Go First offers 1 free ticket to the passengers left behind; DGCA issues show cause notice

Aviation regulator DGCA issued a show cause notice to Go First for "multiple mistakes" that led to 55 Delhi flight passengers being left behind in a coach at Bangalore airport on Monday, January 9 and the budget airline has apologised for the incident, saying it happened due to inadvertent oversight in reconciliation.

The airline has been given two weeks to respond to the show cause notice and based on the response, further action will be initiated. Go First has derostered the staff involved in the incident pending an inquiry. The airline has issued a show cause notice to the ground handling agency concerned at the Bangalore airport for the lapse.

ALSO READ - Go First plane left Bengaluru airport without any of its nearly 50 passengers; DGCA seeks report

The incident happened on Monday, January 9 morning with the passengers who were to board a Delhi flight. Later in the day, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sought a report from the airline about the incident.

Go First offers 1 free ticket to the passengers left behind; DGCA issues show cause notice

In a statement on Tuesday, January 10, the regulator said that Go First operated flight G8-116 on the Bangalore-Delhi sector leaving behind 55 passengers in the passenger coach at Bangalore airport. After perusal of the incident report submitted by Go First, the watchdog said that prima-facie it emerges that the airline failed to comply with various norms.

"In the instant case, multiple mistakes such as lack of proper communication, co-ordination, reconciliation and confirmation have resulted in a highly avoidable situation," DGCA said. It has issued a show cause notice to the Accountable Manager/ Chief Operation Officer of Go First as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to an inadvertent oversight in the reconciliation of flight G8 116… passengers were accommodated on alternate airlines to Delhi and onward to other destinations," an airline spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

Go First has decided to offer all affected passengers one free ticket for travel on any domestic sector in the next 12 months. "The airline has initiated an inquiry into the incident and the matter is being investigated. All concerned staff of the roaster till the inquiry is going on," it said, adding that the airline has also issued a show cause notice to the ground handling agency concerned.

Go First has decided to offer all affected passengers one free ticket for travel on any domestic sector in the next 12 months.

“Go First failed to comply with the provision specified at para 9 and 13 of CAR Section 3, Series C, Part II issued by DGCA resulted in violation of Para (1A) of Rule 134 read with Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. M/s Go First has failed to comply with the provision specified in para 5.2 of ATC 02 of 2019,” DGCA’s statement read.

The number of staff who have been derostered could not be immediately ascertained. In its statement, DGCA mentioned norms about 'Minimum Requirements for Grant of Air Operator Certificate to Operate Scheduled Air Transport Services (Passenger)' and the Air Transport Circular on 'Facilities/Courtesies to the esteemed travelling public at airports'.

"As per the above-referred regulations, the concerned airline is responsible for ensuring adequate arrangement for ground handling, preparation of load and trim sheet, flight dispatch and passenger/cargo handling and also ensure that all the ground handling staff engaged in passenger handling undergo periodic soft skill training for sensitisation, courtesy, behaviour and procedures for assisting the passengers," it said.

The number of staff who have been derostered could not be immediately ascertained.

To follow the principles of natural justice, the regulator said two weeks have been given to submit the response to the show cause notice and based on that further action will be taken.

On Monday, some passengers mentioned the incident on social media and in response to a tweet by a passenger, the airline urged the users to share their details and said: "We regret the inconvenience caused".

This is the third instance in less than a week where DGCA has issued a show cause notice to an airline. The regulator has issued show-cause notices to Air India concerning incidents of passenger misbehaviour onboard two international flights.

Jet Airways' winning bidder Jalan Kalrock Consortium has asked the airline monitoring committee's authorised representative Ashish Chhawcharia not to issue any communication on behalf of the grounded carrier without the approval of all the members of the committee.

Amid the continuing uncertainty over the fate of beleaguered airlines, which shuttered operations in April 2019, the consortium on Tuesday, January 10 wrote a letter to Chhawcharia. This comes more than a week after Chhawchharia reportedly shot off a letter to Sanjiv Kapoor, asking him to refrain from using the title of CEO as he was only a CEO-designate.

Replying to Chhawchharia’s letter, JKC said in a statement last week that Kapoor has been the CEO-designate since the time he came on board in April 2021, as the ownership transfer of Jet Airways is yet to be completed. JKC stated that Kapoor received the necessary security clearance from the civil aviation ministry and requires no further approval from any statutory authority.

