Singapore's Seletar Airport positioning itself as a hub for flying taxis

Radhika Bansal

05 Jul 2022

Just 20 minutes north-west of Singapore’s Changi Airport -- regularly voted the world’s best -- is Seletar Airport, the city-state’s second, and far well less known, airfield. It’s predominantly where the super-rich land in their private jets. It’s also where the future of aviation could be taking off.

The neighbourhood, more known for its laid-back cafes in restored British-era colonial buildings and sleepy fishing villages, is positioning itself as a hub for flying taxis.

Singapore has already signed two agreements with advanced air mobility startups Skyports Ltd. and Volocopter GmbH that may convert the ageing aerodrome into a vertiport, or an airport where the aerial devices take off and land vertically, Jetsons-style.

Singapore's Seletar Airport positioning itself as a hub for flying taxis

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It isn’t some way off a dream, either. Plans for flying taxis to be operational at Seletar are pretty immediate -- as soon as 2024 -- and the airport, or vertiport, could serve as a global model for what the future of mobility may look like.

Recent interest in so-called eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles) has been immense.

Electric cabs stole the limelight at this year’s Singapore Air Show in February with Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes of AirAsia fame placing an order to rent at least 100 of them from Vertical Aerospace Ltd. Carriers including American Airlines Inc. and Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. have also ordered scores of eVTOLs.

Plans for flying taxis to be operational at Seletar are pretty immediate -- as soon as 2024 -- and the airport, or vertiport

“Singapore is and continues to strive to be, the world leader in mobility, and this development is another brick in that wall,” said Sunny Xi, a principal at consultancy Oliver Wyman’s transportation and services practice. “This is more than simply solving traffic on roads. Singapore has all the right ingredients to test, learn and scale both the mobility adoption and the business to then export it across the world.”

But flying taxis -- until recently the stuff of science fiction -- have one big and crucial hurdle to clear. Not one has been approved by regulators anywhere to take to the skies with passengers onboard.

Authorities can take years to approve new technology and it’s only recently that flying taxis have taken the giant leap from being a concept to reality. Regulators are now examining the safety of such vehicles before green-lighting them for commercial operations.

Volocopter, which predicts SD 4.2 billion (USD 3 billion) of cumulative economic benefits to Singapore

Companies like Volocopter say it’s just a matter of time, and Asia will play a large role in eVTOL adoption.

Volocopter, which predicts SD 4.2 billion (USD 3 billion) of cumulative economic benefits to Singapore and as many as 1,300 local jobs by 2030 from the industry, is showcasing its aircraft in the city-state later this month to increase public awareness.

“In Asia, you have a high concentration of mega cities that you don’t have in any other region. This new industry is innovative, it’s good for inhabitants, for tourists, and also for cross-border connections to relieve the pain of congestion.”Christian Bauer, Chief Commercial Officer, Volocopter

It also talked up the “political benefits” including reduced car ownership and the ability of Singapore to position itself as a torchbearer for the rest of Asia.

Fares for passengers are expected to start at about 40% of the cost of a helicopter, according to Bauer. That could drop to around the price of a premium taxi within five to six years, he said.

“This makes it interesting for anyone who can afford a taxi to take a Volocopter instead,” Bauer said, adding that the company’s service will be “very silent compared to a helicopter. You will not hear it at all.”

Volocopter’s backers include Chinese automaking powerhouse Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. as well as German logistics firm DB Schenker

Volocopter’s backers include Chinese automaking powerhouse Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. as well as German logistics firm DB Schenker and the venture capital arm of chipmaker Intel Corp. Skyports is supported by Japan’s Kanematsu Corp. and Goodman Group in Australia, as well as Ken Allen, the CEO of DHL eCommerce.

For all the behind-the-scenes work, the burgeoning revolution underway at Seletar isn’t visible yet.

