SpiceJet claims to have no impact on operations after 90 pilots barred from flying B737 MAX

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has clarified that it has 650 pilots who have been trained on MAX aircraft and the DGCA decision to not allow 90 pilots to fly MAX aircraft won't impact operations. The airline is retraining them as per the DGCA order.

ALSO READ - DGCA fines SpiceJet with INR 10 lakh for using the faulty simulator to train B737 Max pilots

“This restriction does not impact the operations of MAX aircraft and the company has adequate trained pilots available for its operations. Basis the observation of DGCA these 90 pilots shall undergo re-training. DGCA has imposed a penalty of INR 10 lakh basis its audit observations," SpiceJet said in the BSE filing.

SpiceJet claims to have no impact on operations after 90 pilots barred from flying B737 MAX

The faults were detected during a surveillance check by the DGCA at the Greater Noida-based facility of CAE Simulation Training Pvt Ltd (CSTPL).

The aviation regulator had imposed INR 10 lakh penalty on the airline after it had used faulty simulators to train these pilots. The carrier has enough trained pilots on hand to meet its needs. These 90 pilots will be re-trained based on the findings of the DGCA.

ALSO READ - 90 SpiceJet pilots barred from flying Boeing 737 Max planes by the DGCA

In a statement, DGCA Director General Arun Kumar said: "For the moment, we have barred these pilots from flying Max and they have to retrain successfully for flying Max. "Also, we will take strict action against those found responsible for the lapse."

SpiceJet has clarified that it has 650 pilots who have been trained on MAX aircraft and the DGCA decision to not allow 90 pilots to fly MAX aircraft won't impact operations.

The airline, which operates 11 of the 13 MAX currently in its fleet, says the 60 daily flights operated on these planes will not be affected.

“About 144 pilots are required to manage 11 aircraft (MAX). SpiceJet has currently 560 trained pilots on MAX. The trained pilot strength is more than sufficient for continuing normal operations,” the airline spokesman said.

Notably, this happened within eight months of the DGCA lifting a ban on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. While it was grounded worldwide from March 2019 to December 2020 following two crashes — in Indonesia and Ethiopia — killing 346, DGCA lifted the ban much later in August 2021.

The airline, which operates 11 of the 13 MAX currently in its fleet, says the 60 daily flights operated on these planes will not be affected.

SpiceJet shares fell 1.69% to INR 46.40 after India's aviation regulator imposed an INR 10 lakh fine on the low-cost air carrier for training pilots on the faulty simulator.

ALSO READ - SpiceJet posts net profit for Q3

On a consolidated basis, it reported a net profit of INR 42.47 crore against a net loss of INR 66.78 crore. Revenue from operations rose 34.8% year on year to INR 2204.68 crore on 31 December 2021.

This is the third instance when DGCA has imposed a financial penalty on operators after the regulator got the power to impose a financial penalty for violation of rules.

On a consolidated basis, it reported a net profit of INR 42.47 crore against a net loss of INR 66.78 crore.

ALSO READ - DGCA fines two flights schools for violating rules

In October 2021, the regulator had levied a fine of INR 75,000 on two flight training schools for irregular maintenance of breath analyser equipment.

ALSO READ - IndiGo penalised INR 5 lakh for refusing to board a specially-abled child

In the second such case, the DGCA imposed a penalty of INR 5 lakh on IndiGo for not allowing a boy with special needs to board a flight from Ranchi.

A helicopter of Thumby Aviation on May 31 bounced and turned by 270 degrees while landing at Kedarnath helipad, following which aviation regulator DGCA asked the chopper pilots to exercise caution whenever there are tailwinds when they are heading for landing, officials said on Monday, June 6.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started an investigation into this incident, its officials said. On May 31, at approximately 1:30 PM, a Bell 407 helicopter belonging to Thumby Aviation Pvt Ltd, while landing at Kedarnath helipad had an uncontrolled, very hard landing, they noted.

https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/1533775618977849344

The helicopter had made an unstabilized approach to the helipad, and during the touchdown, the helicopter struck the helipad surface hard, bounced and after having lost direction by about 270 degrees, again settled down hard on the ground, they said.

