SpiceJet's Rajkot-Delhi flight takes off without ATC approval

A SpiceJet passenger flight took off from Gujarat's Rajkot without the mandatory clearance from the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) on December 30, following which aviation regulator DGCA has ordered a probe, officials said on Sunday, January 2.

"A SpiceJet Q400 (VT-SUQ) operating Rajkot-Delhi as SJ-3703 on December 30, 2021, took off from Rajkot without ATC clearance. The pilots have been off-rostered (taken off flying duty) pending investigation," said people in the know. A senior DGCA official said “strict action” will be taken against those found responsible for the lapse based on the outcome of the probe.

(Image Courtesy - Aiel - Flickr)

The pilots of the Rajkot-Delhi flight have been off-rostered pending an inquiry by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a SpiceJet spokesperson said.

The Rajkot-Delhi flight took off at around 9:30 AM on December 30 and landed at the Delhi airport at 11:15 AM, the officials said.

An aircraft has to take multiple permissions from ATC before taking off from an airport. It needs to take permission to push back from the aircraft stand. Then, it has to take permission before starting the engines. Then, it has to take permission to stand in the lineup, and then final permission is given for take-off.

The pilots did not take requisite clearance from the ATC before taking off from the Rajkot airport on December 30, the officials noted. The DGCA is probing the incident to find out the reasons, they said.

Several runway incursions have happened due to the confusion between which of the two nods — line up or take off — have been given to the crew of an aircraft. For instance, about two years back the DGCA had suspended the flying licence of a captain of an Indian carrier whose domestic flight was preparing to depart from Mumbai when it mistakenly entered the active runway without clearance.

The investigation had revealed that ATC had instructed the pilots to hold at the holding point of the runway. While the co-pilot had read back ATC instructions correctly and briefed the same to pilot-in-command, the latter had breached the holding point of the runway.

Back in 2015, the Boeing company determined a new niche in the market for a new aircraft design. In what is known as the Boeing MoM (Middle of Market), the company felt there was a space in their fleet for a Boeing NMA (New Midsize Airplane). Although never officially put up for sale, it was heavily touted to be Boeing's next big thing.

Between the smallest Boeing 787-8 and the largest 737MAX is a gap, which the company believed could be filled up by the B797 program.

Representative | Sam Chui

So, What happened, and why didn’t Boeing really move ahead with the program?

A brief history

Contrary to the popular belief, the 797 concept isn't really new and has been around since the 1980s, when McDonnell Douglas (now merged into Boeing) introduced the Advanced Twin-aisle Medium Range (ATMR) aircraft.

Airline Ratings

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines had ordered for the ATMR (dubbed the DC-11, McDonnell Douglas) at the time, although the order never really went through. Boeing also showcased the same concept at the 1991 Paris Air Show but failed to grab any attention.

The B797 twin-aisle representation | Airline ratings

In 2017, several airlines had approached Boeing to discuss replacing the ageing Boeing 757 and Boeing 767. Boeing, in response, said it would be a brand-new aircraft as opposed to a revamped Boeing 767. At a projected price of $65–75 million, the NMA was expected to generate 30% more revenue than narrowbodies and have 40% lower trip costs than the widebodies it would have replaced. It would have been powered by a new 50,000 lbf (220 kN) turbofan from GE Aviation/CFM International or Pratt & Whitney, with a bypass ratio of 10:1 or more and an overall pressure ratio exceeding 50:1.

Early indicators were that the aircraft would be given the designation Boeing 797, rounding off that sequence of model numbers.

Apparently, there were two proposed models:

Boeing 797-6 that could carry 228 passengers to a range of 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km)Boeing 797-7 that could carry 267 passengers to a range of 4,200 nautical miles (7,778 km)

At the 2017 Paris Air Show, Boeing announced that the 797 would use composite materials for the entire airframe and that the new aircraft would be launched in 2019. The design would be completed in 2020, fabrication in 2021-2023, certification in 2024 and the introduction in 2025. So the 797 would not be available before 2025

Furthermore, the 797 could have also been a widebody aircraft, making it a perfect choice for medium-haul domestic routes with high traffic-like Chicago to New York, or Sydney to Melbourne. A twin-aisle aircraft would give passengers much greater space not to mention at least 50% more overhead baggage storage.

Typically, new aircraft designs take 7.3 to 8.4 years from conception to introduction. This means that even if the go-ahead was given in 2019, there wouldn’t be a 797 rolling off the production line until 2026/27 at the earliest.

