Emirates to completely revamp the interiors of its A380 and B777

Emirates has kick-started its plans to upgrade the entire interior cabins of 120 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft – two of the largest commercial aircraft types in service today.

This is a multi-billion dollar investment project to ensure Emirates’ customers “fly better” for the coming years, officially commences in November and is managed entirely by Emirates’ Engineering team.

The target is to completely retrofit four Emirates aircraft from start to finish every month, continuously for over 2 years. Once the 67 earmarked A380s are refreshed and back in service, 53 777s will undergo their facelift.

Emirates to completely revamp the interiors of its A380 and B777

Emirates is the largest A380 operator with a fleet of 123 aircraft of this type. The airline operates more than half of its A380s but expects to operate up to 90 by the end of the year according to Richard Jewsbury, divisional vice president of the UK at Emirates. 

ALSO READ - Emirates’ CEO wants Airbus to create a replacement for the A380 superjumbo

This will see nearly 4,000 brand new Premium Economy seats installed, 728 First Class suites refurbished and over 5,000 Business Class seats upgraded to a new style and design when the project is complete in April 2025.

In addition, carpets and stairs will be upgraded, and cabin interior panels refreshed with new tones and design motifs including the iconic ghaf trees which are native to the UAE.

Carpets and stairs will be upgraded, and cabin interior panels refreshed with new tones and design motifs including the iconic ghaf trees which are native to the UAE.

No other airline has handled a retrofit of this magnitude in-house, and there’s no blueprint for such an undertaking. Therefore Emirates Engineering teams have been planning and testing extensively, to establish and streamline processes, and identify and address any possible snags. 

Trials began on an A380 in July, where experienced engineers took each cabin apart piece by piece and logged every step. From removing seats and panelling to bolts and screws, every action was tested, timed and mapped out.

Potential impediments to completing the installation of Emirates’ new Premium Economy Class or the retrofit of the remaining three cabins in just 16 days were flagged and documented for expert teams to review and address.

Trials began on an A380 in July, where experienced engineers took each cabin apart piece by piece and logged every step

As part of the programme, new purpose-built workshops will be set up at Emirates Engineering to repaint, re-trim and re-upholster Business and Economy Class seats with new covers and cushions.

First Class suites will be carefully disassembled and sent to a specialised company to replace the leather, armrests and other materials. 

From the trials, Engineers discovered several unexpected solutions for instance: that existing food catering trucks could be easily repurposed to move parts destined for refurbishment from the aircraft to the workshop for their refresh, as these vehicles had doors of the right width and offer sufficient space.

Until the retrofit programme starts in earnest in November, a cross-disciplinary team has been assembled to regularly review the planning process, address any issues, and track updates on various aspects of the project such as procurement, staffing, and training.

First Class suites will be carefully disassembled and sent to a specialised company to replace the leather, armrests and other materials. 

Emirates’ new Premium Economy cabin class, which offers luxurious seats, more legroom, and service to rival many airlines’ business offerings, is currently available to Emirates customers travelling on popular A380 routes to London, Paris, and Sydney.

More customers will be able to experience the airline’s new Premium Economy cabins starting from year-end, as the retrofit programme picks up momentum.

The news of the retrofit program follows an earlier announcement when the airline revealed a USD 2 billion-dollar investment to improve its inflight passenger experience as part of its ‘Fly Better’ program. 

Challenged by western sanctions that have hit the civil aviation sector hard, Russia plans to drastically increase the production of commercial aircraft, from the current capacity of 40 planes annually to 120, the President of its largest aerospace company, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has said.

Russia is facing a crippling shortage of passenger aircraft as the Boeing and Airbus fleets operated by its airlines have been cut off from support and service. This had inhibited its ability to operate international flights, bringing domestic programs like the Sukhoi SuperJet and MC 21 into focus.

ALSO READ - The Russian rival to the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 completes rigorous testing under sub-zero temperatures

Russia considers increasing the production of civilian aircraft in response to sanctions

At least one Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 and an Airbus A350, both operated by Aeroflot, are currently grounded and being disassembled.

ALSO READ - Russian flights banned from American airspace; Boeing halts maintenance support

“Our main task is to substitute foreign aircraft with Russian developed and manufactured aircraft. Right now we are making 40 aircraft per year and are aiming for a three-fold increase as early as possible.Our main task is to jointly work with the (Russian) Ministry of Defence to ensure stable operation of the fleet that we have to maintain and also to continue producing new aircraft for government orders."Yuri Slusar, President, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)

The Russian company is also looking to eliminate its dependency on foreign parts and systems for domestically manufactured aircraft. On the military front, the senior executive said that the main challenge is to ensure that aircraft availability for the special military operation’ continues.

Slusar said that plans are in place to visit India in the nearest future’ to discuss upgrade programs for the Russian fighter fleet in service with the air force.

India has been looking to upgrade its Su 30MKI fighter fleet

India has been looking to upgrade its Su 30MKI fighter fleet and has had discussions with Russia for procurement of additional MiG 29 and Su 30MKI combat aircraft.

The UAC President also made a strong pitch for the MiG 35 fighter jet for an Indian requirement for new multi-role combat aircraft, claiming that only Russia could meet the requirements of more than 60% technology transfer and local production of the jets.

