EaseMyTrip intends to buy a 75% stake in Nutana Aviation

Sakshi Jain

02 Dec 2022

EaseMyTrip increased 7.22% to Rs 67.55 after the business disclosed that it had signed a binding deal to buy a 75% stake in Nutana Aviation Capital IFSC.

According to the Crisil Report-Assessment of the OTA Industry in India, February 2021, Easy Trip Planners (EaseMyTrip) is one of the largest online travel platforms in India in terms of booking airline tickets. It provides "End to End" travel options, including train and bus tickets, hotel rooms, vacation packages, and flight tickets.

Nutana Aviation is Gujarat’s GIFT city-based charter solutions company that offers charter solutions to clients in India and abroad and leases charter aircraft within and outside India.

Nutana Aviation offers charter solutions to clients in India and abroad and leases charter aircraft within and outside India

According to Easy Trip Planners, the acquisition of Nutana Aviation is a strategic choice that is consistent with its long-term diversification ambitions of creating a complete travel ecosystem. EaseMyTrip also stated that it wanted to increase its footprint in international areas while concentrating on inorganic growth and profitability.

Also read: EaseMyTrip forms an exclusive partnership with Flybig

EaseMyTrip would own the majority of Nutana aviation as part of the agreement. Following EaseMyTrip's investment, Nutana Aviation will carry on as a stand-alone business.

“As an acquiring party, EaseMyTrip always tries to buy stakes in companies that have the capability to establish an exemplary operations model in the future. Nutana Aviation brings a very novel idea to realization with its services. With India’s ever-growing demand for aircraft charters in the foreseeable future, we see Nutana shaping a reliable, robust, and profitable channel. We are extremely excited to see what the future holds for Nutana Aviation as a part of the EaseMyTrip brand.”

–Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-founder, EaseMyTrip

Nishant Pitti, CEO of EaseMyTrip predicts that demands for corporate travel will increase in the coming year

He predicts that demand will come from business travel.

“We see a brilliant opportunity in this segment. By the end of this fiscal, we will sell and lease back three aircraft, and in the next fiscal will invest in 10 aircraft. We believe that this segment will have the potential to contribute up to Rs 10 crore in the next financial year.”

-Nishant Pitti added.

He said that EaseMyTrip will be the only site for purchasing tickets for the charter services. The business will also make money from ticket sales as a commission.

“It’s our great pleasure to enter into a joint venture with EaseMyTrip which is India’s one of largest travel platforms. It will not only support its organic growth in the travel industry but also support a number of opportunities related to booking charter and leasing air services immersed with technology across the globe. Our combined experience in the aviation sector would usher into a new era of aviation.”

–Sanjay Mandavia, Founder, Nutana Aviation

EaseMyTrip announced record gross booking revenue for the second quarter of FY23, which was $1,977.7 crore, the highest ever for any period. In Q2FY23, the company generated operating revenue of 108.5 crores, up from 56.65 crores in the same quarter last year, on a consolidated basis. To $112.07 crore, net income increased 87.5% year over year.

Following the announcement, EaseMyTrip stock today increased on the exchanges. The stock increased nearly 5% from Wednesday's close to close today on the BSE, closing at INR 66.

Following the Nutana Aviation acquisition announcement, EaseMyTrip stock today increased on the exchanges

EaseMyTrip's performance has been most remarkable in 2022, despite a persistently negative attitude toward new-age IT firms. Prior to two weeks ago, when they began trading ex-bonus and ex-split, their shares reached their highest circuit on the BSE.

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Operations at Mumbai Airport hit by fibre cable damage

Sakshi Jain

02 Dec 2022

A network outage on Thursday, November 1, at Mumbai Airport's Terminal 2 briefly interfered with regular operations at the airport. 

Mumbai Airport was shut down for around two hours on Thursday due to a fibre cable cut at a metro construction site, which rendered the country's second busiest airport's server inoperable and hampered boarding and check-in procedures.

Operations at Mumbai Airport were shut down for around two hours on Thursday due to a fibre cable cut

Chaos erupted at the airport and several flights were affected after the internet server crashed, prompting airlines to issue boarding passes manually. 

Also read: Mumbai airport to close its runways for 6 hours

“The systems went off at around 5 pm and were restored completely at 6.35 pm.”

–Mumbai Airport Official

The airport staff worked with the airlines to be able to facilitate and address concerns. All systems were restored and functional by 7:20 pm.

“There was a network interruption resulting from a cable cut during some construction work in the city. This interrupted the various ticketing systems. All systems are now restored and working.”