The final nail on the coffin

Fast forward to 2021, with the onslaught of the COVID pandemic, and with several restrictions in place-social distancing being one of them, cramped space in an aircraft has become a major deterrent to travel.

With airlines struggling to stay in the air and most looking to update their fleet with more fuel-efficient aircraft than go for new ones, Boeing would require some innovative financing and active participation from its historic partners in Japan and Italy.

Airbus, as always, was quick to strike and hence came up with the game-changing A321XLR- a narrow-body built for the long haul. Boeing now had to twerk its 797 programs as it didn't make any sense to introduce the 797 after the unveiling of the A321XLR-timing was crucial here.

The list of woes didn't end there as the global grounding of the 737MAXs dealt another severe blow to progress (if any at all) as the company now had to freeze all developments until it could determine the problem, and then for when it could resume construction of the type.

With the appointment of the new CEO, the company's management decided the B797 would now have to be shifted in an entirely new direction, considering the market scenario as it stands today.

The 797, as released in 2018, used the 737 MAX tail cone, the larger windows as seen on the 787 and 777x, 757 windscreens and the 767 door configuration.

Representative | Source

With Boeing already beset with numerous issues on its models currently, is it viable to go for a new design? Drop-in your comments below

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Airline Ratings

We all identify aircraft by their types and numbers but have you ever wondered how these numbers started in the first place? Obviously, there weren't any permutation or combination of letters and numbers randomly assigned to aircraft. Turns out, there is a well chalked-out system behind it and every aircraft manufacturer has its own code of numbering their aircraft.

Airbus aircraft numbering 101

The Airbus numbering system is an alphanumeric model number followed by a dash and a three-digit number.

CNN

The Airbus 300 was the first aircraft produced by the company. As can be seen, Airbus chose to start the series with the number "300" . Here, the rule stood simple- the ''A'' stood for the company name "Airbus" while "300'' represented the capacity of the aircraft. However, Airbus realized later on that the plane would be better with only 260 passengers (instead of 300) and rather than renaming the plane as A260, they decided to go ahead with A300B.

Using this method as the base, Airbus would further name its future aircraft in multiples of 10- A310, A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380.

As can be seen, Airbus skipped A360 and A370 in between and has clear reasons for doing so. This was done in case they ever wanted to go back and create planes that would be somewhere in between the A350 and the A380 (with regards to size).

What about the numbers A318 and A319? Well, every time Airbus decided to weak a plane, it would do so by sticking to numbers close by. Hence numbers close to 320 show that this aircraft was created tweaking the A320 aircraft.

The A320 Family | SimpleFlying

Did you know? The Airbus A320 was the first commercial aircraft to fly in all digital FWB (Fly-By-Wire) mode?

If you thought that was it, well, there's more to it than meets the eye. The actual version of an Airbus aircraft has three more numbers attached along to it, for instance- A320-231. Here, it follows that the aircraft belongs to the A320 family, the first figure in the additional number shows that it is a part of the Airbus A320-200 series and it is the second version of this plane. The last digit represents the provision of the type of engine of this aircraft.

If we take an A380-800 {with Engine Alliance (EA) GP7200 engines} as an example-the code 8 would mean series 800, 6 for Engine Alliance and engine version 1, thus the aircraft number is A380-861. 

Wallpaper Abyss

The Boeing Principle

If we take a close look at all the commercial Boeing aircraft today, we will observe that most Boeing aircraft are named in the 7X7 format. What that essentially means is that the name starts and ends with 7.

The first Boeing aircraft to be named in the 7X7 format was the Boeing 707, which was the first successful commercial jetliner to be produced and as of 2019, only a handful of 707s remain in operation. Speculations were rife as to why the company chose to go with 707, with some of them suggesting it was due to the wing's swept angle which was  0.707. Some even went as far as claiming the number 7 to be lucky for the company although none of these claims was true.

B707 makes its first flight on July 15, 1954

Historically, Boeing started as a military aircraft manufacturing company. When William Allen decided to expand their business to commercial airplanes, and pursue the new fields of missiles and spacecraft, the engineering department divided the model numbers into blocks of 100 for each of the new product areas: 300s and 400s continued to represent aircraft, 500s would be used on turbine engines, 600s for rockets and missiles and 700s were set aside for jet transport aircraft.

