SpiceJet to start 16 new flights in August, where are they ?

Admin

03 Aug 2021

Summary

Budget domestic carrier SpiceJet will launch 16 new flights from August onwards. Accordingly, they will add Bhavnagar in Gujarat to its domestic network. Bhavnagar will now be connected to Delhi, Mumbai and Surat with direct flights starting August 20.

spicejet

Besides, the budget carrier will also launch 10 more flights that will connect Gwalior with Jaipur, Kishangarh (Ajmer) with Mumbai, Belagavi with Delhi and Vishakhapatnam with Bengaluru, and add frequency to the Delhi-Jammu sector.

Management is optimistic

According to Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet: "Strengthening regional connectivity between metros and underserved cities is at the heart of SpiceJet's mission and vision and we are delighted to add the beautiful city of Bhavnagar to our fast-expanding domestic network.

SpiceJet will be the first airline to operate non-stop flights between these routes

"Being one of the key cities for trade and commerce with many large & small scale industries, having the world's largest ship breaking yard and variety of holy places to visit, Bhavnagar comes with great potential for both business and leisure travellers alike."

Furthermore, she said the industry-first flights connecting Gwalior with Jaipur and Mumbai with Kishangarh and other new and additional flights will support the domestic expansion we are aiming for aggressively.

"SpiceJet is well aligned and fully committed to aid the recovery of air travel and realise India's dream of a having a strong, stable and progressive aviation market by constantly adding new routes and destinations."

Bhatia added that the additional flights will “support the domestic expansion we are aiming for aggressively”.

spicejet

First to start

SpiceJet will be the first airline to operate non-stop flights between the following routes: Bhavnagar-Delhi, Bhavnagar-Surat, Gwalior-Jaipur, and Kishangarh-Mumbai, the statement added.

 “SpiceJet is well aligned and fully committed to aid recovery of air travel and realise India’s dream of having a strong, stable and progressive aviation market by constantly adding new routes and destinations,” Bhatia said.

FROMDESTINATION DEPARTURE FREQUENCYEFFECTIVE DATEBengaluruVishakhapatnam 7:05 PM 1,2,3,4,5,6,705.08.2021Vishakhapatnam Bengaluru 9:15 PM 1,2,3,4,5,6,705.08.2021New DelhiBelagavi 2:30 PM 1,513.08.2021BelagaviNew Delhi 5:05 PM 1,513.08.2021New DelhiJammu 6:15 PM 1,2,3,4,5,613.08.2021JammuNew Delhi 8:05 PM 1,2,3,4,5,613.08.2021JaipurGwalior 6:30 PM 1,3,5,720.08.2021GwaliorJaipur  8:00 AM 1,3,5,720.08.2021New DelhiBhavnagar  6:35 AM 1,3,4,5,6,7 20.08.2021 BhavnagarMumbai 9:05 AM 1,3,4,5,6,7 20.08.2021 MumbaiBhavnagar 2:20 PM 1,3,4,5,6,7 20.08.2021 BhavnagarNew Delhi 3:45 PM 1,3,4,5,6,7 20.08.2021 SuratBhavnagar 1:35 PM 4,6,720.08.2021 BhavnagarSurat  2:40 PM 4,5,720.08.2021 MumbaiKishangarh(Ajmer) 12:40 PM 1,3,5,720.08.2021 Kishangarh(Ajmer)Mumbai 3:10 PM 1,3,5,720.08.2021 FULL FLIGHT SCHEDULE (1=Monday and thereon)

The airline operates over 63 daily flights under UDAN connecting 14 UDAN destinations to various parts of the country. SpiceJet already connects Gwalior with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jammu and Kolkata under UDAN. From Gwalior, SpiceJet will also offer convenient connections to Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kandla, Belagavi, Gorakhpur, Patna, Mangalore and Chennai through one-stop flights. The carrier operates a fleet of Boeing 737s and Q-400s and the same will be deployed on these new routes.

spicejet q400

Bookings are now open on www.spicejet.com  SpiceJet’s mobile app and through online travel portals and travel agents. Confirm with the airline before making any plans.