On a recent visit, the airfield was littered with private and small trainer planes, with a few bigger jets in hangars undergoing repairs. Patrons at an aviation-themed bistro overlooking the runway were mostly expats or locals with jobs at nearby plane-maintenance companies.

Inside the terminal, staff were busy guiding a handful of passengers onto a flight to Subang Jaya in Malaysia -- one of the only two commercial services operating from the airport.

Skyports is supported by Japan’s Kanematsu Corp. and Goodman Group in Australia, as well as Ken Allen, the CEO of DHL eCommerce.

With about 82,500 passenger eVTOLs expected to be operational in the Asia Pacific by 2050, the region will account for around half the global market, according to a study by Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and consultancy Roland Berger released earlier this year.

The flying devices could be used as airport shuttles, for tourist flights or inter-city travel, flying as far as 250 kilometres (155 miles) on a single charge, according to the study. More broadly, eVTOLs’ advancement isn’t limited to just Singapore or Asia.

A unit of Kenya Airways Plc agreed last month to buy as many as 40 flying taxis starting in 2026 from EVE UAM, part of US-headquartered Eve Holding Inc.

eVTOLs’ advancement isn’t limited to just Singapore or Asia.

And England’s Coventry, once known as Britain’s motor city, is gearing up to host what’s being billed as the first-ever fully functional hub for flying taxis this spring.

The site, on a car parking lot at a busy junction across the road from Coventry’s main railway station, is being developed by Urban-Air Port Ltd., a London-based startup that competes with Skyports.

“The good thing is, a couple of years back, we were approaching cities,” said Volocopter’s Bauer. “Now cities are approaching Volocopter because they see the demand, they see this revolutionary change, and they want to be there. Singapore is high on the list.”

Outside of regulatory approval, another hurdle is a range, with eVTOLs’ flying time relatively limited. Potential electrification of popular passenger planes like Airbus SE’s A320s series or Boeing Co.’s 737 family has been largely ruled out due to the immense weight of the batteries that would be required to fly hundreds of miles.

The fact the aerial devices are electric isn’t going to put much of a dent in aviation’s huge carbon footprint, either.

About 80% of the industry’s carbon emissions come from flights longer than 1,500 kilometres, which is why flying taxis won’t be a solution in the near term, the International Air Transport Association’s Director General Willie Walsh said in May. The biggest lobby group for airlines is “conservative” about the impact the technology will have on the industry’s path to net zero, Walsh said.

(With Inputs from Bloomberg)

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

Radhika Bansal

05 Jul 2022

Low-fare carrier Go First has grounded more than a fifth of its fleet due to delayed deliveries of aircraft engines by Pratt & Whitney, said three people in the know.

The airline, which is considering an initial public offering, has grounded about a dozen of its 57 planes for weeks as it awaits delivery of the upgraded versions of the PW1100G geared turbofan engines which power the A320neo aircraft.

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

Go First, previously GoAir had sent the earlier engines to the American manufacturer in January and the upgraded versions were to be delivered in five months, one of the people told The Economic Times.

According to the arrangement, Pratt & Whitney would have sent spare engines in the interim. Those too were delayed. The engine maker has now assured the airline that the new upgraded engines would arrive this week, he added.

Grounding a sizeable number of planes has hit Go First’s operations at a time when air travel demand is picking up. Demand, globally, is also now bouncing back and airlines that had shrunk operations and workforce during the pandemic are now finding it difficult to cope.

Grounding a sizeable number of planes has hit Go First’s operations at a time when air travel demand is picking up.

Airlines in the West have been cancelling thousands of flights for the last couple of months due to staff shortages, throwing global air travel schedules awry. Airports such as Heathrow have been in chaos, unable to accept flight landings, and losing passenger luggage by the thousands.

Manufacturers across the world have faced supply chain issues due to port and factory closures. A global report in March said Pratt & Whitney admitted it would have to delay the supply of 70 engines to plane maker Airbus.

