-service carrier Vistara whizzed past rivals SpiceJet and Go First, both of whom have grounded planes and cut flights, to become India’s No.2 carrier by market share in July. The airline is Tata Sons’ joint venture with Singapore Airlines.

According to data from the aviation regulator, Vistara, which had a 7.5% market in January and around 9% in the subsequent months, climbed to 10.4% in July. Go First carried 8.2% of the domestic passengers last month, while SpiceJet flew 8%.

ALSO READ - AirAsia India and Vistara record elevated losses in FY22

Vistara becomes the No.2 carrier by market share in July

This is the first time that Vistara has reached this position since starting services in January 2015 and comes within days of its year-on-year loss widening to INR 2,178 crore. The airline had almost reached its 2019 capacity in 2021 when most airlines, including market leader IndiGo, were 18% short of their pre-Covid capacity.

ALSO READ - Vistara on verge of overtaking SpiceJet in market share of Indian aviation

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SpiceJet and Go First have been forced to cut capacity, which helped Vistara overtake them in market share. After several technical snags in SpiceJet’s flights, the regulator ordered it to cut 50% of its approved capacity for the summer. GoAir grounded more than a fifth of its fleet, or over a dozen planes, due to engine supply problems.

ALSO READ - Go First grounds over a fifth of its fleet due to delayed deliveries of engines by Pratt & Whitney

India’s airlines carried 9.7 million passengers on domestic routes in July, almost double from a year earlier but lower than the 10.5 million passengers ferried in June 2022.

The market share of the only other local full-service carrier, Air India, climbed to 8.4% from 7.5% in June, although it decreased from 10.2% in January. All low-cost carriers except IndiGo lost market share.

The combined market share for the three Tata Group airlines – Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India – for July was 23.4%. IndiGo’s share was 2.5 times higher at 58.8%.

“Despite the challenges of the third wave of the pandemic, we were able to maintain a domestic market share of 9% throughout the last six months, flying over a million passengers (domestic + international) every month since March 2022."Vinod Kannan, CEO, Vistara

Since January, when Vistara sharply cut flights due to a rise in Covid cases, its number of domestic flights increased by 56%, till July, said a person in the know. Its number of aircraft deployed on domestic routes increased to 44 from 37, he said, adding the airline would now add one aircraft every month to its fleet of 53 small and large planes. Air India too has been adding capacity recently.

“Air India is leaving no stone unturned to bring back both its narrow-body and widebody aircraft back into service. For instance, till recently, we had 28 widebody aircraft that were operating but that number has now risen to 33. The entire process to make grounded aircraft serviceable has been expedited and soon most aircraft will be ready to operate.”Spokespoerson, Air India

“In the last two months, our narrow-bodied fleet in operation has increased to 54 from 45 planes,” said a person in the know of Air India’s operations. It has a narrow-bodied fleet of more than 70 planes. The remaining are grounded.

India’s airlines carried 9.7 million passengers on domestic routes in July, almost double from a year earlier but lower than the 10.5 million passengers ferried in June 2022.

July was the fourth successive month when AirAsia ranked first in terms of on-time performance OTP

AirAsia India again had the best on-time performance (OTP) among domestic airlines, computed for four metro airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — at 95.5% in July. It was followed by Vistara at 89%, Go First at 84.1%, Air India at 83%, SpiceJet at 82.1% and IndiGo at 80.8%.

July was the fourth successive month when AirAsia ranked first in terms of OTP, having reached 89.8% in June, 90.8% in May and 94.8% in April.

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

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Indigo and Jetstar virtual interlinear partnership goes live

Radhika Bansal

19 Aug 2022

The partnership between Singapore-based Jetstar Asia and India's biggest airline IndiGo has gone live, which will allow flyers to book direct flights to several Indian cities, the two companies said in a press statement on August 17.

ALSO READ - IndiGo and Jetstar team up in a virtual interline agreement

The virtual interlinear partnership, announced in April, will allow Jetstar customers in Singapore and Southeast Asia to book low-cost direct flights and connections to India. Jetstar Asia Airways Pte Ltd is one of the Asian offshoots of Jetstar Airways, the low-cost subsidiary of Australia's Qantas airline.