–In a statement issued later in the day, the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said.

https://twitter.com/CSMIA_Official/status/1598321244977467393

DIG Shrikant Kishore of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) had told HT that the optic fibre cable breakage was to blame for the system breakdown.

Also read: Mumbai Airport’s air traffic control faces numerous glitches due to outdated equipment

Social media was inundated with images showing long lines at all baggage drop desks during the downtime. The CISF stated in a statement that the "crowd is slightly more than normal" as chaos broke out as people vented their frustrations on social media as a result of the server crash. As manual passes were being distributed, it stated that the crowd is being managed effectively and there is no mayhem.

https://twitter.com/MirrorNow/status/1598291619824140289

“Our teams are present on the ground and manual processing has been initiated to facilitate all passengers. We sincerely regret the inconvenience and thank our passengers for their understanding.”

–Mumbai International Airport spokesperson said

All airlines were affected, a Vistara representative informed HT. A representative for Akasa Air concurred with this and added that the airport operators were addressing the impact on airline services. According to the demands of the travellers, they were providing assistance. 

Air India responded to several users on Twitter by stating that their team was "diligently" working to minimise the inconvenience.

https://twitter.com/airindiain/status/1598301861332848642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The second-busiest airport in India, Mumbai, receives passenger handling technology from Geneva-based SITA. Along with self-service kiosks and a baggage reconciliation system that makes sure the proper bag is on the right plane with the appropriate passenger, it also offers common-use check-in and boarding.

In order to better serve the passengers, the airport has requested that travellers allow more time for check-in. While there have been no cancellations as a result of the IT-enabled flight operations being stopped, flight delays were noted as a result of the check-in procedure being interrupted.

One single delay causes a spillover effect, and it will likely take some time for flight operations to resume normally because the metro airport, the second busiest airport in the nation, manages substantial air traffic. 

An airport representative said that people flying out of Mumbai airport should check the timing of their flights and allow extra time before leaving for the airport.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times)

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IndiGo introduces digitised e-logbook for pilots

Radhika Bansal

02 Dec 2022

No-frills airline IndiGo has launched a digital e-logbook for pilots and the facility will allow the transfer of pilots' flight data directly to aviation regulator DGCA.

In a release on Thursday, December 1 IndiGo said it had become the first Indian airline to launch a digital e-logbook for pilots.

"In collaboration with DGCA, the e-logbook will provide direct flight data transfer service to pilots from IndiGo systems to eGCA logbooks, effective December 1, 2022," it said.

IndiGo introduces a digitised e-logbook for pilots

ALSO READ - Civil aviation services get Digital, DGCA launched eGCA

eGCA is an online platform for various processes under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). With the automated process, the flying hours entered in the eGCA e-logbook will have the consistency of data and format for all the stakeholders, increasing safety and efficiency in operations.

This will also offer real-time availability of flying hours data for pilots in compliance with rule 67A of Aircraft rules, and enable data accuracy and timely submission of issuance, renewals, and endorsement of licences by removal of multi-layer data validation.

“We are proud to partner with DGCA to become the country’s first airline to introduce Digital e-logbook, taking a leap towards digitalisation in Indian aviation. This initiative is the beginning of a new era to enhance operational efficiency and easing of complexity and workload for pilots. This step is in line with the Government’s vision of “e-Governance and Digital India” and our philosophy of providing a hassle-free experience to our pilots. I would also like to thank DGCA, team of eGCA, and TCS to turn this into a reality and to all the leadership pilots and e-logbook verifiers for their immense contribution.”

Ashim Mitra, Senior Vice President: Flight Operations, IndiGo

This process will allow pilots to devote more time towards their skill enhancement and improve their quality of life by freeing up time required for work manual log filling.

IndiGo isn't the only Indian carrier going digital. Vistara will also adopt electronic logbook software and go completely paperless in its operations in some time. The airline has selected US-based Ultramain Systems for the job and is testing the product before implementing it officially.

The electronic logbook software will replace the traditional paper-based aircraft paper technical log, cabin log, journey log, damage log, and fueling log. According to the airline, the new system will provide a validated electronic Certificate of Release to Service (e-CRS) on flights operated by Vistara.

IndiGo isn't the only Indian carrier going digital. Vistara will also adopt electronic logbook software and go completely paperless in its operations in some time.

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

The carrier had earlier stated that the ELB application will be used by flight and cabin crew and engineers on iOS devices to provide integrated workflows with Vistara's maintenance and operational systems. The software will be used for various live processes like Aircraft Maintenance and Operational Support (AMOS), Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), and Aviation Resource Management System (ARMS).