India’s biggest airline by market share shifted to a different engine supplier, CFM International, while Go First stuck to PW.

US plane maker Boeing has delayed the delivery of several planes including its 787 Dreamliners. The Pratt & Whitney engine initially had considerable glitches which led to aircraft shutdowns at former customer IndiGo in 2019.

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India’s biggest airline by market share shifted to a different engine supplier, CFM International, while Go First stuck to PW. Wadia group-owned Go First is planning a maiden share issue later this year, aiming to raise INR 3,600 crore.

ALSO READ - Go First plans to launch the IPO after months of deliberation; mulls inducting more aircraft

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

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Safran to set up a MRO facility for LEAP commercial aircraft engines in India

Radhika Bansal

04 Jul 2022

French aircraft engine major Safran is all set to announce a maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for leading-edge aviation propulsion (LEAP) commercial aircraft engines in India as part of its offset commitments.

The MRO facility said to be based either in Hyderabad or Bengaluru, will be announced on July 5 when Safran CEO Olivier Andres meets Indian Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The MRO state-of-the-art facility will be set up through a 100% Indian subsidiary route that will not only service some 330 engines used by Indian commercial carriers but also Safran-GE joint venture engines from other countries in South Asia, West Asia, and Africa.

Safran to set up an MRO facility for LEAP commercial aircraft engines in India

For the facility, SAFRAN is bringing in USD 150 million foreign direct investment with plans of moving into MRO of military engines used in Indian Air Force Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters in the future to push the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative.

The French company is the supplier of M88 engines for IAF’s recently acquired 26 Rafale multi-role fighters and is also the number one helicopter engine supplier to India.

Safran to co-develop with DRDO’s GTRE

Apart from the MRO facility, the French company has also submitted a proposal to the Indian government to co-develop with DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) a new state-of-the-art 110-kilo newton thrust engine for India’s futuristic advanced medium combat aircraft twin-engine AMCA fighter project. 

Safran to co-develop with DRDO’s GTRE

The cost per engine for 400 engines will work out to 10-12 million euros, which is what we pay for engines today, said a defence expert. That will be for 400 engines, which is what we would need for twin-engine AMCAs if we have 6-7 squadrons. Will probably need more, the expert added.

The Safran offer is not subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), a US regulatory regime to restrict and control the export of defence and military-related technologies to safeguard US national security and further US foreign policy objectives.

This means that the proposed Safran-GTRE joint venture will be exporting military engines to third countries without being subjected to restrictive regimes.

Tejas program with the LCA is now powered by GE-404 engines.

The French company believes that the new 110 KN engine could be certified by 2035, provided the co-development process gets a green signal this year. The full cost of co-development of the 110 KN engine will be around five to six billion euros.

While the DRDO is also looking at the GE-414 engine to power the AMCA project as an alternative, the Safran offer contains a performance guarantee and transfers all required technology for design, development, production and support besides creating a robust industrial aero-engine ecosystem in India.

The GTRE has been trying to develop the Kaveri aero-engine since 1996 and was originally developed to power Tejas LCA fighters. However, the engine was delinked from the Tejas program with the LCA now powered by GE-404 engines.

(With Inputs from The Hindustan Times)

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Cochin International Airport starts technical landing facility for aircraft refuelling

Radhika Bansal

04 Jul 2022

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) on Saturday, July 2 said it has started facilitating technical landing for refuelling of flights operating on the nearby international air route.

Having established itself as a major airport in the Indian sub-continent and capable of addressing technical requirements for aircraft up to Code E category, the in-built hydrant fuelling system at Cochin Airport meets the quick turnaround requirement of international carriers, said in a statement here.

The technical landing facility is being done for the first time in the history of Kochi airport. The last three days saw 9 aircraft flying either in Colombo-Europe or Colombo-Middle East sectors opting for Cochin airport’s technical landing capability and uplifted 4,75,000 litres of ATF from Kochi airport, it said.

https://twitter.com/KochiAirport/status/1543450650188451840

For the first time, Cochin International Airport (COK) has started facilitating technical landing for refuelling flights operating to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The airport can handle large twin-engine jets such as the B777, A330, A350, and B787.