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Pilot performs emergency landing on discovery of cracked windshield

Admin

01 Aug 2021

A Saudi-bound Air India Express Boeing 737-800, registration VT-GHC operating flight IX-1581 from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Saturday (July 31) made an emergency landing after being airborne for less than an hour when the pilots detected a crack in the windshield, an official said.

air india express

After taking off from Thiruvananthapuram at around 7:52 AM, less than an hour into the flight, the pilots noticed the crack in the windshield of the aeroplane, prompting them to turn back to Thiruvananthapuram for an emergency landing at around 8:50 AM, an airport official said.

However, the plane had no passengers, due to the COVID-19 curbs on international travel to certain destinations, and was only carrying cargo and a crew of eight. All the crew members, including the pilots, are safe, CV Ravindran, the Director of Thiruvananthapuram Airport, told PTI.

He also said that had the crack been detected in the pre-flight check, the plane would not have taken off and therefore, it must have happened during take-off or while cruising.

air india express

"The flight was going to return from Dammam in Saudi Arabia with Indian passengers as part of the "Vande Bharat Mission," he added.

Vande Bharat mission is the massive repatriation operation planned by the Indian government to bring back stranded Indians in different parts of the world in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Following the incident, another aircraft was deployed and another set of crew was sent for the scheduled flight operation.

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How Fly By Wire systems took out their mechanical peers ?

Admin

01 Aug 2021

Fly by wire is the generic term used for flight control systems that process inputs given by the Flight crew and converts them into corresponding electrical signals. These signals are transmitted by wires and the flight control computers determine the appropriate movement of actuators at the flight control surfaces to produce the most desired effect.

In essence, it replaces mechanical linkage with the control surfaces meaning the pilot inputs don't directly influence the control surfaces, instead pilot inputs are processed by a flight computer, which decides the best course of action. This is, of course, done in accordance with the active Flight Control Laws.

microsoft simulator

Is this any better than mechanical systems ?

Simply put, conventional mechanical and hydro/mechanical flight systems are heavy and require precisive arrangement of flight control cables, hydraulic pipes, cranks and tension cables only adding to the overall weight of the aircraft. With limited ability to counter for varying aerodynamic changes inflight, they also require multiple redundant backup systems to deal with failures such as aerodynamic stall, spinning and Pilot Induced Oscillations(PIO). Summing up, most of the safety and integrity of the aircraft structure was solely dependent on the pilots actions. And as human beings, none of us are failproof and are prone to making errors.

mechanical system principle

As the name suggests, all FBW systems incorporate electronic circuits to replace mechanical ones. What that means is now we have signal transducers in the cockpit which generate the appropriate electrical signal. These signals are then processed by an analog/digital controller.

How useful is this ?

With the reduction in overall weight and improved reliability, the Fly-By-Wire was, for the first time, used in the design of military aircrafts. The F16 ,in 1973, became the first aircraft to adopt a fully FBW system without the use of backup mechanical/hydromechanical systems.

F16

A quick look into how it works

The very basic principle of "error control" is applied wherein the current position of a control surface is continually fed to the Flight Control Computer(FCC)The difference between this current position and the input made by the pilot is process by the computer and an appropriate corrective signal is sent back to the control surface electrically. The FCC continually monitors the system between the pilot inputs and output and any error resulting between the two becomes the command to the flight control surface. This goes on until the output equals input. Under normal conditions, with all systems operative, the FCS is said to be operating under "normal law".Feedback Control of airspeed, Mach number, altitude and AOA (angle of attack) ensures the aircraft is well within its permitted flight envelope.

fly by wire principle

Now when it comes to the subject of ensuring a safe flight envelope, Airbus and Boeing have quite two different strategies:

Airbus adopts the strategy of "hard limits" wherein the control laws have the absolute authority unless and until the pilot selects "direct law".Boeing advocates the strategy of "soft limits" wherein the pilots can override the control laws placing the ultimate authority of the flight operation in the pilots hands.

INTELLIGENT FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM

Basically an upgrade of the modern day Fly-By-Wire , this system aims to counter inflight damage and failure by automatically altering engine thrust and various other avionics to prevent failures such as loss of rudder, loss of ailerons and engines etc. Further advancements are in development and this project is headed by NASA DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTRE.

Several demonstrations have been carried out in a flight simulator where a Cessna trained pilot successfully landed a heavy, full size concept jet without any prior experience on a large body jet aircraft.