Jalan-Kalrock Consortium asks RP not to communicate on behalf of Jet Airways

The affairs of Jet Airways are being currently looked at by a seven-member Monitoring Committee (MC). Apart from Chhawcharia, there are three representatives each from the consortium and financial creditors, respectively, in the panel.

In the letter, the consortium has also sought a copy of the relevant minutes of the MC meetings in which the matter of CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor was "discussed and deliberated" "We request you to forthwith share a copy of the relevant minutes of the Monitoring Committee meeting in which this matter was discussed and deliberated and/or a resolution was passed to issue such a letter to Kapoor," it stated.

The letter claims to represent all management committee members of the consortium. "You (Chhawcharia) are advised to refrain from communicating on behalf of Jet Airways until authorised by all required members of the MC," the letter said.

The consortium has also requested Chhawchharia to act on matters which are authorised or otherwise approved by the committee jointly as an authorised representative of the MC. "In the event, there exists no MC resolution which authorises you to write to Kapoor, your letter under reference shall be considered null and void," it said in the letter.

Chhawchharia is a partner and head of restructuring services at Grant Thornton Bharat. He was appointed as the resolution professional to oversee the airline’s affairs during the insolvency process. Chhawchharia is a non-voting member of the MC, which also consists of three voting members selected by lenders and three voting members chosen by JKC.

Chhawcharia could not be immediately contacted for comments. According to the letter, Kapoor who received necessary security clearance from the civil aviation ministry in August 2022 is the CEO-designate for Jet Airways and thus requires no further approval from any statutory authority.

Moreover, Kapoor along with other employees continue on the payrolls of the consortium and will be transitioned to the payrolls of Jet Airways after the transfer of ownership to it, the letter said.

ALSO READ - Sanjiv Kapoor named as the CEO of Jet Airways

A US citizen, Kapoor took over as CEO-designate at Jet Airways after briefly working at Oberoi Hotels & Resorts as its president. Before that, he was the chief commercial officer of Vistara and the chief operating officer of SpiceJet.

In October 2020, the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the revival plan submitted by the consortium of Dubai-based Murari Lal Jalan and the UK's Kalrock Capital. In June 2021, the consortium's bid was approved under the insolvency resolution process. However, the implementation of the resolution plan is facing headwinds.

ALSO READ - Jet Airways relaunch to delay further due to unpaid payments

So far, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium has deposited bank guarantees worth INR 150 crore with the lenders, but the lenders are of the view that the winning bidder has been unsuccessful in making a cash payment of INR 185 crore to the financial creditors within 180 days from the effective date. The effective date, in this case, is the date of fulfilment of all the conditions and is believed to be 20 May.

In an ongoing case in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the lenders have stated that JKC has not fulfilled three out of five conditions precedent (CP) mentioned in the NCLT-approved resolution plan and therefore, Jet Airways can't be handed over to JKC right now. This contention by the lenders is confusing because a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order of October 21 has stated that JKC has “completed all necessary CPs to the satisfaction of the monitoring committee”.

ALSO READ - Jet Airways Pilots & Cabin Crew leave amid uncertain takeoff

Chinese state-owned aerospace manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has obtained airworthiness approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for its ARJ21 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion program.

The Chinese airframer has been working on the freighter conversion program of the ARJ21 since May 2020. After the preliminary design, detailed design, modification, and implementation, COMAC says it completed a compliance verification test flight and an airworthiness compliance report in December. The CAAC approved the program on January 1.

Under the new program, COMAC will attempt to become the first choice for airlines operating in the regional Chinese air cargo market. While the company has not specified when the first ARJ21 narrow-body jet will be converted into a cargo aircraft, two local airlines, YTO Cargo Airlines and Zhongyuan Airlines have already expressed an interest in the freighter.

COMAC launches ARJ21 Freighter Conversion Program

According to the manufacturer’s statement released on January 6, 2023, the converted ARJ21 will be able to fly up to 10 tons (more than 22,04 lbs.) of air freight containers meeting different standard sizes such as PMC, PAG, and AKE.

The cargo jet will feature a full electric freight loading system, which will allow a customer to load goods via the main cargo door. The plane will also be equipped with an advanced warning system for fire prevention as well as a modern air-conditioning system, COMAC added.

The event acknowledged the important roles of CCP ideology and the “ardent enthusiasm” of Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the country’s pursuit of developing commercial aircraft, such as the ARJ21 and C919.