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

India still lacks a 5th Gen fighter jet, which is considered the most advanced fighter jet in the world and only a few countries in the world have this type of aircraft.

The Indian Air Force is one of the most advanced defence forces in the world with a fleet that can put any country to shame. IAF has the most advanced fighter jet fleet in the region and also in the world.

To give an insight, the United States has Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, while China has Chengdu J-20 and Russia has Sukhoi Su-57. These are the only three countries with the advanced 5th generation fighter jet.

Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II are one of the most advanced fighter jets.

On the other hand, India is readying its Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme to rival these nations. 

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Former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria announced that the development of 5th Generation advanced multi-role combat aircraft has been launched.

Recently a tweet revealed the wind tunnel model of the AMCA, highlighting the design of the fighter jet. As seen in the image, the jet will get a dual engine configuration.

https://twitter.com/RupprechtDeino/status/1555889850255118337

If we see the current fleet of the Indian Air Force, India has mostly foreign-sourced fighter jets, leaving aside HAL-made Tejas LCA, which will serve as the first line of defence for India and will replace the ageing MiG-21 Bison.

However, among the most advanced planes with the IAF is the French-made Dassault Rafale, which is a 4.5 Gen plane at best.

While India can get the Russia-made Sukhoi Su-57 as its most advanced fighter jet, IAF has pitched strongly for indigenous weapons platforms and will rely on the supersonic AMCA, being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Development of 5th Generation advanced multi-role combat aircraft launched

The prime features are the Diverterless Supersonic Inlet (DSI) and a 3D ‘bump’ that prevent radar waves from bouncing off the engine blades/turbines, making it a Stealth jet.

The jet is seen sporting an Infrared Search and Track (IRST) above the nose cone along with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, used to enhance medium and long-range detection of targets.

The AMCA will be IAF's backbone in the coming decades, and the Indian Air Force is not looking to induct a foreign-made 5th Gen jet till the AMCA is made. A naval version of the 5th Generation fighter will also be developed for the Indian Navy.

A naval version of the 5th Generation fighter will also be developed for the Indian Navy.

ALSO READ - Ground-breaking achievement for India as the country’s first stealth-fighter prototype kicks off production

The aircraft will have a high degree of stealth, the ability to carry weapons internally as well as externally, internal fuel capacity, supercruise and perform the role of both air-to-air to air-to-ground attacks.

With the AMCA will primarily engage targets beyond visual range, it will also have a powerful thrust-vectoring engine for super manoeuvrability for better dogfighting capabilities.

(With Inputs from Zee News)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a penalty of ?5 lakh each on five helicopter operators ferrying pilgrims to Kedarnath shrine over irregularities in flying records, officials mentioned.

The incident happened at a time when the Char Dham pilgrimage was in full swing in Uttarakhand. So far, at least 450,000 pilgrims have embarked on the pilgrimage since its re-opening on May 6 after a gap of 2 years due to the pandemic.

The irregularities and violations came to light during an audit conducted in June, days after a chopper ferrying pilgrims to the high-altitude shrine made a hard landing on May 31.

DGCA imposes INR 5 lakh penalty on 5 helicopter operators at Kedarnath

On May 31, at about 01:30 PM, a Thambi Aviation Pvt Ltd Bell 407 helicopter executed an un-stabilized approach in marginal weather, resulting in a very hard landing with consequent uncontrolled yaw for about 270 degrees.

ALSO READ - DGCA begins probe of a helicopter bouncing and turning 270 degrees while landing at Kedarnath

The director general of DGCA formed a team for spot check of the choppers involved in shuttle operations in Kedarnath, an official in Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) said.

“On June 7th and 8th, the team conducted a spot check in which serious violations came to light, prompting it to hold a detailed audit of all operators undertaking the shuttle operations,” the official added.

DGCA also suspended officials of two other operators for three months over violation of safety regulations.

DGCA has also issued an operational advisory to all operators for strict compliance to safety standards as per the joint SOP issued for these operations.

The advisory has asked pilots to exercise caution about tailwinds during approaches at the four high-altitude shrines, especially at Kedarnath which faces a constraint of a one-way approach.

"During the audit that had taken place between June 13 and June 16, it was discovered that five operators were not keeping accurate flying records in their technical log books."Arun Kumar, Director General of DGCA

Two more people were discovered to have broken the joint standard operating procedure's rules. DGCA opted not to release the operators' names.

ALSO READ - Chopper makes ‘dangerously’ close landing on Amarnath Yatra route

A charter airplane from India with 12 passengers on board landed at Pakistan's Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Monday, August 15 reported Geo News.

According to the media reports, the flight took off from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and landed at Karachi airport at 12:10 PM. However, it departed from Karachi after a short while. The reason for the landing is not yet clear.

A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed the development and said the international charter flight had flown in from India and it had no connection whatsoever with the country other than that.

Indian charter aircraft lands in Karachi; reason not apparent

The latest incident comes after two planes from India landed in Karachi last month due to technical issues. SpiceJet Delhi-Dubai flight suffered a mid-air malfunction in its fuel indicator and was diverted to Karachi on July 5.

IndiGo's Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was delayed to Karachi as a precaution on July 17 after pilots observed a defect in one of the engines.

Following the Balakot strike in February 2019, Pakistan initiated a months-long closure of its airspace that was finally lifted in the middle of July 2019.

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