The government is also pushing for the digitization of other areas of the aviation sector with the Ministry of Civil Aviation launching DigiYatra to ensure a seamless entry and embarkment process for air travellers. Currently, the service is for just three airports, Delhi, Varanasi, and Bangalore.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia affirmed that the data of passengers will be safe and will be stored in an encrypted format in a decentralized manner.

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Air India to undergo brand makeover, hires London-based consultancy firm

Sakshi Jain

02 Dec 2022

Tata Son's Air India has hired a London-based brand and design consultant 'Futurebrands', to redesign Air India's branding strategy.

Air India is going to refurbish its brand designs as it plans to merge its airlines together

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Futurebrands, which has worked on the rebranding of American Airlines, British luxury automaker Bentley, and the 2012 London Olympics, will seek to update Air India's identity as it strives to become a prefered airline around the globe.

The development of a new airline mascot is one of many initiatives under consideration, as it is believed that the Maharajah, the current mascot, is no longer relevant. Bobby Kooka, the airline's commercial director at the time, designed the mascot in 1946.

Currently, Air India does not promote the debut of new destinations using the Maharajah logo.

Bobby Kooka, the airline's commercial director at the time, designed the Maharaja Mascot in 1946

Also read: Air India issues new grooming guidelines for Cabin Crew

“No decision has been taken. There will be multiple rounds of discussions based on the consultant’s report, cost estimation, and positioning of the new Air India that the group intends. But there is definitely a requirement to refurbish the image in a modern world where it intends to compete with the likes of Emirates and Singapore Airlines.”

–Source cited above

As part of a new brand-building team, the airline has also hired Colin Neubronner, who formerly worked on the branding of Singapore Airlines and Jet Airways, and Sunil Suresh, a former MakeMyTrip executive who has joined as a Chief Marketing Officer.

As Tatas streamline its aviation portfolio by combining four airline brands into two airlines, a new branding strategy for the airline is now crucial. It is currently merging AirAsia India and Air India Express to form a low-cost airline while also combining Vistara into Air India to create a full-service airline by 2024.

The Air India merger will bring Air India and Vistara together making it a full-service airline

While the Vistara name will eventually be dropped, officials in the process indicated it's feasible that some elements of the advertising campaign may remain in the new Air India brand design.

A new brand identity for the low-cost product that will result from the merging of Air India Express and AirAsia India is also being developed by the Tata group. The AirAsia trademark may be used for one year, till mid-2023, in accordance with its agreement with Malaysian airline group AirAsia, which has ceased operations of AirAsia India.

Also read: Air India becomes the most punctual airline in October in 8 years

Connect and Connections by Air India are two of the several names under consideration for the low-cost carrier, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. For the combined firm, a new corporate name, "AIX Connect Private Limited," has been suggested to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Also read: Air India to broaden its network in the US

“Air India Express is a brand that is currently popular among a certain section of customers, especially flying from South India to the Gulf. As the airline aims to operate in a new geographic area including domestic and international, it is necessary that it has a refurbished brand.”

–A Company Executive at Air India

Following the merger of Vistara and Air India, the Tata group's plan to run a single full-service airline will enable quicker turnaround and reduce brand creation costs significantly. Therefore, a renovation is required for the new image in the current world where it plans to compete on a worldwide scale.

(With inputs from The Economic Times)

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Can we leverage proton exchange membrane technology to power zero-emission flights?

Prashant-prabhakar

01 Dec 2022

Instead of using combustion to produce electricity, fuel-cells—first developed by Sir William Grove in 1838—generate electricity very effectively using an electrochemical reaction. They differ from batteries in that they need a constant supply of fuel and oxygen, often from the air, whereas a battery gets its chemical energy from materials that are already in the cell. Therefore, fuel cells can constantly generate energy as long as fuel and oxygen are available.

Airbus

Proton Exchange Membrane is the most promising technology for mobile applications (PEM). Hydrogen is utilized as the "fuel" to produce power in this kind of fuel-cell. The sole byproducts of this kind of fuel cell are heat and water.

Since this technology doesn't produce CO2, NOx, or even very little contrails, having it on board an airplane is extremely appealing. An electric-powered aircraft is necessary to take full use of this benefit, hence there must be enough fuel cell capacity on board to produce enough power at an acceptable weight.

'Stacking' fuel cells to increase output

A "stack" of hundreds of these fuel cells must be electrically connected in series in order to achieve the necessary power levels for usage in an aircraft. Then, a number of similar stacks are joined to create a number of fuel cell "channels". This modular strategy makes it possible to generate the megawatts of electricity required for an electric airplane.

Elring Klinger- a key partner with expertise in automotive fuel-cell technology

Although fuel cells are already employed in some cars, they do not meet the strict specifications needed for use in aircraft.