The first commercial airliner to fly the Fly-By-Wire was the Airbus A320 in 1987 followed by the Boeing B777 in 1994. Today, it's a common standard in a majority of the aircrafts.

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Alliance Air refuses to board a disabled artist because of a battery-operated wheelchair

Radhika Bansal

22 Jun 2022

An award-winning physically challenged artist has claimed she was prohibited from boarding an Alliance Air flight from Bengaluru to Kochi recently as she was not willing to leave behind her battery-operated wheelchair.

The only option the airline provided to Sarita Dwivedi was to leave behind her wheelchair or book a flight on another airline, she claimed while talking to PTI on Monday, June 20.

Alliance Air did not even refund the amount of around INR 8,000 she had spent on the tickets for herself and her friend who had come from Kochi to Bengaluru to take her here. She also accused a staff member of hostile behaviour towards her. A statement from the airline on the issue was awaited.

Alliance Air refuses to board a disabled artist because of a battery-operated wheelchair

Dwivedi said she had to subsequently shell out around INR 14,000 for travelling on another private carrier to reach here along with her friend.

The airline also carried her wheelchair in the plane's cargo without any hitch, she said. However, what transpired at the Alliance Air counter at Kempegowda International Airport on Saturday, June 18 was a very bad experience, she said.

On being asked whether she plans to sue the airline or take any other action, she said she was not sure how to go about that. Giving details of her ordeal, Dwivedi said she reached the check-in counter around 8 AM, an hour ahead of the flight's departure, conforming to the one-hour rule.

However, what transpired at the Alliance Air counter at Kempegowda International Airport on Saturday, June 18 was a very bad experience, she said.

"On seeing me, the first thing the person from the airline said was that if you are travelling with a motorised wheelchair, you should come a little early. Then I got a little angry and said I was on time. I told him to get the scanning person to scan the wheelchair so that I can go. Again he said I was late. Then he said - madam you cannot travel with the motorised wheelchair as it was battery operated."

On being asked whether the airline official gave a reason for not allowing the wheelchair, she stated "they said there are certain guidelines against it. But these guidelines are there with every airline."

"They said that given the guidelines, I cannot take my wheelchair. So either I should leave it behind or I cannot travel on the flight. That is how they were talking to me. I felt so bad," she said.

https://twitter.com/SARITADWIVEDI7/status/1538141218516783105

She had earlier tweeted about the incident, tagging Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiradita Scindia. Asked if the airline offered any alternatives, she said, "They were not willing to do anything for me. I was ready to leave the wheelchair there, provided they could send it to my place in Kochi. I am not from Bangalore. I am a humble person. I did not want to argue, so I asked them what they can do to help me," she said.

They said they cannot do anything but can refund her ticket amount. However, "they have not refunded the ticket amount... I had spent around INR 8,000 on two tickets for myself and my friend.. even my friend could not travel as I was not allowed to travel. Not only did they not refund the amount, but I also had to, thereafter, spend around INR 14,000 on two tickets to Kochi on another airline," she claimed.

Dwivedi reached Kochi on Saturday, June 18 afternoon instead of the morning as she had originally planned. When asked whether Alliance Air has got in touch with her subsequently to refund the amount, Dwivedi said, "Nothing. They have no facilities. They do not know how to talk to people. They just keep arguing and shouting. It was irritating."

Dwivedi said she had to subsequently shell out around INR 14,000 for travelling on another private carrier to reach here along with her friend.

She claimed initially the airline did not allow them to get their boarding passes and then they said that their manager was coming and to wait for him as after he arrives, then only they can do anything. After a long wait, a person came who was a senior supervisor in Alliance Air and not the manager.

"So I asked the person at the counter who had stopped me from boarding earlier as to whether this was the same person he spoke about. But he did not give a proper response."

She said the man started shouting at her that he was the responsible person and that he would be making the decisions in the absence of the manager who was not here. Dwivedi said she asked him why she was made to wait so long at the airport if the manager was not going to come.

"I, thereafter, calmly asked them to send me to Kochi. I said I do not want a refund... they said we cannot do that and that I can get a refund only. They said I should book a flight on another airline. That is how they replied. Then they said that I could travel by their airline, but the wheelchair cannot be taken along," she added.

For Dwivedi who had travelled the long distance from Indiranagar in Bangalore to the airport, everything had been "spoiled" by then and she subsequently demanded that the airline gave in writing why she was not allowed to board her flight.