The regulator issued an advisory after the incident in which it said "pilots are to exercise caution for the presence of any tailwinds during approaches, especially at Shri Kedarnath helipad".

Pilots must take adequate precautions and if the tailwinds or crosswinds are beyond the permissible limits, the approach must be abandoned and the chopper must return to the base, the advisory mentioned.

The DGCA is investigating the incident and it is planning to conduct a spot check for ensuring safety oversight of these helicopter operations, the officials noted.

Etihad Airways continues to see India as an important market and is betting on the wide-body Airbus A350 aircraft to drive demand from the Indian market, vice president, Indian subcontinent, Etihad Airways - Neerja Bhatia told CNBC-TV18 in a recent interview.

The airline has been undertaking initiatives during the last two years of the pandemic to increase efficiency and is now geared up for operating a full schedule from India.

"We have a lot of history in terms of the relationship between India and UAE. The proximity that UAE has with India is also beneficial. There is a huge Indian diaspora who are living in UAE, it is a home away from home for all the Indians working there and living there... India is a very important market for us.The prospects for demand from India are also strong on the back of its growing economy, increasing middle-class income, student and corporate traffic as well as people travelling for visiting friends and relatives in addition to leisure travel."Neerja Bhatia, Vice President, Indian Subcontinent, Etihad Airways

The airline is operating almost two flights daily from Delhi and Mumbai each, 10 flights per week from Hyderabad, nine flights a week from Bengaluru, and thrice a week from Trivandrum among flight operations from Kochi and Chennai as well.

"We are increasing our capacity and taking a pragmatic approach to network planning, we are becoming agile to cater to all opportunities and demand," Bhatia added.

The airline is also betting on its freshly inducted Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to drive demand from India. The A350 has 44 business studios and 327 economy seats.

A350 is Etihad's bet for driving demand from the Indian market

The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered Airbus A350 offers 25% less fuel burn and CO2 emissions than previous-generation twin-aisle aircraft. This is in line with the airline’s focus on the environment, Bhatia said, adding that the airline has also started a green loyalty program.

In line with its focus on sustainability, the airline has also recently unveiled its new Economy class soft furnishings and tableware, with sustainability and improved passenger experience as primary objectives. This will be launched on board in the fourth quarter of the year.

Etihad posted a loss of USD 476 million for 2021 as compared to a loss of USD 1.70 billion in the year 2020. The airline carried 3.5 million passengers in 2021, with an average seat load factor of 39.6%.

The airline is also betting on its freshly inducted Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to drive demand from India. The A350 has 44 business studios and 327 economy seats.

Passenger load doubled in the second half of the year, reaching 70.1% in December as travel demand peaked during the winter holiday period.

While demand has picked up globally for airlines with a spike in leisure as well as corporate traffic, the current challenges for the aviation sector worldwide are the rising fuel prices, which have seen a spike since the Russa-Ukraine war.

This has also resulted in airlines having to re-route their flights, leading to higher flight time and more costs. "Biggest pain point is the ATF prices, divergent routes leading to higher cost," Bhatia added.

Etihad posted a loss of USD 476 million for 2021 as compared to a loss of USD 1.70 billion in the year 2020

Founded in 2003, Etihad Airways is the national carrier of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, based at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Operating a fleet of narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft, Etihad provides a rapidly expanding network of services within the Middle East and to Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.

In addition to its core activity of passenger transportation, Etihad earns significant revenue from its cargo operation, Etihad Crystal Cargo. Etihad Airways forms part of the Etihad Aviation Group.

The supply of key medical facilities will take a few minutes, instead of 1.5 hours, to be transported to Jhajjar from AIIMS Delhi with a drone corridor being introduced between the two locations.

According to a Times of India report, the drone corridor would be used for transporting blood samples, blood products and medicines. In case of emergency, the drone corridor can also be used to transport organs. This would make it easy for medical supplies to be transported even during rush traffic hours.