Like Airbus, Boeing aircraft names are longer than three digits and they look like 7X7-ABC (e.g. Boeing 747-400) where ABC is any three-digit number. This number stands for Boeing’s Customer Code. For instance, a 747-121 would be a 747-100 sold to Pan Am.

Representative | Wikipedia

The very first model by Boeing could have been numbered 700, although the company didn't find the number catchy. Hence the Boeing business team decided to name their aircraft 707 (Pronounced as Seven Oh Seven) and have been following the same technique ever since, till the 787 now.

Now that begs the question? What happens to the numbering sequence after the rollout of a possible 797 (which may or may not happen although it has always been there on the design cards) when Boeing runs out of numbers following the 7X7 format?

Drop-in your thoughts below.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: GE Aviation

The year 2021 has been a tumultuous ride for everyone with its fair share of highs and lows. The aviation industry has been no different and hence, here's a brief timeline of all the major events that grabbed headlines in the aviation industry.

January

Boeing settles with the US Department of Justice to pay over $2.5 billion after being charged with fraud over the Boeing 737 MAX certification.

The Information

2. Sriwijaya Air Flight 182, a Boeing 737-500 crashes off the Jakarta coast killing all on board with the investigation into the incident still pending.

The Jakarta Post

3. Boeing reports its 2020 results- revenue of $58.2 billion, down from $76.6 billion the previous year, and an operating loss of $12.8 billion

February

Aero India 2021 is held at Yelahanka Air Force station in Bangalore

See Latest

2. Airbus reports its 2020 results-revenue of €49.9 billion, down from €70.5 billion the previous year, and an operating loss of €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion)

3. A United Airlines flight 328, a Boeing 777-200, suffers an uncontained engine failure of the right-hand engine over Colorado and the surrounding area. The FAA proposes modifications on all 777s with the same Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines

Newsmobile

March

Dassault Falcon 6X makes its maiden flight

Aviation Today

April

Avelo Airlines commences operations with three Boeing 737-800 aircraft. while Interjet files for bankruptcy in Mexico.

Start-up airline Avelo | AP news

May

Dassault Aviation launches its $75 million Falcon 10X flagship, scheduled for 2025, to compete with the Bombardier Global 7500 and the Gulfstream G700

Dassault Falcon 10X

2. A Boeing 737- Ryan Air flight 4978 on a routine scheduled flight from Athens International Airport to Vilnius Airport, is diverted to Minsk National Airport on the orders of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko under the pretence of a bomb threat. No bombs are found.

3. Rolls-Royce unveils the world's largest engine testbed facility in the world, Testbed 80, in Derby.

Inceptive Mind

June

United Airlines places an order for 15 Boom Overture supersonic transports, which would tentatively enter service in 2029. United is expected be the first airline to fly the supersonic bird.

Euronews

2. A Boeing 737 max 10 makes its first flight from Renton Municipal Airport and landing at King County International Airport (Boeing Field) with a flight duration of 2.8 hours.

July

A converted Boeing 737-200 cargo aircraft operating as Trans Air Flight 810 ditches en route from Honolulu to Maui. Both pilots are rescued by the US Coast Guard.

Underwater remains of Trans Air Flight 810 | Energy Voice

2. An Antonov An-26 aircraft crashes near the settlement of Palana, Russia, killing all 28 people on board and an Antonov An-28 operating Siberian Light Aviation Flight 42crash-lands in a swamp in Tomsk after both engines fail. All 18 people on board survive the accident

August

The first prototype Ilyushin Il-112 transport aircraft crashes near Kubinka Airfield after an engine fire, killing all three crew members.

24newshd

2. Commercial flights to Kabul Airport resume on a limited basis, with a Boeing 767 of Utair, after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

3. The last US C-17 flight leaves Kabul Airport just before midnight, ending the US military airlift and the war in Afghanistan

Daily Record

September

A Qatar Airways Boeing B777-300 ER operates the first commercial international flight into Kabul since the US pullout on 30 August

CNN

October

Gulfstream introduces the 4,200 nmi (7,778 km) range G400, to be delivered from 2025, and the 8,000 nmi (14,816 km) range G800, with deliveries from 2023

Business Insider

2. Air India, along with its low-cost carrier Air India Express and 50% of AISATS, a ground handling company, is sold to Tata Sons

3. Alitalia, the flag carrier of Italy, ceases operations after 74 years. Its operations and assets are handed over to new state-owned flag carrier Italia Transporto Aereo

Media India Group

November

Dubai Airshow 2021 is held at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, from 14th to 18th November.