"After travelling so far alone and managing everything physically, mentally and financially, they spoiled everything for me. For a person like me, it is difficult. It is in my nature that I speak softly to people and I was speaking calmly to them at the airport to find a solution. They are the ones who started arguing and then shouting at me," she alleged.

Personnel of the Airports Authority of India were present there and provided her with food and water and comforted her. They even tried to reason with the airline official but in vain. "So then I asked him to give me in writing why I missed my flight, why I was not allowed to board," she said.

Thereafter, for the sake of formality the official wrote down why she was not allowed to board and she also agreed to get a refund to book tickets on another flight as she was getting late, Dwivedi said.

However, when the official realised she was going to fly on another airline, he said he would not give anything in writing and walked away with the paper, she claimed.

On how the experience was with the other carrier she later flew in, she said, "They never created an issue for me. They were quick and gave a very good service. My wheelchair has a dry battery. The rule is that you cannot travel with a wet battery on an airline."

"I just removed the battery supply and gave it to the airline and they put the wheelchair in the baggage," she said.

"I travel a lot and wherever I go, I have never faced this problem. This time the travel agent booked the tickets on Alliance Air. He did not mention that I was a differently-abled or a wheelchair user while booking the ticket. That is required if I need a wheelchair. But I carry my wheelchair, so where is the need to put that (while booking a ticket)?"

"Even otherwise, imagine if I am travelling with a prosthesis and all of a sudden something happens to me and I cannot walk. I will definitely bring my wheelchair without any information. Are they so unprofessional that they cannot handle such a situation," she asked.

Dwivedi lost her hands and a leg in 1994 after she accidentally came in contact with a high-power electric line. She was four then and has since been lauded as a braveheart for winning national and international accolades for her painting skills. Her struggles and achievements have made it to class 6 NCERT Hindi textbook.

ALSO READ - DGCA amends rules; airlines can no longer deny boarding to any person with a disability

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Know how many airports got revived under the UDAN scheme

Admin

01 Aug 2021

Government's statement

Minister of State for Civil Aviation V.K. Singh in a written reply to L. Hanumanthaiahin in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (July 28, 2021) informed that around INR 17,784 crore has been spent by the government/Airports Authority of India during the last five years (FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21) to renovate, build airports.

The Minister further informed that the government has accorded ‘in-principle approval for setting up of two Greenfield Airports across the country namely Jewar (2018) in Uttar Pradesh and Hollongi (2019) in Arunachal Pradesh during the last three years. Ministry of Civil Aviation also launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) on October 21, 2016, to stimulate regional air connectivity.

Thiruvananthpuram airport

Note that an airport that is included in the awarded routes of RCS – UDAN and requires up-gradation/development for commencement of RCS operations, is developed under the “Revival of unserved and underserved airports” scheme. Under the RCS-UDAN scheme, 59 airports including 2 water aerodromes and 5 heliports have been revived/operationalized as of July 20, 2021.

More privatisation

Additionally, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has recently awarded six airports namely Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Guwahati in Assam, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and Mangaluru in Karnataka for Operations, Management and Development under Public Private Partnership (PPP) for a period of 50 years.  

Proposed look of Jewar airport

He further added that AAI will get back their investment in these six airports to the tune of INR 2299 crore as upfront payment. AAI will also get the Per Passenger Fee, indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), from the PPP Partner. Post PPP, the estimated net benefits accruing to AAI are more than the net benefits that AAI would have got had it operated the six airports on its own. AAI is not required to incur any CAPEX and OPEX at these airports during the lease period.

Meanwhile, Mr Singh also stated that to push the aviation ecosystem in domestic aircraft manufacturing, the Ministry is engaging with leading aircraft and component manufacturers and encouraging them to enhance their design, manufacturing, maintenance and warehousing footprint in India. The ministry is also encouraging the manufacturing of aircraft, including regional transport aircraft, trainer aircraft and associated equipment by public and private enterprises in India.

Operational stats

Under the RCS-UDAN scheme, 59 airports including 2 water aerodromes and 5 heliports have been revived/operationalized as of July 20, 2021. Ever since the airport in Kalaburagi in Karnataka opened in November 2019, it has reported the highest growth in passenger traffic despite the impact of COVID-19 on the overall aviation industry.