With the fuel crisis in Sri Lanka looming large, airlines bound to Colombo from the Middle East or flying out from Colombo to the Middle East/ European destinations started using the route proximity advantage of Cochin airport.

Quick response by CIAL in terms of efficient apron management by making available a fuel hydrant system for such a requirement, more aircraft could effectively be accommodated on the apron without affecting scheduled operations in any way.

Cochin International Airport starts technical landing facility for aircraft refuelling

Since June 29, six flights operated by Sri Lankan Airlines bound to Sharjah, London Heathrow and Frankfurt, two flights operated by Air Arabia to Abu Dhabi and one flight operated by Jazeera Airways bound to Kuwait (all flying out from Colombo) used the technical landing facility of CIAL, the statement said.

"The management’s prompt response and adaptability to changing situations have helped connect with the foreign carriers and make available its fuel hydrant system to tide over a commercial aviation crisis.When we have foreseen the change in fuel distribution dynamics in the region, we upped the ante by recalibrating our apron management systems. Now more airlines have started contacting us and we are sure that this will boost our revenue potentials."S Suhas, Managing Director, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL)

There are many airports in the world doing more business in technical landing compared to regular operations. The system established at Cochin Airport has the potential to serve more airlines, whether for a planned stopover or any unplanned technical stopovers, the company said.

CIAL said it has started discussions with airlines using this flying route offering to make use of its facility.

It is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala and the 4th biggest airport in South India

Cochin International Airport is an International airport serving the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about 25 km northeast of the city centre, Cochin International Airport is the first of its kind which is developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model in India. This project was funded by nearly 10,000 non-resident Indians from 32 countries.

It is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala and the 4th biggest airport in South India. As of 2019, the Cochin International Airport caters to 61.8% of the total air passenger movement in Kerala.

 It is the third busiest airport in India in terms of international traffic and also the ninth busiest overall. In the fiscal year 2018–19, the airport handled more than 10.2 million passengers with a total of 71,871 aircraft movements.

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55% of IndiGo domestic flights delayed due to crew calling in sick; DGCA seeks explanation

Radhika Bansal

04 Jul 2022

55% of IndiGo domestic flights were delayed on Saturday, July 2 as a significant number of cabin crew members took sick leave, with sources in the industry saying they ostensibly went for an Air India recruitment drive.

When asked about this, Arun Kumar, who heads the aviation regulator DGCA, told PTI on Sunday, July 3, We are looking into this.

"Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken strong cognizance of IndiGo operations and sought a clarification/explanation behind the massive flight delays nationwide," DGCA officials told ANI.

55% of IndiGo domestic flights delayed due to crew calling in sick; DGCA seeks explanation

Many of the crew members, who opted for sick leave, are said to have lined up for the Tata Group-owned carrier’s interviews in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. As a result, pilots inside many IndiGo planes and passengers at terminals kept waiting for their flights to take off and a few flights had to be cancelled, said sources.

The phase-2 of Air India's recruitment drive was conducted on Saturday, July 2 and a majority of IndiGo's cabin crew members who took sick leave went for it, the sources in the industry added.

IndiGo, India's largest airline, which currently operates approximately 1,600 flights --domestic and international -- daily was hit by the non-availability of crew members resulting in the delayed departure of 900 flights.

Many of the crew members, who opted for sick leave, are said to have lined up for the Tata Group-owned carrier’s interviews in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation's website, 45.2% of IndiGo's domestic flights operated on time on Saturday, July 2. Nearly 30% of IndiGo flights were delayed on July 3.