Aviationscoop

2.  Air Lease Corporation becomes the launch customer for the A350F at the Dubai Airshow, with deliveries expected around 2026.

Cargo Facts

3. Airbus A340 makes its first-ever landing on the ice-capped runway in Antarctica

Presswire18

December

The first Airbus Helicopter H160 is delivered to All Nippon helicopter for electronic news gathering, starting in 2022

Damiano GUALDONI

2. 14 years after its first flight, Airbus bids final adieu to the A380.

NPR

Airbus Vs Boeing- who reigned supreme in 2021?

For deliveries, Boeing delivered 302 planes between January and November, with 36 customers ranging from Aeroflot to WestJet. Around two-thirds of these constituted the 737 MAX, marking the type's huge comeback after a worldwide grounding of the fleet following the two disasters in 2019.

Airbus, on the other hand, seems to have performed better with 512 deliveries made to 80 customers within the same time.

Here's how Indian aviation fared

With the year starting on a positive note, the graph quickly plummeted with the emergence of the deadly second wave. The trend continued for a while before rising again, thanks to the successful nationwide vaccination policy. While the traffic stood at the  3 lakh passengers per day mark, it was still a far cry when compared to the pre-pandemic numbers.

Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia took over the helm of affairs at the Ministry of Civil Aviation, succeeding Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, who was elevated to cabinet rank but was divested of the Civil Aviation portfolio. The following months would see both, capacity and fare caps, introduced by the new ministry.

PIB

With emerging variants of the covid virus and subsequent restrictions imposed on air travel imposed by various countries, international travel seems to be far away, although domestic travel seems to have picked up and is comparable to pre-pandemic levels.

Air Bubbles were set with different countries, expatriation flights were conducted and as of today, India has an air bubble arrangement with 34 countries.

The homecoming of Air India back to its real owners, The Tatas, was perhaps the biggest headline that managed to grip the country. An expression that was made almost two decades back, finally came to fruition, quite ironically at a time when aviation hit rock bottom.

EastMojo

21 months into the pandemic, and without any financial support from the government, airlines still stood tall, although some harsh measurements had to be taken here and there. flyBig started operations, Akasa managed to place an order for 72 B737 MAX aircraft and would be commencing operations soon early next year.

The Wadia family-led Go Air, re-branded itself to GO FIRST, appointing Kaushik Khona as CEO, for the second time.

Travelobiz

SpiceJet, another low-cost carrier that had been distraught with financial woes, managed to carve "SpiceXpress"  as a separate entity, with shareholder approval. The carrier is also on its way to re-activate its 737 MAX fleet.

SpiceExpress

SOURCE(s)

COVER: WNS

Sri Lanka's new government plans to sell its national airline to stem losses, part of efforts to stabilize the nation's finances even as authorities are forced to print money to pay government salaries.

The new administration plans to privatize Sri Lankan Airlines, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a televised address to the nation Monday. The carrier lost 45 billion rupees (USD 124 million) in the year ending March 2021, he said just days before the nation is set to formally default on foreign debt.

"It should not be that this loss has to be borne by the poorest of the poor who have not set foot in an aircraft," Wickremesinghe said.

Sri Lanka's new government plans to sell its national airline to stem losses

"The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives," Wickremesinghe said. "We must immediately establish a national assembly or political body with the participation of all political parties to find solutions for the present crisis."

The premier pledged to announce a new "relief" budget to replace President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's "development" budget that helped stoke Asia's fastest inflation rate.

The cabinet will propose that parliament increase the treasury bill issuance limit to 4 trillion rupees from 3 trillion rupees, Wickremesinghe said, forecasting a budget deficit of 13% of gross domestic product for the year ending December 2022.

Earlier this year, the carrier posted four proposals for a wide range of aircraft types, including Airbus A330 and A350 widebodies and regional Airbus A220s.

In 2010, the government in Colombo bought back a stake in Sri Lankan Airlines from Dubai's Emirates. The national carrier, which has a fleet of 25 Airbus SE planes, flies to destinations in Europe, the Middle East as well as South and Southeast Asia, according to FlightRadar24.

During his previous tenure as Prime Minister, Wickremesinghe unsuccessfully tried to sell off the airline. Through his time in opposition, he has consistently fought for its privatization in parliament, recently criticizing the Chairman of the Committee of Public Enterprise (COPE), Professor Charitha Herath, for failing to control the airline’s finances.