In a speech at the event, Civil Aviation Authority of China official Shen Xiaoming offered his views on Comac’s objectives: “In 2023, we must follow the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, unswervingly implement the large aircraft strategy, resolutely implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, and deeply understand the mission and responsibility I have undertaken in the large aircraft business…insisting on safety first and quality first.”

According to COMAC, almost 100 ARJ21-700s have been delivered as of December 2022.

First rolled out in December 2007, the ARJ21 jet was granted its type certificate by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in December 2014.?

The regional jet looks similar to the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 single-aisle airliner and features a 25-degree swept supercritical wing designed by Antonov as well as twin rear-mounted General Electric CF34 engines. However, COMAC claims that the plane design is a completely independent intellectual property of China.

With a range of 3,700 kilometres (around 2,299 miles), the ARJ21-700 regional jet is a baseline aircraft model with a seating capacity for up to 95 passengers onboard. But COMAC is also developing the longer -900 variant, which is expected to be capable of flying between 95 and 105 travellers in a two-class seating configuration.?

Under the new program, COMAC will attempt to become the first choice for airlines operating in the regional Chinese air cargo market.

The manufacturer plans to expand the ARJ21 family with two additional ARJ21 variants: an ARJ21F freighter version and an ARJ21B business jet. The dedicated ARJJ21 business jet is expected to serve as a small executive jet for 20 passengers onboard.

ALSO READ - China’s COMAC declares delivery of the 100th ARJ21 aircraft

According to COMAC, almost 100 ARJ21-700s have been delivered as of December 2022.

According to the production list, 108 ARJ21s have been built since 2007. They are in service with the Big Three Air China, China Southern, OTT/China Eastern, Chengdu Airlines, and a few smaller airlines. The oldest aircraft in active service with Chengdu is just over eight years old, but some unspecified aircraft are eligible for passenger-to-freighter conversions. Chengdu Airlines has been operating the type on numerous cargo-only flights since the start of the pandemic in 2020

Air India has increased Delhi to London Heathrow flights to 17x weekly. According to OAG data, it is the route's second-highest frequency to date, trailing only a 21x weekly (3x daily) service in 2015 and 2016. It looks to use slots that were leased from Garuda Indonesia and will be the highest in seven years.

Expect to see more flights on the route given Air India's transformation strategy, new ownership, new CEO, more aircraft, increased emphasis on Delhi as a hub, and planned merger with Vistara (which runs Delhi-Heathrow).

Air India increases Delhi to London Heathrow flights to 17x weekly

From the end of March, Air India will increase the number of flights between Delhi and Heathrow from the current 14x weekly (2x daily) to 17x weekly. Now, Air India will fly out of London in the late afternoon and back in the evening. It will now cover the morning, the afternoon, and the evening when travelling to India. The following is the schedule -

Delhi to Heathrow: AI161, 02:35-07:30; 1x daily

Delhi to Heathrow: AI111, 06:35-11:30; 1x daily

Delhi to Heathrow: AI165, 15:05-20:00; Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays

Heathrow to Delhi: AI162, 09:45-22:55; 1x daily

Heathrow to Delhi: AI112, 13:15-02:25 (+1); 1x daily

Heathrow to Delhi: AI166, 21:45-10:55 (+1); Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays

Air India owns 27 of the 256-seater Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which will be used on all routes. Each has 256 seats, with 18 seats in business class and 238 seats in economy. They will, however, be renovated and upgraded to feature premium economy. With more seats than the Boeing 777-200LR but fewer than the Boeing 777-300ER, the 787 is currently Air India's second-largest widebody in terms of capacity.

Air India owns 27 of the 256-seater Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which will be used on all routes.

The change occurs shortly after Air India boosted service from Mumbai to Heathrow to a record-high two times daily. However, as of January 9, there are no Air India flights from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, Hyderabad, or Kochi scheduled for or available for purchase from Heathrow this summer. There will only be served in Delhi and Mumbai.

Booking data shows that there were 663,000 roundtrip point-to-point passengers between Heathrow and Delhi in 2019, the most recent typical year. There are anticipated to be 1,608 non-stop departures from Heathrow to Delhi between March 26 and October 28 this summer, operated by Air India, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Vistara. In other words, there will be the most ever flights between Delhi and Heathrow, up to 8 per day. 

ALSO READ - Air India starts discussing aircraft orders; to introduce a premium economy class in long-haul flights

(With Inputs from Simple Flying)

As part of the upcoming upgrades, the F-35 Lightning II stealth aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps will receive a brand-new radar system named the AN/APG-85. The improvements might be finished by the end of this decade.