In comparison, the on-time performances of Air India, SpiceJet, Vistara, Go First and AirAsia India was 77.1%, 80.4%, 86.3%, 88% and 92.3%, respectively, on Saturday, July 2.

IndiGo CEO Ronjoy Dutta on April 8 told employees through an email that raising salaries is a difficult and thorny issue but the airline will constantly review and adjust wages based on its profitability and the competitive environment.

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IndiGo had on April 4 suspended a few pilots who were planning to organise a strike the next day to protest against the pay cuts that were implemented during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 30% of IndiGo flights were delayed on July 3.

ALSO READ - IndiGo partially restores pilot salaries by 8% from April 1

The Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27, after successfully winning the bid for the airline in October 2021. Air India plans to buy new planes and improve its services, and it recently started a recruitment drive for fresh cabin crew members.

Air India is "clearly reorganising" itself under the "able stewardship" of the Tata Group and wants to invest in new planes to regain international passenger market share, Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer of aircraft manufacturer Airbus, said on June 19 in Doha.

During the peak of the pandemic, Indigo had slashed the salaries of its pilots by as much as 30%.

The phase-2 of Air India's recruitment drive was conducted on July 2 and a majority of IndiGo's cabin crew members who took sick leave went for it

On April 1 this year, the airline announced its decision to increase the salaries of pilots by 8%. It said that another hike of 6.5% will be implemented from November onwards in case there are no disruptions. However, a section of pilots remained unsatisfied and decided to organise a strike.

ALSO READ - IndiGo pilots suspended for planning a strike to protest pay cuts

Domestic air passenger traffic had jumped to 1.2 crores in May 2022, marking a surge of 11% as compared to the preceding month, as per the data shared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on June 22.

The numbers indicate that the air traffic has inched closer to the pre-pandemic level, as the domestic airlines had cumulatively ferried a total of 1.22 crore passengers in May 2019. In the past month, IndiGo's passenger load factor increased to 81%, as against 78.7% in April 2022.

On April 1 this year, the airline announced its decision to increase the salaries of pilots by 8%.

While IndiGo’s case is a one-off, airlines across the world are forced to cancel flights because of staffing issues. Carriers in Europe and the US are cancelling thousands of flights.

Lufthansa has cancelled 3,100 flights scheduled in July and August. American Airlines cancelled close to 4,500 flights, Delta Air Lines over 2,700 flights and United Airlines close to 2,000 flights according to global reports.

In London’s Heathrow airport, chaos has ensued due to massive understaffing. This included hundreds of cancelled flights as the airport can’t handle them, long queues and thousands of baggage items being untraceable.

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Direct flights from Bhubaneswar to Dubai soon - Odisha CM

Radhika Bansal

03 Jul 2022

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has said that direct flights will be operated between Bhubaneswar to Dubai very soon. He made this announcement while addressing the Odia diaspora in Dubai.

Nearly one lakh people of Odisha live in the United Arab Emirates. Direct air connectivity between Dubai and Bhubaneswar has been their long-pending demand.

The chief minister's private secretary VK Pandian, who is accompanying Patnaik on the foreign tour, said that the Odisha government has already proceeded with a viability gap funding (VGF) plan for direct flight services between Dubai and Bhubaneswar.

Direct flights from Bhubaneswar to Dubai soon - Odisha CM

VGF is a grant provided to support infrastructure projects that are economically justified but fall short of financial viability.

While attending the programme, Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra said that the Odisha government will give subsidies to airlines willing to operate direct flights from Dubai to Bhubaneswar under the VGF scheme.

Once the air route becomes economically viable, the government need not give subsidies to the airlines

In that arrangement, the government provides subsidies to flight operators for a period of three to six months for new destinations expecting that the operations would be financially viable within that period.

Once the air route becomes economically viable, the government need not give subsidies to the airlines, Mohapatra said.

The scheme was introduced for international flights from Bhubaneswar to Malaysia and Thailand two years ago. Later, it was extended to domestic flights, official sources said.

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