However, challenges like biosafety and maintaining the appropriate temperature of blood samples during transportation are still being discussed.

India's first medical drone corridor to be built between AIIMS Delhi and Jhajjar

A panel discussion was held during the Bharat Drone Mahotsav - India’s biggest drone festival - to deliberate on the adoption of various models which are already in use in other countries.

The drone corridor has received approval from the aviation ministry, however, approval from Delhi Police is still being awaited.

During the past year, drones have been used to transport Covid-19 vaccines to remote parts of India. Introducing the drone corridor in the mainstream health sector could revamp the entire health industry.

"The AIIMS project for rushing life-saving medical supplies through drones is excellent. If it succeeds, other medical institutions in various states can replicate the same model for better utilisation of technology and equipment."Dr Harsh Mahajan, Founder and Chief Radiologist, Mahajan Imaging

Recently Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued a set of guidelines focusing on the development of an enabling environment for the deployment of drones in the healthcare system.

A drone corridor is defined as segregated airspace defined by appropriate authorities in consultation with the airspace designers to keep commercial UAV operations out of the airspace, in which manned aircraft operate.

During the past year, drones have been used to transport Covid-19 vaccines to remote parts of India.

Air traffic control, which comes under the AAI, has an important role to play in this corridor as it traverses the flight corridors/approach path of Delhi airport’s runways. AIIMS comes under the approach path of runway 27 (closest to Dwarka's side). Next comes the IIT area which is the flight corridor for the main runway (28).

And beyond that, the Saket malls-Qutab Minar areas are the approach for runway 29 (the one close to Shivji statue). The IGI Airport is going to get its fourth runway between runways 28 and 29 operational in a few months.

ALSO READ - Swiggy teams up with Garuda Aerospace to begin trial runs using drones to deliver groceries

(With Inputs from The Times of India)

Nearly three months after the conclusion of Operation Ganga for the evacuation of Indians from Ukraine, the government is yet to clear the bills sent by the country’s six major airlines, which deployed 76 flights for it between February and March.

Officials aware of the pending payments said that the process for clearing the disbursal is still underway. Given the large amounts under consideration, an official said that the matter would be resolved in a matter of time, indicating that only a few months had elapsed since the completion of Operation Ganga.

The Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment on the matter. The Ministry of Civil Aviation, which brought the various airlines onboard despite their initial reluctance to participate in the exercise, received the bills and vetted them before sending them to the MEA for clearance.

Six Indian carriers flew a total of 76 flights to Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland as Ukraine’s airspace was shut.

The bills submitted were “technically examined” to ensure there was no overcharging. Various parameters such as fuel cost, lay over, crew deployment, wide and narrow-body aeroplane, and seat configuration were analysed, a senior official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

“While most bills were within 10% range of each other, there were one or two airlines where there were slight variations and this was then taken up with them,” the official said.

Though Indians had started returning in large numbers weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, flights chartered by the Indian government and operated by domestic airlines started after the war broke out.

Over 22,000 Indians returned from Ukraine between February 1 and March 11

The operation continued till March 11. Six Indian carriers flew a total of 76 flights to Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland as Ukraine’s airspace was shut. These included IndiGo (35), Air India (14), Air India Express (9), SpiceJet (9), GoFirst (6), and Air Asia (3).

Although Vistara offered to participate, its services were not utilised for the operation. The Indian Air Force, too, operated 14 flights. Over 22,000 Indians returned from Ukraine between February 1 and March 11, according to the government.

The cost of chartering flights was not taken up with airlines before roping them in for the evacuation. The official said that this was because the process was carried out under “an emergency” and “for the nation”.

The Indian Air Force, too, operated 14 flights

Later, the airlines were “sensitised” on how they should proceed with billing. Some airlines said that they have received payments from State governments, which had chartered their aeroplanes to fly students from cities like Mumbai and Delhi after their return from Ukraine.