The AN/APG-85 radar was briefly mentioned last year but, strangely, went unnoticed for the majority of the year since it was thought to be a typo. When the U.S. Air Force addressed the radar nomenclature in its presentation of its unfunded priority list (UPL) last month, it started to circulate once more.

What's new?

AN/APG-81, a solid-state active electronically scanned array, is the name of the F-35's radar arrangement at the moment (AESA). The radar, made by Northrop Grumman, is the replacement for the AN/APG-77, which was contracted out in 2001 and can be seen on F-22s.

The U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps are jointly developing and integrating an advanced radar for the F-35 Lightning II, which is capable of defeating current and projected adversarial air and surface threats. This advanced radar will be compatible with all variants of the F-35 aircraft.-the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO)

A Lockheed Martin Presentation describing the functionality of the AN/APG-81, the F-35's existing radar | Lockheed Martin

Over the next few years, all three F-35 A/B/C variants will undergo a significant modernization effort, including what we now know to be its new AN/APG-85 radar. Some of these upgrades, known as Block 4 upgrades, are still under wraps, but others are at least publicly known to have included a significant upgrade to the jet's Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS), the integration of a number of new weapons like the GBU-53/B StormBreaker precision-guided bomb, and significant improvements to the aircraft's electronic warfare suite. These are just a few of the known improvements; further changes, such as airframe modifications and stealth coatings, could possibly be made.

Cockpit of a Lockheed Martin F35 Lightning II stealth fighter | Representative | Reddit

The F-35's central CPU, memory unit, and panoramic cockpit display system must be updated before any of these modifications can be implemented. This project, designated Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) by the Defense Department, aims to replace the jet's TR-2 computing system with one that can handle all of the new hardware and software that will be incorporated under Block 4.

Although the technology may seem dated, it is anticipated to be the standard fitment for the F-35s long until 2035, according to Northrop Grumman's website. Since other nations like the United Kingdom, Europe, and Southeast Asia also purchase F-35s, it is possible that the United States will transition to an improved radar for its F-35s.

We just don't know what the AN/APG-85 will add to the table compared to its predecessor. But since the F-35 was created, AESA technology has undergone tremendous advancement. The F-35's radar range and resolution could be much improved, and a major component of this enhancement is extremely likely to be a system based on gallium nitride (GaN). Another important aspect would likely be the radar's capacity to enable more dynamic electronic warfare techniques.

The U.S. military is keeping its intentions under wraps since the enhanced capabilities of Block 4 upgrades and the new radar's capabilities are yet unknown. Before we hear anything new about the AN/APG-85 radar, it might be a few years.

SOURCE: interestingengineering.com | drive.com (warzone)

COVER: CNBC

A Go First plane which was Delhi-bound reportedly left the Bengaluru airport without any of its nearly 50 passengers. The passengers were left waiting in a shuttle bus for boarding. The aviation regulator DGCA has sought a report from the airline on the incident.

The airport officials and staff later issued all the passengers fresh boarding passes. The passengers were accommodated on a flight which left Bengaluru at 10 am on Monday.

Some passengers alleged on social media that a busload of passengers were not taken onboard the Go First flight from Bengaluru to Delhi. Flight G8 116 departed at 6.40 am on Monday, January 9 leaving behind the passengers, they alleged. Go First declined to comment on the incident.

Go First plane left Bengaluru airport without any of its nearly 50 passengers; DGCA seeks report

However, in response to one of the tweets, the airline urged the users to share their details and said: "We regret the inconvenience caused". "Flight G8 116 (BLR-DEL) flew leaving passengers on the ground! More than 50 passengers on 1 bus were left on the ground & the flight took off with just passengers of 1 bus on board. Is @GoFirstairways @JM_Scindia @PMOIndia operating in sleep? No Basic checks!" said a tweet from a passenger named Satish Kumar.

Another passenger Shreya Sinha too complained on Twitter, saying, "most horrifying experience with @GoFirstairways 5:35 am Boarded the bus for aircraft 6:30 am Still in bus stuffed with over 50 passengers, the driver stopped the bus after being forced. Flight G8 116 takes off, leaving 50+ passengers. Heights of negligence! @DGCAIndia".

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, "We have sought a report from the airline and appropriate action shall be taken afterwards".

ALSO READ - Wadia Group to infuse Rs. 510 crores in Go First for its working capital needs