Kalaburagi airport

Kalaburagi, which comes under UDAN, is not alone. Airports in Jharsguda, Hubli, Belgavi, and Kishangarh are among the handful few who have seen passenger traffic soaring above pre-COVID-19 levels. A recent report by Kotak Institutional Equities listed 12 such airports that have “become relevant over the past few years through the regional connectivity scheme”. None of the airports in metros has compared to the recovery seen in their smaller peers.

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Indian Aviation deals of July 2021 - A Timeline

Admin

29 Jul 2021

29 July, 2021Air India seeks to bid highIndia’s state civil aviation minister V K Singh said that bids for Air India are likely to be seen by September 15. The two big bidders for this Indian airline are Tata Group and Spicejet. For years now, Air India has been sinking into debt and loss. In early 2020, the Modi government planned for Air India’s privatisation and sell Air India’s stakes to rise above loss. Recently, the Indian government revealed that Air India has sold 115 properties worth Rs 738 crore since 2015.GMR, Groupe ADP shake hands over the joint deal The Indian aviation conglomerate, GMR Group announced its ‘industrial partnership’ with the Paris- based company Groupe ADP through a press release. This partnership will help both the companies to outsource each other’s services and improve passenger experience and airlines. The partnership will also focus to strengthen synergies, engineering, information technology, operations, project management, design.27 July, 202126 July, 2021Investor tycoon seeks opportunity in aviationBig bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala bets on a new low-cost airline, Akasa, in partnership with Aditya Ghosh, former president of IndiGo. Jhunjhunwala seeks to launch 70 aircraft in India in the next 4 years. In a Bloomberg interview, Jhunjhunwala revealed an investment of $35 million behind the airline and would own a 40% stake in the carrier’s stake.SpiceJet, Boeing in clash overcompensationSpice Jet wants the American aircraft manufacturer to compensate for the loss of revenue it incurred in its yearly earning result. The inconvenience was caused due to delay and grounding disruptions. After Boeing’s two fatal crashes - Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air flight - the company faced a global grounding of its aircraft. Indian budget-carrier claimed an amount of Rs12.3 billion from Boeing for not being able to fly its 13 MAX aircraft. Interesting fact, SpiceJet is the only Indian airline operating the MAX.25 July, 202122 July, 2021Baby steps by Indian MoCATo address the matters arising due to pandemic, Jyotiraditya Scindia formed three advisory groups to assess the concerns in Indian aviation. The three advisory groups are - Airlines, Airport operators and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations), Cargo carriers, FTOs and ground handling companies. These groups will meet regularly and look upon the challenges faced by each sector.SpiceJet promoter to raise $1 billion for Air India bidIndia’s low-cost airline Spice Jet’s promoter, Ajay Singh, kept $1million aside to use it in the war of bids for Air India. This bid will be made by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SVP), including two US-based funds. In addition, Singh will gather the stakes of his cargo business to raising $300 million for the bid.21 July, 202113 July, 2021Adani takes over from GVKThe flagship holding company Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), backed by Adani Group, in a press release revealed that it has taken over the management of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Adani Group will have a 74% stake in the Mumbai international airport. GVK is said to buy 50.5% of the stock."Our airport expansion strategy is intended to help converge our nation’s Tier 1 cities with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in a hub and spoke model”, said Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group.Jet Airways owes each employee in bulkIndia-based defunct airline Jet Airways owes each employee a bulk amount of nearly 3 lakhs to 85 lakhs, as per the insolvency resolution policy. The revival plan suggested by Kalrock-Jalan, new owners of the airline, proposed a sum of Rs 23,000 to each employee. Prior, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) cleared the resolution plan. The resolution plan states that only if 95% of Jet employees agree to the plan in the next three months.11 July, 20218 July, 2021Adani’s plan to raise offshore loans for MIALAdani Group plans to raise more than $1 billion through offshore loans to refinance Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL). Group is in talks with international firms like Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Barclays.Do it quickly in a year, or go homeFor Jet Airways to be back in the game and start flights, London’s Kalrock and UAE’s Murari Lal Jalan will need to deposit an amount of Rs 600 crore within a year. The amount is to be deposited in two instalments: in the first six months, the two new entries are required to pay a sum of Rs 350 crore and another Rs 250 crore within the last six months.1 July, 2021

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