Airline bosses have remained resolute that despite two years of financial losses, its latest Q1 posting has seen it return to the green with a profit of USD$1.7 million, its highest since 2006.

During his previous tenure as Prime Minister, Wickremesinghe unsuccessfully tried to sell off the airline.

With a rapidly improving aviation industry, SriLankan has already started preparations for a busy summer season, doubling flights to nearby India and increasing capacity on services across South Asia and Oceania.

State Minister of Aviation and Export Zones Development, D.V.Chanka, defended the airline’s decision, noting that SriLankan did not use government money to sustain its operations and had already downsized its fleet, reducing costs by USD 25 million. Chanka added that the procurement process would take at least a year and a half and would not use government money for the leases.

The shareholders of InterGlobe Aviation, which operates domestic airline IndiGo, on Thursday, December 30 approved a resolution seeking an amendment to the Articles of Association (AoA) of the company, some of which give one founder the first right to purchase the other’s shares in the company if the latter decides to sell.

InterGlobe’s founders Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal have been locked in a feud over several articles in the AoA since 2019. An amendment will lift several barriers to any sale of shares by a founder to a third party. The founders own 74.44% of InterGlobe.

Rakesh Gangwal (Left) and Rahul Bhatia (Right) [Image Courtesy - Bloomberg Quint)

Chairman M Damodaran informed shareholders that the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) had been called on receipt of a joint requisition from the promoters. Later, a filing said 99.99% of shareholders voted in favour of the resolution. The resolution also indicates that the two partners have reached an understanding of the matter.

In 2020, InterGlobe’s shareholders had rejected a similar proposal by Gangwal at an EGM. Gangwal and family together own 36.61% of the airline. Based on the airline’s market capitalisation at the end of Thursday, their shares were worth INR 27,899 crore.

IndiGo's chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta assured shareholders of the airline that the company will emerge stronger after facing nearly two years of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Domestic traffic rebounded strongly in November and December. Omicron has caused future bookings to soften, but these are still above the September levels. While international capacity is restricted, bubble flights to international destinations are performing well.During the past two years, the focus has been building the domestic network, returning inefficient planes at a rate of 45 per year and replacing them with efficient Airbus A320neo aircraft, improving levels of customer service, and growing our charter and cargo businesses. Despite the low level of revenue generation over the past two years, we can confidently state that we are emerging from the Covid-19 crisis structurally stronger as an airline."Ronojoy Dutta, CEO, IndiGo

Dutta listed various steps IndiGo took since the pandemic broke out and said the airline was structurally stronger now than it was in March 2020. He said IndiGo was on the recovery path if there was no third wave.

According to the IndiGo CEO, the airline went through turbulent times, incurred significant losses, and took debt to shore up its balance sheet. “Repairing the balance sheet is an urgent task,” he said.

Speaking at the extraordinary-general meeting (EGM) of InterGlobe Aviation, Dutta said that while at the moment, flight bookings have taken a hit given the outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the aviation industry in India is still showing strong signs of recovery and any fall in bookings is likely to be temporary.

If the resolution is accepted, it would end the dispute between the owners Bhatia and Gangwal, who collectively hold 74.44% of the paid-up equity share capital and have been at loggerheads for more than two years now.

The resolution is expected to pass smoothly, given that both the promoters have jointly called the meeting. Once passed, it would allow either side to sell or transfer shares to a third party, without giving each other notice.

The shareholders in the EGM were required to vote on the resolution and the result of the EGM voting that took place via video conferencing would be uploaded within two working days.

The legal battle between the promoters began on July 8, 2019, when Gangwal wrote to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the Prime Minister’s Office and the finance ministry, seeking intervention on various corporate governance issues and the Bhatia Group’s control of the airline.

Gangwal had sought amendments to the AoA to remove rights of Bhatia’s IGE Group on the airline, and raised past related-party transactions, non-independence of the current chairman, and refusal to hold an EGM when he had requested, among other issues.

Bhatia later moved the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) against Gangwal. The LCIA in September said the AoA be amended and that the clause regarding the RoFR is done away with. It had given them 90 days to implement its directions. Gangwal had then moved the Delhi high court seeking directions for calling an EGM. However, the court did not allow the plea.

The particular clause in AoA says if a shareholder proposes to sell shares outside the stock exchange, he will have to first notify the other shareholder disclosing the number of shares, the proposed price, the identity of the purchaser, the proposed closing date for the transfer apart from any other material terms of the agreement between the seller and the buyer.