Regardless, Airbus has partnered with Elring Klinger-  one of the leading providers of fuel cells in the automotive industry, to manufacture and industrialize custom fuel cell stacks for the aviation industry.

These two businesses established a joint venture called "Aerostack" in 2020.

The joint work has advanced significantly in the two years since Aerostack's founding. In Hamburg, where teams are designing, constructing, and testing fuel cell systems, the first prototype fuel cell stacks are already being reviewed by Airbus.

The design and test phase- an iterative process

It's time to test the fuel cell systems after the teams have customized them completely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG50OAJu190

We once experienced issues with the water management, so the drainage design is key.Even as these tests are progressing, the teams are also designing and developing the next-generation of fuel-cell stacks and systems. These will be more compact and more powerful, and which will lead to a version which can fly in Airbus’ planned ZEROe fuel-cell demonstrator. It’s an iterative process, and it doesn’t always go the way we expected, so it brings useful learning opportunities which enable us to improve the process so that it becomes even more stable and robust- Hauke Peer Lüdders, Head of Fuel-Cell propulsion systems for ZEROe Aircraft at Airbus

The test bed's auxiliary system, which includes hydrogen, nitrogen (for the tests only), coolant, and air supplies, as well as a drainage outlet, must first be properly linked (for the derived water by-product). The test bench's doors are shut, the electricity is turned on, and the procedure begins. The teams may then keep an eye on the reaction as it progresses, the production of byproducts, and of course the amount of electricity produced via specific screens.

SOURCE: AIRBUS

COVER: AIRBUS

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Nepal Airlines plane makes emergency landing at Chittagong

Sakshi Jain

01 Dec 2022

A Royal Nepal Airlines plane makes an emergency landing at Chittagong International Airport on Wednesday, November 30 due to a technical glitch.

The Royal Nepal flight 401 was flying to the Thai capital of Bangkok from Kathmandu and had 159 people on board.

The Royal Nepal flight 401 was flying to the Thai capital of Bangkok from Kathmandu when it made an emergency landing in Bangaladesh due to some technical glitch

“The Royal Nepal flight 401 en route from Kathmandu to the Thai capital of Bangkok safely made the emergency landing at our Hazrat Shah Amanat International airport.”

–Farhad Hossain, Manager, Hazrat Shah Amanat International airport

According to Hossain, the airport staff made the necessary preparations as soon as the pilot of the aircraft requested an emergency landing in a message. Hossain claimed that the event happened at around 5 p.m. and that a Royal Nepal technical team responded right away to repair the problems. Nevertheless, after resolving the technical concerns and refuelling, the flight departed Chattogram for Bangkok at around 10:30 p.m.

However, Royal Nepal does not have a presence in Bangladesh, and no passengers on the trip were Bangladeshi. 

After sorting issues, the plane then left Bangaladesh at about 10.30 PM

There were numerous such incidents that happened this year, involving international airlines in India that forced them to stop in Indian airports. 

In July, according to Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), a major emergency was declared at Kochi airport after a hydraulic failure was reported from an arriving Air Arabia flight from Sharjah. The crew and passengers were all safe.

Another incident was an emergency landing at Kolkata Airport by an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Bangkok because of a pressurisation problem.

On July 15, a third occurrence identical to this occurred when a Srilankan Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing at Chennai airport because of a hydraulic problem. As it got closer to Chennai, the Colombo-Chennai flight (UL121) encountered a problem. Crash tenders were positioned at the side of the runway in accordance with protocol once a full emergency was declared.

According to a report from August 2022, Indian Airlines itself had to make a number of emergency landings in the previous two years. 

The Lok Sabha was informed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation that 18 emergency landings had been documented over the previous two years.

Also read: Pilot Suffers Heart Attack Mid-air, Plane Makes Emergency Landing

Also read: Bengaluru-Patna flight makes emergency landing at Nagpur airport

To stop this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation regulator, issued the airline the Air Operator Permit (AOP) upon compliance with the Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs), which mandate that the airline have their own maintenance organisation approved or have a contract with an approved maintenance organisation for maintaining their aircraft in a continuous state of airworthiness.

18 emergency landings had been documented over the previous two years

DGCA ensures that corrective action is taken by the airlines/maintenance organisation, through a system of surveillance, audits, spot checks, night surveillance, etc. It ensures that the airline and the maintenance organisation continue to comply with the regulatory requirements against which they have been initially approved, and in the event of non-compliance. 

If infractions are discovered, the DGCA takes enforcement action against the organisation and its employees. This action may include warnings, the suspension or cancellation of approvals, authorizations, permits, or licences, as well as the imposition of financial penalties.

(With inputs from Dhaka Tribune)

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