This was the first air evacuation undertaken by the Indian government after the privatisation of Air India, which was routinely pressed into such activities whether overseas or domestically.

Air India was formally handed over to Tata Sons on January 27. But there is no discussion yet on whether there is a need to develop a systematic procedure for hiring airlines for future evacuations, officials in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and sources in the airlines say.

IndiGo, which has deep pockets, says that its operations are “not bound by revenue from ticket sales”

A senior GoFirst executive felt that the “standardisation” of such procedures may be detrimental to some airlines and could lead to “allegations” as aircraft type and the number of seats available differs from one airline to another. He felt that factors such as the “cost of pilots”, which can increase over some time, could make such an exercise challenge.

Though IndiGo, which has deep pockets, says that its operations are “not bound by revenue from ticket sales”, this is not true for airlines like SpiceJet with weak financials, whose flights were stopped by Delhi’s Air Traffic Controller for several hours last month over non-payment of dues to the Airports Authority of India.

ALSO READ - Multiple SpiceJet flights halted by Delhi ATC for non-payment of daily airport user fees to AAI

(With Inputs from The Hindu)

Air India's new owner - Tata Group is planning to renew Air India’s grounded planes and fix them for commercial operations. Air India has several narrowbody and some widebody aircraft gathering dust due to lack of engine overhaul or non-availability of components and spares. But they could soon be back in the air as these issues are reportedly being worked upon.

Air India wants to take advantage of renewed passenger demand by adding more capacity in the coming months. The airline’s graph in the domestic sector has been gradually dipping over the years as private players took hold of the market by increasing fleet and capacity.

Air India to renew grounded planes for commercial operations

The Tatas are keen on re-establishing Air India’s presence, and many of the carrier’s grounded planes could see better days ahead. According to the Business Standard, the airline is working on a plan to bring the grounded planes back into service in a progressive manner.

As per ch-aviation, Air India has more than 25 inactive A320 family of airplanes and several inactive Boeing 777s and 787s as well.

Sources say that around 8 to 10 A320 aircraft are being restored at the Air India Engineering Services Limited hangars. There are also plans to fix some of the grounded Boeing 787s for service in the next 90-100 days.

Air India has more than 25 inactive A320 family of airplanes and several inactive Boeing 777s and 787s as well.

Much of Air India’s previous issues came down to inefficient management, which led to a lack of funds to repair many of its aircraft. Some of the carrier’s A320 aircraft haven’t flown in years because it ran out of sufficient funds to fix things such as engine overhauls and other maintenance issues.

Costs to fix these problems ran into tens of millions, which the cash-strapped carrier couldn’t arrange. As a result, it gradually lost market share to other airlines and saw its overall position in India slip over the years.

But with the Tatas backing the airline, funds are not an issue anymore. An airline executive told the Business Standard that the current challenge is not money but the timely deliveries of components and spares, which need to be ordered months in advance.

Much of Air India’s previous issues came down to inefficient management, which led to a lack of funds to repair many of its aircraft.

While fixing a majority of its grounded fleet will take a few months, Air India is trying to fix however many aircraft it can immediately to cater to the returning passengers.

The question surrounding Air India’s future fleet development has gained steam ever since the Tatas won the bid for its takeover last year. The conglomerate is reportedly in talks with Boeing and Airbus for long-haul jets, but whether the orders will go to Europe or the US remains to be seen.

ALSO READ - Tata negotiating aircraft order for Air India with Airbus and Boeing

Air India is looking to buy 30 widebody jets worth almost USD 10 billion.

Both Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-9 are in contention, but according to some experts and inside sources, a concrete decision will be made when there is more clarity on the Air India-Vistara merger.

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

In March, Bloomberg had reported that Air India is looking to buy 30 widebody jets worth almost USD 10 billion.

The case for the Dreamliner looks strong, considering Air India already operates a huge fleet of the 787s, and Vistara, too, relies on them for long-haul operations. But its current production delay could push Air India towards Airbus, which has doubled down on efforts to sell its A350 jets in India in recent days.