Jetstar has a hub at the Changi Airport and travellers can now book low-cost direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. Jetstar Asia operates to 11 destinations in Southeast Asia.

"This strategic agreement will enable both airlines to tap into the rising demand for international travel, with the upcoming festive season. The partnership will enable customers to enjoy seamless connectivity between Jetstar and IndiGo and access to a wide variety of destinations across Asia-Pacific. This partnership will also help us to expand our international connectivity to yet another continent through Jetstar’s network. We look forward to having Jetstar’s customers on our lean clean flying machine, as we extend to them our on-time, affordable, courteous and hassle-free travel experience."Sanjay Kumar, Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer, IndiGo

The virtual interline partnership between the two airlines will be through Dohop, a technology company and flight search engine. This is Jetstar's second virtual interlining partnership following a similar arrangement with Tiger Taiwan made in December 2019.

“Today’s announcement is a significant milestone for Jetstar as we continue to expand our network via Singapore’s Changi Airport through our partnership with IndiGo. Jetstar Connect allows us to offer our customers more exciting opportunities to travel and more great value fares all at the click of a button, making travel even more accessible."Poh Tiong Seng, Commercial Lead, Jetstar Asia

Jetstar and IndiGo are also strategic partners of Changi Airport Group. Jetstar operates an extensive domestic network as well as regional and international services from its main base at Melbourne Airport, using a mixed fleet of the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

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Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd set to establish an office in Malaysia

Radhika Bansal

18 Aug 2022

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has signed an MoU for establishing an office in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The office in Malaysia will help HAL in tapping the new business opportunities for Fighter Lead-in Trainer (FLIT) LCA and other requirements of Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) like Su-30 MKM and Hawk upgrades, the Bengaluru-headquartered company said in a statement.

"It will reinforce the commitment of India in supporting the Malaysian Defence Forces and industry for sustainable aerospace and defence landscape in Malaysia", it said.

https://twitter.com/HALHQBLR/status/1560118381633683456

HAL submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Malaysia, in October 2021 for the supply of 18 FLIT LCAs against a global tender issued by RMAF.

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"The final winner of the tender is expected to be declared soon by Malaysian authorities. LCA Tejas stands a fair chance of selection in the bid as it meets all the parameters sought by RMAF," according to HAL.

ALSO READ - Shares of HAL surge as LCA Tejas becomes the top contender for Malaysia’s fighter jet order

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has signed an MoU for establishing an office in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Further, being one of the largest producers of Russian-origin Su-30 aircraft, HAL said it has the capabilities to extend the required support to RMAF for the Su-30 MKM fleet which is facing low serviceability issues due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.

HAL can support RMAF for upgrading their Hawk fleet as well. Other HAL platforms like HTT-40, Do-228, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) have the potential to be inducted by RMAF in future, the statement said.

"Considering the above factors, HAL's office in Kuala Lumpur will take up the market promotion of HAL's range of products and services not only in Malaysia but in the entire South East Asia," HAL said.

HAL submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Malaysia, in October 2021 for the supply of 18 FLIT LCAs against a global tender issued by RMAF.

The office will also contribute to increasing the serviceability of existing platforms being operated by RMAF and for neighbouring Air Forces in the region, it was stated.

The MoU was signed by GM, LCA, HAL, Ravi K and Major (R) Mohd Husairi Bin Mat Zain of Forte Drus, the official representative of HAL in Malaysia.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, High Commissioner of India in Malaysia, B N Reddy and Additional Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjay Jaju, were among those present on the occasion.

HAL can support RMAF for upgrading their Hawk fleet as well.

The office in Malaysia will be the first one dedicated solely to focusing on marketing and business development, sources said. However, the office in Kuala Lumpur will not be HAL’s first office abroad.

ALSO READ - India offers to set up production facilities for LCA Tejas and helicopters in Egypt

It has offices in London and Moscow but these are primarily to liaison for existing deals for Hawk trainer aircraft and Russian fighters. HAL is also in talks with Egypt for a possible sale of the LCA Tejas. India has offered to set up a production facility in Egypt.

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